Van Life
Deep within the Oregon mountains, in the northwestern region of the United States, lies a quaint and peaceful town. It is here in this country house that we find 32-year-old Katie. But she has just made a radically life-changing decision. In a few days she will leave the comfort of her old life and embark on an extraordinary adventure.
When you get to the middle. Great. But you can go quite a bit faster. Katie is completely changing her life. Her friend Travis, who she met on a forum, is helping her to turn this van into her new living space.
Katie is about to join an ever-growing community of people in the US who leave everything they know behind to live in a van. Away from the demands of consumer society, Katie will now spend her days in this van and her nights on this camp bed. He wouldn't think so, but it's really, really comfortable. For now, she doesn't have a kitchen or any running water.
She'll finish setting up her van on the road with the tools she's bringing with her. Instead, it's just this little basket. A basket of tools. Yeah.
Isn't it scary to build a van on the road? Is it a big challenge? I don't know. I guess we'll find out. It will definitely be a challenge. We're going to be in random places. But I think it will be more fun that way.
Okay. Yeah, I'm really proud of her. She's really a lot more confident. You're doing a great job.
Killed it. This former accountant is choosing a life of freedom, giving up her dreams of career, home ownership, and of possessions. She's packing her bags. The number one thing that I wouldn't go without? Dry shampoo. She has packed the bare minimum. For a graduate accustomed to a certain standard of living, this is a big adjustment.
In college I had like a hundred pairs of shoes, you know, like it was absurd and It was also just like a time of my life where it was like have everything like you want to have like 12 different things of like in every color, you know and That is so unnecessary. My happiness doesn't really rely on the things that I have In just a few days. She will be on the road She is joining the popular van life movement the gold travel the world explore new places, roam free, discover the beauty of the great American outdoors, and drive across breathtaking landscapes all year long. Many dream of doing it, but these individuals are making it a reality. Their photos are spectacular. On social media, they get millions of likes and dollars.
This generation of nomadic auto entrepreneurs is ultra-connected. The van lifers aspire to make the most of life away from the pressures and demands of modern society. I don't really think about it. A dream of wide open spaces and total independence. Maybe I'm naive, but I haven't ever thought about the safety aspect of it at all. Families with children are also drawn to this quest for freedom.
And I think our generation is saying, no, I can work on the road, and I can live on the road, and I can go see all the things that I want to see before retirement. Even senior citizens are joining the movement. They, too, are keen to explore, seeking thrills from the comfort of luxury vans.
Yeah, like Liz and I. This is so much fun for us. The van is their home, and the road, their only destination.
In the United States, the van life phenomenon is becoming hugely popular. Tens of thousands of people have already adopted this lifestyle. Their motto? Live simply, away from everything, with only the essentials at hand. Could these van lifers be creating a new American dream? Each year, an ephemeral city on wheels makes its way to this plain in Oregon, in the northwestern region of the United States.
It's the so-called vanlifers who live in these vans. For three days, a thousand of them meet here to take a break from the road and share their experiences. 32-year-old Corey is a full-time van lifer. He's been on the road for six years.
This former kayak guide is one of the pioneers of the van life movement. It may not seem like it, but before they left everything behind, these people lived fairly normal lives. You have, you know, people that are just, you know, not more than 20 bucks to their name, to people who have, you know, $200,000 rigs.
There's not really like a single type of person. And you'll have a hippie sitting right next to a guy that's a lifetime, you know, Navy officer. The famous Volkswagen van from the 50s is their icon. It has become the vintage symbol of their nomadic lifestyle.
The owners adapt the vehicle to suit their wanderings. So you said last night you have a stove in your van. Can you just take a look at it real quick? Yeah, it's right over here. It's on my phone. We're set really great. Doesn't take up much room.
Your goal was you're snowboarding this winter. Yeah, I'm going to Colorado, hopefully snowboarding. Sweet. Staying as warm as possible. You can find them on Instagram, proudly showing off their new lives in breathtaking settings.
