A lot of young people that are not: poor, houseless, and financially struggling are taking views from real van lifers that could be using YouTube ad revenue to live off. I am trying really to sift through the real ones from the recessional posers.

Too many variables, you can't shoe horn something of great complexity into your own little belief system.

Apparently she only gave it the Community College try not the College try, big difference.

If she wants to appreciate the luxury of having a van with running water, all she needs to do is spend one week bicycling on one of the highways of America. It give her a newfound appreciation for the “amenities afforded in a van. She needs to experience setting up a tent in the rain, Pedaling a bicycle and 12 mile detour in hopes of finding drinking water, and getting to the town and it turns out it’s a ghost town with no water. That way … a week later she goes back to the van life and realizes it’s like a luxury suite on wheels.

One of the things I find annoying is that many people who live in the suburbs think that the people living in vans are homeless, they are far from being homeless . Having the same comfortable bed to sleep in every night, whether it’s at a rest area, a Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lot , that’s the good life.

Seems like the woman in the video is not able to appreciate what she has.
Claims she ate an 80% snack for her dinner? At least she didn’t have to get that snack out of a dumpster behind a Whole Foods store, at least you have food. What she’s probably whining about is that most of her money goes to gasoline cars well that’s part of the package deal that you accept by living the family. If you want to dance, you have to pay the band.
Comments?

For years I have been working on family owned van to make it into support vehicle for when we go camping and be barrowed by retired family member when they want to travel for couple days. Prior covid it was far and few between people doing vanlife. Covid hit and everywhere you find vanlife builds and travel. I get good ideas from them but its 1-2% of their complete builds that i can personally impalement with no possibility to go on adventure as they do. 6 years ago I had a new coworker who setup roots in the area after traveling in his truck with 5th wheel camper for better part of a year. At that time I didnt know how many people did that full time with campers and here we are people doing it in small vans living the high life. He worked his butt off to make money for the travels and the family sold off everything they owned to achieve their travel goals. YouTube on hourly basis shows me recommendations with peoples travels all the time. All since I have in the past looked for info on similar van and as of last month even more recommendations because of recent searches after picking up a cheap camper that needs a lot of TLC to take on the road. I still wont be camping or traveling to remote areas like the van life people. If the people have worked hard to earn the money needed and were able to travel in this manor Ill be one to support them but as she said in video if they van to pretend to be poor im not up for any of that

Living in your car sucks, yes. But living in a converted van with a bed, shower, and toilet, with a TV for entertainment does not suck. Especially if you boon dock most of the time. You cannot beat free rent. As long as you've got an income and or savings to pay for food and fuel, what's not to like about it. She's just doing it wrong, that's all.

I've lived outta my car for 6 months. My advice? Don't ever do it. Never let yourself get to the point to where you have to. You won't enjoy it.

As if life isn't hard enough!

Most of the "successful" van life content creators are rich white people lolol. There's really interesting Japanese ones but they admit they have jobs and even a place to live. I think it's easier for them because of bath houses and virtually zero crime so they can park wherever.

I've been a nomad since my wife passed away in 2007 but I worked as a union Traveler in and out of motels on the road before she passed away so it's easy for me to live out of a suitcase but for the average person that's a big no

That’s why they make YouTube videos. The influencers are monetized. Foresty Forest came up from the mud

Van life is different from jeep life. Most vans have space to sleep and prepare food. Making money while traveling is the only way to make it work. Living in a jeep isn't the same thing as a van with actual living space. You also have people that like to have minimal stuff as well.

I was “van lifing” before it was “cool”. It’s fun, but it’s not what the influencers make it out to be. It’s a lot of no privacy, yet isolation and loneliness. But nice views.

You'd have to run your van 24/7 for heat and air conditioning right?! At least in NJ there's very little time when neither of those are needed. It goes from extremely cold to extremely hot very quickly

Does she not understand that they make money from Patreon, Jackary promotions and other sh*t? Many aren't hiding how they are making ends meet. Check out "The Cat Lady Van". She's as real as they come.

This tiktoker is not living like the influencers, the influencers use vans/buses converted for actually living, and they usually make money by sharing their life on the road thru YT, also there are people who do work remotely. It may not be for everybody, but gauging by the looks of this woman's car she is just living in a car, she cannot compare to the ones who are actually living on the road. Many of them sell their homes and pay for their home on the road. Anyway, it does not compare.

YOU WILL OWN NOTHING EXCEPT YOUR CAR AND BE HAPPY JUST THINK OF IT AS STICKING IT TO CLIMATE CHANGE

SAY IT AIN'T SO I HAVE DREAMED OF RIDING THE RAILS SINCE I WAS A YOUNGSTER

It is not going to be a nice experience if you suddenly have to live in a Van. If you can afford a service van twice over and have enough time to customize with some basic amenities like an emergency bathroom, expensive batteries and low profile solar. 1 person might be comfortable.

