Off the grid/Vanlife/Tiny Home/Boat living lifestyle

H

hedonist

Woodpecker
With all the craziness in the world this has a growing appeal.
Not to mention a lot of these people have what seem to be quality partners or even started families.
Of course there is some of the instastar crowd (and some in the below vids) but that's par for the course these days.




Find a woman that looks at you like this one does!


Must watch








https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eruePj-O5es
 
L

lonetraveler

Pigeon
Off-grid is the only one that has strong potential to be a permanent lifestyle. I don't see myself living on a boat or in a van when I'm old. It does interest me while I'm young though, but it's not feasible for most people. Many of these people are living off money from social media, savings, or other sources of income that the average person doesn't have. Although it doesn't take much money to live in a van if you make sure you never pay for places to camp.
 
H

hedonist

Woodpecker
lonetraveler said:
Off-grid is the only one that has strong potential to be a permanent lifestyle. I don't see myself living on a boat or in a van when I'm old. It does interest me while I'm young though, but it's not feasible for most people. Many of these people are living off money from social media, savings, or other sources of income that the average person doesn't have. Although it doesn't take much money to live in a van if you make sure you never pay for places to camp.
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Yeah I agree for getting older, I heard about a person living off the grid in isolation and eventually had to move into a home, he was dead 6mths later :(


This particular video was such a good watch to see how much life this man (couple) has in him
 
EndlessGravity

EndlessGravity

Pelican
Most of these seem like near larping. It's fine for 6 months or maybe a couple years. However, you'll probably have nothing to pass on to your kids. You also have little that's defensible.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea and we're a minimal living family. However, I've known people who have tried to do the boat life and didn't make it 6 months. There's much more to it than people realize.
 
H

hedonist

Woodpecker
debeguiled said:
Have heard that some of the attention whoring YouTube Van Lifers, you know the ones where the female half of the couple always wears yoga pants or a bikini and shows viewers her yoga routine, actually spend their thirst dollars in nice hotels a lot of the time.
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The Sabrina Ho(a)rels for sure!
 
C

COtrailrider

Pigeon
This lifestyle is only gonna increase as companies gravitate towards allowing remote work. I've been considering van life for part of the year, but no way could I do it full-time. Need some kind of homebase. Yea, it's getting the social media influencers now however with housing prices and the Fed constantly chipping away at the value of the dollar, also paired with people having less kids, this will grow. Off-grid and homesteading are growing too, but I see the biggest gains in vanlife and tiny homes (if the government can get out of the way it'll increase that much more).
 
T

The Catalyst

Ostrich
debeguiled said:
Have heard that some of the attention whoring YouTube Van Lifers, you know the ones where the female half of the couple always wears yoga pants or a bikini and shows viewers her yoga routine, actually spend their thirst dollars in nice hotels a lot of the time.
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I forgot where I heard this, but apparently this Van Life thing, among other lifestyle videos, are products of a content farm company. They pay or somehow get a bunch of people to do Van Life or similar videos, most fail, and they keep the youtubers who succeed as influencers or similar.
 
Troller

Troller

Pelican
Don´t see the appeal. What´s wrong with living in society? Can´t you go and live in a village where houses are cheap? Why live in the middle of nowhere on a mountain? One thing is trying to be the most independent possible. Growing food. Not having mortgages. But I like society perks. It doesn´t make sense to live like some kind of animal.

Sometimes watch "Alone" reality show. It´s harsh.

Boats are small inside. For 15-30 days. They have motor issues, etc.

I truly miss society benefits in this chinesevirus crisis.
 
T

The Catalyst

Ostrich
Troller said:
Don´t see the appeal. What´s wrong with living in society? Can´t you go and live in a village where houses are cheap? Why live in the middle of nowhere on a mountain? One thing is trying to be the most independent possible. Growing food. Not having mortgages. But I like society perks. It doesn´t make sense to live like some kind of animal.
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Strangely enough, in a lot of places in NZ the living conditions aren't all that much better.
 
Hypno

Hypno

Crow
debeguiled said:
Have heard that some of the attention whoring YouTube Van Lifers, you know the ones where the female half of the couple always wears yoga pants or a bikini and shows viewers her yoga routine, actually spend their thirst dollars in nice hotels a lot of the time.
Click to expand...

There are some folks who do it right. I like Kara and Nate on youtube. They were perpetual travelers, went to 100 countries in 2 years. They vlogged their travels and were surprised by their success. They would stay in some sketchy hostels and take sketchy intercity shuttles to save a few bucks in the early episodes. Due to Covid, they are now doing a U.S. van tour.
 
C

COtrailrider

Pigeon
With international travel in total flux for the foreseeable future, I've decided to explore the US in a van but still have a homebase that I can hang at from time to time. I work remotely and will get a nicely built rig with plenty of space/power/water/etc. to explore in. These rigs aren't cheap but I almost think of it as an investment for a couple of reasons:
  • I need adventure, so this is an investment in my mental health and life goals
  • More and more people are getting priced out of real estate, many are foregoing the standard life path of a house and 2.3 kids, and van/RV life will continue in popularity, so even if I don't want to keep it long-term it'll hold value well and is better than throwing money at rent each month.
  • Cities will continue to become more toxic with ever-increasing social unrest. I also don't think humans are meant to live in cities (see Dunbar's number). Having an off-grid rig to 'bug out' for a while is key. There's a lot of freedom-minded folks in this community.
  • I want to explore the US and figure out where I can see myself somewhat settling down in the future. I'm more of a nomad in my blood, but see myself having a few properties around the world.
Depending on what international travel restrictions are in place 2021/22+ I may just keep doing the van life honestly. I still explore 2nd passport options/expatriating, but I have a great job and even though I can't move or travel abroad with it, the pros still outweigh the cons.
 