Here we have Liz, former TV news presenter who now lives in a van. Brittany and her boyfriend Drew used to sell luxury watches before starting their life on the road. And David was an electrical engineer who used to earn over $80,000 a year before dropping everything to go climbing all over America. A decision like this is not always easy for their friends and family to accept. Skateboarding, skateboarding. How old are you? 19.
19. What do your parents think? Because you're 19. My mom has no idea. She's just freaked out all the time. It's all about taking that first step and leaving.
Even though your parents think it's stupid, your best friends think it's stupid, you're not going to school, whatever. Corey and his friends like to encourage their taste for adventure. Off the beaten track. Hey, what's up? How are you? Oh, my God. Corey's successful blog, filled with all his travel photos, has really helped to make the van life movement known.
Everyone knows where's my office now, I feel like. You know how Instagram makes people feel like celebrities sometimes and stuff like that? It never felt like that talking to them. It was like long-lost friends, essentially. Keep coming.
Yeah. Corey's Instagram has almost 200,000 followers. With the help of his girlfriend Emily and their two dogs, Corey's site attracts advertisers who hope to use their popularity to target a young demographic on social media.
Influential van lifers like them manage to make a living from their social media posts and finance their nomadic lifestyle. Despite their cool hippie appearance, they have not lost their business sense. A few weeks later, we meet Corey in Maine, one of the least populated states in America, situated to the north of New York.
His girlfriend, Emily, used to be a marketing director. Despite its business aspect, the van life philosophy primarily revolves around minimalist travel and being respectful of the environment. pumpkin seeds we got sunflower seeds we could put more emily and corey are going to explore the state of maine over 10 days before every trip they buy everything they need in organic supermarkets it's a small sacrifice to make because their budget is limited buying organic stuff for me is not just about putting like properly raised vegetables and meat into our body. It's about knowing that the soil is being taken care of.
They buy everything in bulk, using these containers to limit packaging. A little over $20 for a few days' worth of supplies. It barely costs them anything. Every day they start driving and often wait until the last minute before choosing their destination. But before they set off, they must take a photo.
For van lifers, aesthetics are crucial if they want to generate revenue online. They have chosen this idyllic setting by the sea. Ah, perfect. One brand pays them nearly $1,000 a month to regularly include this flask in their Instagram pictures.
this company is helping us stay on the road and be able to tell our story and share that inspiration with our audience. If we were in it for the money, we wouldn't be in it because we're not rich. This is like, once again, it's about living a minimalist lifestyle and like this helps us, you know, with the money aspect. But if you were taking the money we were making and trying to live in an apartment or a house, it would probably be pretty strugglesome.
Several brands are willing to pay the couple this much because they are very good at editing their photos. You like this? They spend hours selecting and editing their pictures. It's a little too... the yellow on... look at the yellow on the pavement.
Each one of their dreamy photos gets thousands of likes. This one received 3,000 in total. Although it may look like a vacation, for them it's a full-time job. For us, we didn't really see the benefit in taking out a huge loan to buy a house at a young age when we didn't have the money for it, and putting ourselves in the debt.
So we decided to not do that. And we saw more fun to go on adventures. But definitely, we're not cutting the cord from capitalist society.
That's not a true statement. There's no escaping. No escaping that we need to work. And there's no escaping that it takes work and that it's not always pretty. Between them, they earn around $2,200 a month. But they barely spend any of it.
Rockport's like two and a half. Over the next few days, they have decided to explore one of the region's mountains. With autumn coming to an end, the views are stunning. But Emily never puts her phone down. A beer company has just offered them a new contract. I don't know.
That guy looked a little messed up. I don't know if I really wanted to get involved in that. In this case, we're staying low to $2,400 for three pictures. Emily records everything. Posting about their life on social media has become their main source of income, a means of supporting their nomadic lifestyle.
They're ready to go. On the road, they have no schedule. They're free to go wherever they choose, whenever they want. While the rest of America is working, they are exploring. It's beautiful here. Yeah, it's a nice, I mean, this is kind of a unique time when you get snow on the ground and there's still leaves in the trees.
