Trending - Living in a van down by the river

[Walt34]

While we talk about living in a van as an option of desperation, apparently some are deliberately choosing it as a lifestyle option to save on housing costs. In the high COL area of Los Angeles it is apparently becoming a viable option for many. Hey, if you're tough enough, it works.

Last year, 4,600 cars and RVs were used as homes, according to The Los Angeles Times.

L.A., like many cities, has a housing shortage. This, coupled with a 3.1 percent vacancy rate, makes affordable living in L.A. an oxymoron.


"The main expenses are insurance for the van, which is like $60 a month," said Hutchins. "Then, I have a storage unit for like $60."


That puts his monthly rent at $120. The van cost him just $125 at an auction.

People are ditching apartments to live the 'van life' | Circa News - Learn. Think. Do.

 

[Big_Hitter]

if I was single in a high COL area I would definitely consider it - DW...not so much

 

[Lcountz]

Have you seen the High-top vans being sold today? They are not crazy priced, and could easily be set up as a teeny tiny house on wheels....

I'm considering buying one next time to outfit as a very temporary RV from which to camp for two days and go fishing...You could put a rug on the floor, a cot, a cooler and a porta potty, and a 50 gallon plastic water container and you'd be set....Plenty of room. Thye make so much neat camping stuff today...for one person, it'd be fine.

The Nissan NV, or Ford or Dodge all look like great choices. I could see it.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

This would be more appealing if they were actually down by the river. Cooking turkey burgers on a portable stove on the sidewalk isn't my idea of fun, but I guess it's good that they're not getting themselves into debt while trying to make a go of their creative endeavors.

 

[Bamaman]

I had a cousin that lived in a VW bus behind a bar in El Segundo. He spent his waking hours in the bar.

His father lived a few blocks away, and he had a waitress and her 2 kids living in a Class C motorhome in front of his house. They'd come inside and take a shower every a.m. prior to going to work and high school.

Believe me, living this way is simply not a proper lifestyle.

 

[FUEGO]

Here's a whole community of vandwellers:

https://www.reddit.com/r/vandwellers/

 

[RunningBum]

Believe me, living this way is simply not a proper lifestyle.

It's not, but some have little choice.

When unemployment spiked a few years ago and people were out of jobs for a very long time, the advice was to give up your house before your car, because you need mobility to have a chance at finding a job (unless you live in an area with good public transportation). You can live in your car, but you can't drive your house or apartment.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Urban vandwelling? No thanks.
Prior to our present situation, my wife and I drifted around for several years with only a pickup/camper shell and a very small custom built trailer to carry the gear. Later we added a 16' travel trailer to the fleet. Lots of fun, to be continued......

 

[Helena]

.

The end of the slippery slope of decluttering

 

[Walt34]

His father lived a few blocks away, and he had a waitress and her 2 kids living in a Class C motorhome in front of his house. They'd come inside and take a shower every a.m. prior to going to work and high school.

Believe me, living this way is simply not a proper lifestyle.

Yeah, when it's a single person and done by choice to save money that's one thing. When there are kids and/or there is no other option, that's a different matter.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Ah..to each their own, I guess. Certainly not the way I would want to "roll"

 

[Helena]

.

The "tiny house" mania amazes me because many of the tiny houses [plus the land to park them on] cost more than small traditional houses in other areas.

 

[EastWest Gal]

While we talk about living in a van as an option of desperation, apparently some are deliberately choosing it as a lifestyle option to save on housing costs. In the high COL area of Los Angeles it is apparently becoming a viable option for many. Hey, if you're tough enough, it works.

People are ditching apartments to live the 'van life' | Circa News - Learn. Think. Do.

It's also known as homelessness.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Moemg]

I recently watched a tiny house segment from San Francisco . A single guy purchased a less than 300 square foot house in San Francisco for $500,000 . There was a bidding war and he got it for $550,000 . I was shocked .He basically slept on a pull out couch as there was no bedroom.

 

[Just_Steve]

I recently watched a tiny house segment from San Francisco . A single guy purchased a less than 300 square foot house in San Francisco for $500,000 . There was a bidding war and he got it for $550,000 . I was shocked .He basically slept on a pull out couch as there was no bedroom.

To much money and not enough sense.