Van life was and always has been a last resort for those wanting to escape society, the rat race, in order to travel or the housing market and it is nothing new it has only become trendy because of attention seeking privileged rich kids or hipster couples who dont have to live this way but choose to out of some misguided desire to undertake a "Journey". Our society is also obsessed with maintaining the status quo so individuals who are living an alternate lifestyle are often met with hostility and rarely differentiate between those who live out of their van out of necessity and for attention. Ultimately the cost of living is not going to improve anytime soon and as long as cities and communities continue the trend of in my opinion purposely doing nothing about it we will see more people living out of their vehicles and the lie that influencers perpetuate will fade.

Never had a plan.

Some of those van life influencers get millions of views though, so YouTube is paying them.

Or maybe some people are content with less? Maybe the people who live in tiny homes or campers (like me) have realized that the only people who are going to save them is themselves? Maybe people have realized that there is nothing wrong with having less or being a minimalist. Maybe, in fact, being a nomad with minimal possessions is the original state of man, and is maybe the only way to be truly happy? To not desire is to be happy. Now, I know many of you will not have a clue what that means, all I can say is to look into it before listening to horse shit like this.

Too general, some people genuinely built up enough followers that generates enough money, this of course can vary by country, in US this may be a bit more difficult

Or maybe they have a better job than you?

Is less expensive, but that doesn’t mean it’s inexpensive, because it’s not. It takes quite a bit of money in preparation to live on the road if you want to be even remotely comfortable doing it.

Omg! So influencers now lie to us? 😡
Y’all lame. Don’t live your life off influencers

Of course, a sadistic society that tortures people for being poor is going to produce romanticized variations on poverty, to cover up the brutal realities of its own depravity.

I have slept in my car when I worked out of town, $15 showers at truck stops, and eating fast food, I survived till weekend, I went back to my pay by the week, since I took the call from the union in Porterville, no perdiem so I spent more than I made working up there, and since Edison stopped paying into my benefits, I stopped going up there, a few months ago it was breaking 100, so sleeping in my car during my off hours was a no go, even at night it was 80+, so car/van life sucked

Sure there are some fake people out there. But van life is a possible way of life sure its not easy. I want to do van life I'm an IT guy and I can do work from pretty much anywhere as long as I have an internet connection (Starlink 635 euro's a years / speed 350MB) which is not bad. What about those that do nature photography van life would be great. And sure there are people who live out of their cars due to circumstances. But isn't Van Life a completely separate culture and way of doing things. And you have fakers everywhere in every facet of life. You just have to engage your brain if you want to do van life. Weigh the pros the cons know all the possible place you can park for free or download on app on your phone this is the 21st century. Just like everything in life do your due diligence always check multiple sources and then make an informed decision.

He’s extrapolating way more from her point than she said (which she’s 100% right about).

There are genuinely many people that prefer living in a small space like a tiny home or a well appointed van. It’s very different from being forced into living out of a car for financial reasons.

I've been saying that from the start with that Abagail girl. Her parents pay for everything and it's obvious she's lying. People are too gullible.

I think the number one thing take from this is that we have to STOP these investors from buying homes that can be sold to individual Families because they are driving up the market value and making housing unaffordable for single family incomes.

Nothing in life is free. Van life is a choice.

Nobody is mentioning Natural Disasters, we lost people in Paradise CA to a wildfire, they could not escape….consider where you are parking, it's matter of life and death. Gabby Petito was the worst case example of how things can go horribly wrong behind the scenes of the 'perfect life', I fear for the women who are unprepared for the harassment they will receive on the road, especially if they are young & attractive…

Wtf some people prefer to live on the road some people prefer to live a Nomadic lifestyle so why is everyone shaming them or calling them fake now it's weird

Oh, I've lived the "van life" before and I can tell you with great authority that it sucks ass every minute of every day. The first time was with a rock group so in addition to life itself sucking you get the added benefit of becoming nose deaf to the putrefaction of some dudes who would rather drink beer than buy deodorant. The second time was covid 19's gift to my wife and me. We're both skilled individuals and were able to overcome the pitfalls that trap so many but for several months we called various Walmart parking lots home and law enforcement did their dead level best to take away our car/home because most of them are soulless scum. I wouldn't wish this detriment upon anybody….. Well, maybe some members of Congress and various politicians but never an actual human being.

I introduced my mom to these videos during covid to try and get her OFF consuming so much faux news. Problem is now she wants to divorce my dad take have the house money and move into a van because she thinks its going to be paradise at 64. I've been struggling to put my finger on it for some time but alot of these channels have the perfect mixture of thirst trapping, feminism, fantasy escape, and prepper grifting my mom identifies with these 20 year old models hired to be faces of the channels its pretty pathetic. I try and elucidate her on the reality of living in a car (she had the sheriff throw me out on Christmas when i was 19) and surviving on the charity of others, she's been coddled by the men in her life since she was a child and doesn't accept consequences for her actions or decisions, and is blind to how sexist her world view of "men as providers", was/is.

Also you are watching them from several different camera angles drone shots surfing and doing nothing but social media of course they're rich

They all tell you your experience might be different from what they show you, why is everyone acting surprised. I guess it's the influences they chose to watch but I follow the ones that show both sides not just the great views and Instagram filters.

There is a van lifer in Canada whose videos show the good and bad days. He doesn't sugar coat anything.

It's embarrassing to think people believe "Influencers" are being honest with you.