After three hours of walking, they reach the summit. Emily and Corey are rewarded for their efforts. It is the perfect place for a photo. You're going to be really wet.
The evening light is perfect. Their followers will certainly be captivated by this post. Ready? Bella! Oh, look what it is! Look at me, quick. Call her back. The picture quickly receives 2,400 likes, increasing the couple's popularity.
This is exactly what the advertisers who contact them are looking for. In the evening, they set up camp in the national park. Tonight, Emily and Corey will have the entire forest to themselves.
We're in a national forest in New Hampshire, and there are national forests all over the United States. And they allow dispersed camping. So you can stay for up to 14 days and it's free and it's beautiful. Over the past six years, Emily and Corey have learned to live simply with less than $60 a day. They only keep the essentials in their van. How could you cook in less than two meters square feet? I make messes.
I make huge messes, actually. Corey is like... on my case a lot because of how many messes I make.
Like right now there's onion peels, definitely onion, probably meat splatters all over. So it gets a little crazy, but definitely doable. Corey, dinner is ready. Cheers. Tonight, the temperature is at zero degrees. Emily's feet are still wet, but the couple keeps smiling.
If you have the right clothes and sleeping bags, you'll be fine. And two dogs. And two dogs.
Okay, Penny off. Penny, Penny, come on. You're getting my buff. You're going to sleep up front.
Come on. Oh, Steve. Sorry. You can't take this seriously. Their old van is poorly insulated, so the dogs help to keep them warm. Like most mornings, the couple wake up surrounded by greenery.
Emily is the first to rise and heads outside to meditate. I feel like I'm at home and in my element. I feel a little bit like a little kid. Just that freedom that I remember from being like eight and just running in the woods and playing in my environment.
For the last six years, Emily has started all of her days like this. something which would never have been possible in her old life. She explains that her relationship with her body and with her femininity now deviates from the codes imposed by society. Living in a van has definitely kind of like freed the wild woman in me. Like I just have given up caring what other people think about me.
And that started with something as simple as not shaving my legs. I started to get more comfortable with like what my body naturally is like what who I am um and and so yeah I haven't shaved for like a year and I don't really think about it. The yoga poses that Emily practices in these beautiful settings are very popular on the internet but the images that really contribute to her fame are the nude photos she posts confidentially online. often with branded products that generate revenue with each publication, like the famous flask.
It does get more likes. So there is that business side of it, right? So this is our business too. So, and I went to school for marketing, so I understand that, yes, that's going to get more engagement, but I don't see that there's actually anything wrong with that because I am being true to me. Cool but also pragmatic.
Emily has good business sense, so her current strategy is successful. This is the price she has to pay to keep living the life she never wants to give up. Katie is still far from this routine. In her family home in Oregon, the aspiring van lifer is getting ready to hit the road. Alone, she is leaving her parents who are rather uneasy about her new life choice.
So you getting ready to go? Getting ready to go. I kind of worry about you out there in the van, all the time. Having made their fortune in industry, Katie's parents do not understand her dreams, which are so far removed from their own. This was a completely new direction for her. You know, she, just a few years ago, she... I was living in Henderson in a condo and running an office out of college.
And then she moved back to Oregon and bought a little house and basically flipped it, fixed it all up and did the yard and paint and moved, redid the kitchen and did all kinds of things. And then she came up with this idea. I don't think it's normal.
No. I can't imagine not having a shower when I want it or a bathroom. So for me, I think that's strange. I'm super stubborn and so I don't think it's necessarily about escaping.
I think it's more so just trying to find that happy medium of, you know, doing what makes me happy. We made her a little bit too independent. Okay, okay, okay. Okay, that's okay.
Contrary to the organized structure of her old life, Katie has decided to leave for at least a year, or even more if the experience is successful. She has only brought one small suitcase and her dog, Sophie, along in her quest for happiness. Here we go.