 

[Beldar]

I poked around for a while on a blog-type forum (the name escapes me now) that focused on living out of your vehicle. I was trying to learn any thrifty habits that might be useful.

You would be surprised as to the number of people that do this for whatever reason. Some of the car / van setups were very innovative and quite functional. Most of these people were not "homeless" in the street urchin sense, but preferred this lifestyle. They utilized exercise club memberships to stop in at gyms along their travels for a shower, slept for free in casino parking lots, hospital parking lots, cooked in their vehicle, etc.


_B

 

[Teacher Terry]

Last year when we were traveling in our RV we met quite a few people that lived in RV's. Some were smaller then our 27 ft, most had pets. Some did it because they loved it and some because they had too. An older couple that loved it spent half the year in Denver and the winter in Arizona. The RV parks are like parking lots with very little space between them. I could not imagine living like that.

 

[bbbamI]

I recently watched a tiny house segment from San Francisco . A single guy purchased a less than 300 square foot house in San Francisco for $500,000 . There was a bidding war and he got it for $550,000 . I was shocked .He basically slept on a pull out couch as there was no bedroom.

I saw that too! ...and there was no place to park his car. He got a parking spot nearby costing $350 a month. Egads.

 

[rodi]

This isn't a new concept - but it is trending.

When I was in high school one of my dad's friends had a son going to UCSD. He lived in a camper van/PU in the student parking lot. He kept his camper in the lot near the gym/pool... and used the showers associated with the pool. Campus police tried to hassle him about it -but the parking permit didn't limit the hours and there were no posted signs forbidding overnight parking. They couldn't really ban overnight parking since the library was open 24 hours. The son of my dad's friend ended up graduating with zero debt. Probably because his rent was parking permit he purchased each quarter.

 

[Running_Man]

Very interesting conversion of a van to a living space

 

[W2R]

Live in a van?

No way, no how, not me. Maybe when I was in my teens or twenties, but not now. That would be a huge step backwards at this point in my life.

I just got my Dream House last year, and not only that, it's right next door to Frank. I plan to stay put and enjoy living in my Dream House until I take my very last breath (hopefully many, many years from now).

 

[FUEGO]

This isn't a new concept - but it is trending.

When I was in high school one of my dad's friends had a son going to UCSD. He lived in a camper van/PU in the student parking lot. He kept his camper in the lot near the gym/pool... and used the showers associated with the pool. Campus police tried to hassle him about it -but the parking permit didn't limit the hours and there were no posted signs forbidding overnight parking. They couldn't really ban overnight parking since the library was open 24 hours. The son of my dad's friend ended up graduating with zero debt. Probably because his rent was parking permit he purchased each quarter.

I recall seeing someone doing this at Duke University here in North Carolina.

People can make fun of it, but if you're single, active and don't spend a lot of time in your house (or "house"), it's not a bad set up. Shower at the gym or your fancy office. Eat on the go or get simple stuff (or get a DC powered mini fridge and a cook stove), dine with friends or visit a restaurant. Set up your van near a library or 24 hour Walmart/Target for access to the facilities.

Definitely not somewhere I would want to live for more than a couple days at a time but it's an interesting lifestyle. I'm surprised it catches so much flak from a bunch of weirdos here who's main common interest revolves around defying tradition by dropping out of the working world one to three decades early.

Right after we upgraded to a minivan and I started exploring the interior and all the fancy pants features it had (given it was $8000!), my first thought was "wow I can probably rig this up with a bed and DW and I can stealth camp if we're on a road trip somewhere". OMG guess that makes me a homeless wannabe.

Edit: I realize I'm 36 and still up for doing crazy/stupid/eccentric $hit before I get old and curmudgeonly.

 

[RobbieB]

I've slept in a van a couple of nights parked in the street. Yeah, back when I was young. Took a pee in a bottle and poured it out the window into the street. The other would have been more difficult and harder to get rid of the evidence.

But I was 21 then and 61 now. Not going there again.

 

[Souschef]

No way in hell! We live in a +55 mobile home park in Santa Paula CA. We love it! The Santa Clara River is near us, but not close enough to worry about.

 

[Ronstar]

Probably spent only 5 or 6 nights in a car, maybe 1 or 2 in a van. None down by a river, but rather by a lake. Most of my time spent away from home was 5 straight months in a tent. Showered at the nearby beach club or my parents house.