Biscuits_Gravy

Biscuits_Gravy

Sparrow
Saw this thread today and have been thinking about this stuff a lot. Newly wed, considering buying a few acres of land, and building a small but sufficient starter home (800-1200 ft^2). I am trying to find a way to build a home in such a way that it can be easily retrofitted and expanded upon throughout the decades (if finances allow). I figure if I invest in the land first, I am better off than trying to buy a massive pre-built home in a suburb or 3rd tier city.

COtrailrider said:
With international travel in total flux for the foreseeable future, I've decided to explore the US in a van but still have a homebase that I can hang at from time to time. I work remotely and will get a nicely built rig with plenty of space/power/water/etc. to explore in. These rigs aren't cheap but I almost think of it as an investment for a couple of reasons:
  • I need adventure, so this is an investment in my mental health and life goals
  • More and more people are getting priced out of real estate, many are foregoing the standard life path of a house and 2.3 kids, and van/RV life will continue in popularity, so even if I don't want to keep it long-term it'll hold value well and is better than throwing money at rent each month.
  • Cities will continue to become more toxic with ever-increasing social unrest. I also don't think humans are meant to live in cities (see Dunbar's number). Having an off-grid rig to 'bug out' for a while is key. There's a lot of freedom-minded folks in this community.
  • I want to explore the US and figure out where I can see myself somewhat settling down in the future. I'm more of a nomad in my blood, but see myself having a few properties around the world.
Depending on what international travel restrictions are in place 2021/22+ I may just keep doing the van life honestly. I still explore 2nd passport options/expatriating, but I have a great job and even though I can't move or travel abroad with it, the pros still outweigh the cons.
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Also, I agree with this sentiment deeply. Although van life isn't feasible for me (newly wed, wife wouldn't go for it), I did consider it greatly in college. Real estate seems to become more and more of this club for rich suburbanites or just extremely poor folks who want to live in someone's trashed shack and (still) pay way too much for it. Obviously, if SHTF, then no matter what, we are going to be in danger of oppression whether you rent, own, or live in a van, but certainly escaping the crumbling urban centers is a more positive step towards freedom than otherwise.
 
joost

joost

Kingfisher
The problem with many of those videos is that they don't mention the downsides.

A boat:
- has a lot of maintenance. Cleaning the hull, fixing the engine and other parts.
- you're not going to live in crystal waters. Most likely parked in a marina paying exorbitant fees for electricity and having to walk a 1/4 mile to use a decent shower.
- extremely hot in summer, extremely cold in winter.
- unless you buy a +40ft catamaran, your "home" will be tiny.
- for a monohull, the movement might be upsetting to sleep. For a catamaran, the waves hitting the hull are loud.

A boat is nice if you can afford a catamaran and maybe live in the Mediterranean so you can travel between many countries and enjoy calm waters. It's spacey and girls love it. But expect to pay $350k to $1mil just to buy it. Then you need a good income to be able to maintain. Everybody knows the happiest days of a boat owner are when he buys it and when he sells it.

Try renting one for a month during low-season so you can have an idea what's like.




For a tiny off-grid house:
- you have less cost and maintenance but less access to things you take for granted like garbage disposal, stable electricity, fast internet...
- are you willing to drive a lot just to get groceries? Buying a truckload of food and putting inside freezers is feasible?
- when we get older we don't see friends as often but going out with friends is fun. You don't need a big house to host but a close-by address. How will that work if you live in the middle of nowhere?




I have the impression that we dream about living like that (off-grid house, boat, etc) to escape everyday-life stress and seems like an affordable "upgrade" to our lifestyle. But to enjoy that we need income. So unless you work remote and are willing or able to do it...
 
C

COtrailrider

Pigeon
Biscuits_Gravy said:
Saw this thread today and have been thinking about this stuff a lot. Newly wed, considering buying a few acres of land, and building a small but sufficient starter home (800-1200 ft^2). I am trying to find a way to build a home in such a way that it can be easily retrofitted and expanded upon throughout the decades (if finances allow). I figure if I invest in the land first, I am better off than trying to buy a massive pre-built home in a suburb or 3rd tier city.


Also, I agree with this sentiment deeply. Although van life isn't feasible for me (newly wed, wife wouldn't go for it), I did consider it greatly in college. Real estate seems to become more and more of this club for rich suburbanites or just extremely poor folks who want to live in someone's trashed shack and (still) pay way too much for it. Obviously, if SHTF, then no matter what, we are going to be in danger of oppression whether you rent, own, or live in a van, but certainly escaping the crumbling urban centers is a more positive step towards freedom than otherwise.
Click to expand...
I looked into the tiny home movement for a while, too. Are you planning to homestead as well? It's definitely not easy but seems very rewarding - knowing exactly where your produce and meat comes from is critical in the near future I think. There's a reason the NWO-types have an ever-increasing control of the food supply.

My rough plan is to van life for a bit and likely move closer to my parents in a rural (and red) area with limited zoning restrictions and get a little piece of property for a home about that same size too. Something close to a medium-sized metro area but far enough away for plenty of privacy. I think there's a lot of places in the Western US for that.
 
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