Katie does not have a set itinerary. She has gathered up all her savings to help her on this trip. She has just over $25,000. She hopes to earn a little along the way by working as a wedding photographer. Like, I'm going to college for the first time or something.
It's like this new life change. And I think it'll just be... a new experience every single day.
Living alone in a van without any insulation or comfort. This really is a leap into the unknown. You can't see well enough to know if you're in a safe spot. So those are kind of the downsides.
Katie has asked her friend Travis to accompany her on her first night. He's behind her in his van. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It looks like this is a good... good area for it this deserted dirt road in the middle of the forest is situated at least an hour from the nearest town now on katie will spend all her nights in isolated areas like this since she doesn't have her own kitchen yet katie has dinner in travis's van cheers finally on the road so congrats night one here yeah yeah thank you for your help told you my first I don't even think I had insulation. I just put the floor in and went for a bit. And I hung a hammock from like back there to up here. I'm excited to wake up tomorrow and be, you know, like in the middle of nowhere. A camp bed and an old sleeping bag is all she has to protect against the cold.
Katie didn't anticipate this. Her supplies won't quite be warm enough. She'll have to begin her new life the hard way. The sun rises over the valley of Crooked River Ranch.
Katie didn't sleep much during her first night in the van. This morning I got cold, probably like 4 or 5 a.m. I woke up and I just got, like, chilled. She's parked at an altitude of 1,200 meters, and overnight the temperature dropped to minus 5 degrees Celsius. There is no shower here. From now on, freezing water and dry shampoo will have to do.
But this is exactly what Katie was expecting. Like when you wake up and you can just hear the water. It's so peaceful.
I love that so much. It's a different style of life where... I think there's a lot more opportunity to grow just personally, and you're not surrounded by communications and social media, and you're kind of forced to get outside and actually enjoy nature a little bit more. This new lifestyle is seducing more and more Americans, so the market for recreational vans is booming. It's now growing more than 10% per year in the United States. In Fresno, California, one passionate entrepreneur is taking advantage of this.
I'm back. How you doing? Good. Johnny in the back. Alan Feld has made a fortune developing luxury vans with his son, Johnny.
Going well? Great. Busy? A lot of action. Yeah? Yeah. The Feld's business was founded in the 60s and is the oldest of its kind in the United States. Nowadays it makes millions of dollars in turnover.
Clients come from all over the country to buy custom vans here. To inform potential clients of all their design options, the company makes videos which receive thousands of views online. Hi, I'm Jonathan Feld. The sink here has a nozzle that can also be used outside for a little exterior shower. This easily pulls forward. The upper bed easily pulls down when you want it out of the way.
Hi, how's it going? Well, how you guys doing today? They found Daniel Daniel Maria. We've definitely been looking at on a YouTube, of course, Instagram. You know, maybe we might go full time living. Just live in near Marietta, San Diego area.
Right. It would make things convenient, more convenient, you know, or we'll have to sell our house and all that, but right. But just to make it that way, we're more free here. Anything is possible. It's 33 inches, so it'll probably go to there. 24 inches, we could do a whole battery.
It's priced at more than $100,000, but this couple seems thrilled. Leaning toward it. You know, like... The traveling part is the big thing.
Yeah, because we started with a two-bedroom house, and then we moved to a four-bedroom house. You know, it gets like, oh, like, now we got this really big house, but we have this... itch for traveling so why not just you know bring the house with us yeah we want to just sell our house and everything and move to a van each van is custom built clients can even request crazy amenities like in this van with a sound system alone costs six thousand dollars got speakers up in the top surround sound got a uh 20 2 inch tv monitor right there What is the greatest command you have? Oh, we've had one guy do a stripper pole, ice fishing, where you have a hole in the bottom of the van to sit out on the middle of a frozen lake and fish and have the heat going on on the inside, which I don't know if that's a good idea or not. Yeah, right? Yeah. A 10,000-pound vehicle going through the ice. But if it's legal, we'll do it.
