I have been exploring van life for around eight weeks now. I shelved my ideas about what life was supposed to look like after my children left home and instead, I took a road less travelled. This road is full of surprises, mostly pleasant and the longer I am living on the road, the more confidence I gain in myself.
I know I live outside the norms of what society expects and I have learned to use my wits and my internal resources to solve whatever issues I find with van life. For example using poster paper to create privacy screens in my car. Or visiting a library to recharge my electronic devices (iPad, mobile phone, Kindle or laptop).
Where once I stressed each night figuring where I was sleeping if I was not in a caravan park or a pay-as-you-go camping area, I now have the confidence to tackle sleeping locations every night.
In line with my personal values of sustainable living and minimising environmental impact, even when I was living in standard housing, I do my best to create as little impact on the environment. I live sustainably by purchasing items with biodegradable wrapping, using biodegradable rubbish bags, and using a re-usable coffee cup when I buy coffee etc.
I enjoy healthy food (vegetables and fruit and deli meat such as corned beef) with as little packaging as possible. I also enjoy the free drinking water in the town where I am based, instead of buying bottled water.
I have spent a total of 10 nights in motels and caravan parks and around seven nights with friends and or family. According to my maths, I have spent two thirds of my time free camping or stealth camping. It is starting to feel like a way of life. With all the freedom of choice I have craved for so long, it is a lifestyle I enjoy.
Until people start asking questions.
Whenever a friend, or stranger is curious about life on the road, there are two questions that ALWAYS come up for the asking.
Question One: What do you do for money?
Question Two: How do you find toilets?
Curiously, nobody asks if I am comfortable or warm or if I feel safe. Or where do I dispose of my rubbish? Or what do I do with myself each day?
Nor has anyone asked me what do I eat or where do I brush my teeth or how do I find free showers?
See, those questions are what I would ask if I learned someone was living on the road. Getting back to the questions people DO ask:
Question One: What do you do for money?
The first question is, “What do you do for money?”
Or they lead with, “What do you do for work?”
When I reply that I am a writer, or that I am not working or that I am between jobs at the moment, the next question is invariably, “You are on welfare payments, aren’t you?”
When I answer that I am not receiving welfare payments they cannot help themselves. Their next response is, invariably, “Oh!”
Cue the surprised facial expression, followed by, “Well, then, what do you do for money?’
I find the first question rather intrusive. While I understand that my lifestyle choice is not for everyone, I do not understand why people feel entitled to question me about how I sustain myself financially.
I think it is such a personal area, yet one that is stepped into so frequently, that I have prepared a stock answer for future questioners. The next time someone asks me what I do for money, I will tell them, “I sell my body.” I’m hoping they feel as shocked as I feel invaded by their question.
I am sure I will get the inevitable up-and-down look with that answer. That’s fine, they can use their imaginations in any way they like.
Frankly I would not think to ask anyone about how they are financially supporting their lifestyle.
My motto for years has been ‘live and let live’, so it always catches me off guard when a long-term friend or even my brother calls me to interrogate me about my financial sustainability.
I think it is reasonable to believe that my financial decisions are mine and they are not, and never have been, up for public comment.
Now, the second question people ask?
Question Two: How do you find toilets?
When asked this question, I am always surprised. Of all the questions one could ask me about what it is like living on the road, the one about toilets always stops me in my tracks.
My stock response has become, “Well, when you go on a long car drive, do you have trouble finding toilets?’
When they reply in the negative, I tell them it is the same with living on the road. There are always toilets. I have a WAZE app that I can use to locate public toilets in a specific area. I look for signs indicating there are toilets ahead on the road as I am driving. Is that really what people want to know about living on the road?
I will confess, what I did not understand when I first started van life was that embracing uncertainty would be as vital as adaptability and resourcefulness. Retaining my sense of humour has also been key as well as sharing my challenges when meeting others on the road. Together we find humour in ridiculous happenstances and share life stories that inspire and humble me.
Living on the road has grown my confidence with each passing night: keeping myself safe and navigating challenges of nightly toilet visits (especially on a wet night!) as well as abiding by local by-laws (such as no camping) and maintaining both mental and physical wellbeing.
The freedom of van life and the joy of lived experience goes well beyond any questions of money and toilets.
Christine Writer 