If it's illegal, well, we need to talk about it. We won't get our seat for it. That's it. All over the US, van lifers are competing against one another, using their imagination and a little DIY to build the best looking or most practical house on wheels around.
The designs range from caravans made out of solid wood to vans with modern living rooms, removable kitchens, deployable gyms or even mobile cinemas. Today, Alan will check out their latest creation. It's nice. Oh, I like the paint.
A luxury fiberglass van coated with scratch-resistant paint. It costs around $180,000, the price of a small house. Transfer case with twin sticks, so you can go to four high, four low, front high, front low range. It's very extreme for off-road. It's similar to what you'd have in a military spec type of vehicle. but in an RV.
As of late, the production team is busier than ever. They have 100 vans to work on and a full order book for the next several months. How you doing, man? Congratulations, new baby. Thank you, thank you. Good. How's it going? Get him into a sports mobile.
Two boys. We are booked out until September 16th of 2019. We used to do three... Four a week, and now they're doing four, five, six a week.
So it's growing. So do you think Instagram was actually your business boost? Instagram didn't hurt anything. The social media, over the past, I'd say, five years, the vans have gotten popular again, and it's this cool movement, the whole van life thing. When he turned 60, Alan handed the business over to his son. Nowadays, he spends most of his time traveling. His 4x4 van is parked in front of his huge villa and is always ready to go.
He's kept his house so that he can still see his grandchildren when he and his wife return from their travels. Stay here, over. Two-year-old Gwen and four-year-old Olivia rarely see their grandparents. The two young retirees now spend 75% of their time on the road.
That's the biggest thing about moving away and doing a lot of traveling is missing the little girls. So four to five weeks we come back and see them. Johnny had to get used to the idea that his 60-year-old parents wanted to travel whenever they could. It's great.
If anything, I'm a little jealous. Like, I want to go just live in a van, you know? It's, you know, being tied down and having the kids and having to go to work and do all that thing doesn't necessarily give you the freedom to be able to go wherever you want to go. So, yeah, if anything, I'm a little envious. Well, lead by example, right? I want to give him a good example to live by. So, we worked extremely hard for 30, 40 years.
And I mean, sometimes work 90 days straight doing shows with the vans. So all that hard work paid off. So I think they understand. Yeah, losing the babysitters is a bit tough. Every departure is the same. Alan and Liz's granddaughters don't want to let their grandparents go.
Okay, big hugs. Alan, do they realize you're leaving? Yeah, this one does. Down by herself.
Okay. You want to jump? Wuggies, wuggies! Hey girls, what's seeing you? Alan and his wife are planning to explore California for a few weeks. They're going to travel in style in a van worth more than $150,000 with an impressive range of luxury amenities. One of the things we do bring is this right here. This is our flip out galley, but we have a little... A little bar and we have some French wines in there.
It's in a van and it's four-wheel drive and we go into rough areas, but we like our luxury amenities. And I carry a lot of my recovery equipment back here. A little axe back here, flares, tire repair stuff, shackles, toe strap.
You're not a normal van-like. No, no. We go places where most vans don't go. All ready to go.
Driving in extreme conditions is what most excites this van expert. Welcome to Yosemite. Yes, sir.
All right, guys, well, welcome to the mountains. Take care. You too, take care. They're driving through one of the largest national parks in the U.S., Yosemite.
It's the size of Scotland. It's the second world war. We love it. It just feels good.
This is my... It's better than sitting in front of the TV. These winding roads can sometimes be dangerous. An accident has just occurred at a bend in the road. Are you guys okay? These tourists hit a rock with their car.
They're lucky, airbags. Yeah. What is it? It's cheese. We love our cheese. Till in shock, the passenger comes out of the accident with a burn on her forehead and a sprained wrist. Alan is aware that his way of life exposes him to numerous dangers.
In just a few hours, the couple will be far from civilization, so they will have to look after themselves. I have several medical kids, yeah. Put together by doctors with sutures and stitches. Because if we were in Death Valley now, it might be three hours, four hours before help comes. Fitting, because the name of our van is Raphael, the archangel.
But ours is... Alan and Liz set off again. They still have lots to see before nightfall. Yosemite National Park is renowned for its thousands of lakes and rivers.
as well as its cedar forests, which are often full of brown bears. And there, four by four, the couple attempts to scale a dangerous mountain pass. There is no mobile network here and no rescue service available, so Alan really has to concentrate on his driving. It's going to be tough. Hold on, hold on.
Yeah. Have her do this angle like that. Okay, I'll get out, I'll get out. Just hold on.
Hold on, hold on, hold on. With the help of his co-pilot, Alan proceeds with caution. The route is tricky, but these retirees have nothing to fear. They've become experts at navigating the mountains. Marty, we keep in shape.
We work out all the time. I'm going to show these young ones. Older people can do it too. But they're doing it now, like Liz and I. This is so much fun for us, and we love doing this. After a long day of driving, the couple turn into this deserted road.
It is inaccessible to most vehicles. They're going to stop here for the night, in this wild plain surrounded by mountains. There is no one around for at least 100 kilometers.
This is great news for Alan and Liz, who start setting up their own private outdoor restaurant. The view is incredible and the menu is worthy of a Michelin star. With wasabi and soy sauce. We're going to have rice with onion and mushrooms in it and zucchini and onions for vegetables. And to top it all off, nice French wine. That doesn't look convenient or...
We've got a beautiful kitchen in our house. Yes, but it's... You don't see this in my house. And the sunsets that we see here, and then wait for the sunrise tomorrow morning.
And it's all an adventure. We're here for the adventure. And when you go out and you're camping, you're always hungry. Food tastes so much better when you're camping. Alan and Liz have been going on romantic camping trips for more than 40 years. Years ago, they too were any less van lifers.
When we were younger and camped, it was hot dogs, hamburgers, you know, potato chips. Good, too. Now that we're getting older, we want to eat healthier because we want to hang around and do this for a lot longer. Traveling has become an elixir of youth for these two modern nomads. There's our pillows. Yeah, it gives you freedom.
It's kind of liberating. You know, oh, I don't need that, I don't need this, I don't need that. And so we have just what we need. For them, a night in nature is the ultimate luxury. There are magical moments, but there are also rainy days.
Van life becomes a little less fun when you're stuck inside a small space for hours on end. We head back to the East Coast, where Corey and Emily, the traveling internet stars, have decided to sleep under a real roof tonight. Maria, Cory's mother, welcomes them into the comfort of her warm home. Despite their nomadic lifestyle, the couple still tries to stay connected to their family and their friends.
Even though they're grown adults, we always are happy to have them home and visiting. We love to see them and their dogs. We have a good time. And they're good cooks, too. there is something about returning to the region that we grew up in and being with our family that we can't really create anywhere else i know what it is can't coconut milk really yeah okay Corey and Emily sometimes take a break between trips to stay here for a few weeks, making the most of their parents' generosity. At first when they told us about it, we didn't know how long it was going to last for, but we support them completely because they've made a life of it, and they're happy and doing what they want to do, and we still get to see them and participate in their life and meet them halfway sometime.
We'll meet them and have adventures with them. We definitely feel super lucky to have supportive parents. We have to support our children. I have to go back to work. What did you say? No, it's not true.
Say it. She can put that in the film. Don't say anything that's not true. Tomorrow they will hit the road again. But tonight, they will sleep under a warm and dry roof. Nowadays more and more couples with children are embracing the van life movement in the United States.
For them, traveling as a family is not a problem. This is exactly what the Fights have done in the north of Florida. In this traveling family we have Lamar, the father, Ashley, the mother, Beirut, the dog, and Everly, their four-year-old daughter.
They have built a small studio on wheels with a large bed for the parents and a separate bunk for their daughter, who is learning to count while they travel. Decided to do van life after we did a 48 state road trip. So we did a 48 state road trip in our little car and decided that it'd be a lot better if you had a van.
Two years ago, they sold their house. Then, they took part in a reality TV show in order to buy themselves this van. The concept? Two couples like them are filmed at each stage of the construction process of their new home. I'm Lamar Fyte. And I'm Ashley Fyte.
We're from Oklahoma City. And we're following the latest trends in tiny house living and decided to build a van. All right, put the sides. I've been a little nervous about the timeline. Right, perfect.
Boom. You have a lot to finish in a really short amount of time. In their van, everything is precisely calculated down to the millimeter. Every morning after helping their daughter to get dressed, they have to tidy their living space. Spot. I designed it that way.
So we like for the most part I knew where everything was gonna go To ensure that all of their possessions fit in the van the fights have been very creative There are cupboards everywhere even under the floorboards So all three of us share this box right here her two little toy boxes We had a rule we got into the van that was like if it doesn't fit in these boxes Then she doesn't get to keep it When we go to the store, actually, sometimes she'll just find small toys and she'll be like, Mom, this can fit in the van and this can fit in the van. The couple's days are also very well organized. They have found a job that suits their lifestyle. A beverage brand employs them to drive another van around and set up promotion stands around the country. This is how they finance their own travels.
Just get up there and then we'll take it off, okay? You're a babysitter in Hollywood. So you have to drive you to her. Okay? At each stage of the trip, the parents have to find a new babysitter for their daughter, Eberly. Challenge whatever.
You don't have a home where the babysitter can come to every single day, so we have to bring her to the babysitter, but also our job has us in different locations two or three times a day. Ashley uses an app to find babysitters in the region, using reviews left by other parents to choose the right person. We're here, kiddo. Little Everly is used to having a new babysitter every week. Her parents make sure that she will feel right at home.
You brought your bottle? Yes, ma'am. Are we going to go to the beach? No. And you still have her sunscreen, right? Yes, ma'am. Okay, perfect. All right, love you. Bye.
Oh, give dad a hug. All right, have fun. Have fun. All right, thank you so much.
See you later. Have fun. Today was okay.
Yeah. She's usually really good about just being like, okay, mom, bye, leave, go. If Everly had been a more temperamental child, it would have been impossible to maintain this lifestyle. Throughout the year, the couple makes their living by setting up branded promotion stands across the country. Today, they have to set up a display stand in a fairly uninviting location.
A service station at the edge of the highway. They set up several stands per day. This one is for a beer company that has requested their help. What? It hurts my hand. One, two, three.
Stay, stay. I twisted my wrist. So I wear this to help so I don't twist it because it's so heavy. A few hours later, the couple will disassemble the stand and reassemble it in a supermarket.
Between them, they earn just under $2,000 a month. But this is the price these two graduates must pay to keep their freedom. This isn't what I went to school for to do or anything, but it's a great way to get to travel and be on the road and still get to work at the same time. After work, The fights pick up their daughter. They've been traveling across the country for months. Now they will finally be able to enjoy Florida's beautiful beaches.
All right, Everly, Bowie, we got to see if the water is warmer if it's cold or if it's just right. We're here! Woo-hoo-hoo! Oh, I think that's awesome! Great being here! Are you gonna call this home for the next one? Yeah! Normally, the family takes advantage of the free parking available in national parks, but Miami is one of the most expensive cities in America. So Ashley is not sure where they will be able to find parking for the night.
Did some research before coming. We like to be spontaneous, but we also like to kind of try to plan ahead. And the biggest problem that we've found is that Miami is one of the toughest cities in America to van life in. There's a lot of rules and regulations about where you stay. And, you know, it's the real estate, you know, there's trying to get money.
Tonight, there will be no breathtaking views of the beach or sunsets to post about online. This is the less glamorous side of their nomadic lifestyle. Unable to find any free parking spots, the family ends up parking at a shopping mall. But even here, their van is not welcome. Yeah, so the first big deterrent is there normally isn't no RV parking signs. And there is here for the first time.
And there's a planet. I mean, at our gym. That's right there. You see right here because there's a car. He wants to talk to you.
It's black here. Got black. Okay. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. The family is exhausted.
Instead of spending the night searching for parking, they decide to spend around $100 to stay in a motel. They have chosen their line of work to avoid being tied down and enjoy more of what life has to offer. Tomorrow, they plan to start exploring the most beautiful beaches in Florida. Back at the other end of the country, in the middle of the Moab Desert, Colorado.
We meet again with Katie, the lone van lifer and her dog Sophie. Since her departure two months ago, she has already traveled 6,000 kilometers in her van. Definitely more comfortable now than I was when I first started. The first time when I left, I didn't even have the van halfway done yet. And so I had no idea where to put anything. I had no idea what I was doing.
And now I'm still learning, but it's gotten a lot easier. Katie is driving through Arches National Park, 150 kilometers surrounded by these immense natural pink sandstone rocks. It's beautiful, all of this.
Oh my gosh, it makes you feel so small. And you see things like rocks like that, and knowing the van is nothing. I mean, inside, it doesn't even compare.
As planned, Katie is fixing her van up along the way. Right now, she's putting the finishing touches on the ceiling. The van has come a long way. It's barely recognizable.
I had people stop me and be like, wow, this is really good. And a lot of people thought that I would have a partner in the van. And I think being solo has been a little bit more of a conversation piece, I guess, for everyone. Katie is no longer using a camp bed. She has upgraded to a luxury king-size mattress.
As usual, Katie has set up camp in the middle of nowhere. She's not worried about any scary encounters. I don't have that worry. I know my parents probably do and some other people just because, you know, I'm their daughter. But I haven't really had any worries yet, luckily.
But maybe I'm naive, but it could just be that I haven't experienced it yet. So I don't feel afraid. There is still no heating in her van, not even a camping stove. With no heat available, a cold meal will have to suffice. It is a lonely life, but this is exactly what Katie was looking for when she left everything behind. When I decided to do it, I was single, you know, and so it just...
was easy. I didn't have anything holding me back in that way. Do you think you might find love in the road? I have no idea. I'm not looking for it, so. In the morning, Katie has to get back on the road to find a place to wash herself. She has an open gym membership that gives her access to a bathroom.
She quickly washes herself in the changing room toilets. No one notices her. Is it too fabulous? I don't think I feel like that. I think it's just part of a different style of life.
And it's kind of nice to me because every time that you're in the gym, it's like, I'm here to work out and to shower, you know, instead of just coming in and acting like you haven't showered in a week. I probably wash my hair like twice a week and then shower probably three times a week. And I think when you're in the city and you're showering every single day, you don't really get a chance to breathe either.
Katie looks a lot less like the respectable young lady who left her parents home two months ago. Her friends are the first ones to be surprised by her new look. At Denver airport, she picks up Lindsay, one of her closest friends. Good dog! This is sick, so you just like sleep in this and cook and live.
Wait, this is like a life, like why am I not doing this? Wait, can I join you for like the rest of your tour? Yes, seriously, please do. This is so sick. Oh my gosh, I can't believe that I'm here.
I know! Ah, finally. I know, B. Unlike her, Lindsay still lives in a house. But she tries to understand Katie's new way of life. What's the hardest thing about living in a van? Well, right now my stovetop doesn't work, and that's genuinely been the hardest part.
My stovetop. Yeah. You can't call. Yeah. So I've been eating, like, avocados and bananas and, like, all the things in my brain. Do you find that freeing, or do you find that, like, kind of stressful in a way? So you're, like, breaking through boundaries and, like, trying to figure out a different lifestyle.
It's not. stressful. Yeah, I think it's just learning that it doesn't have to be the same every day. I think everybody has a little bit of what it takes. It's just if they want to, if they want it bad enough.
Because if you want it bad enough, then you'll look past all the little stuff like not being able to make coffee in the morning, you know, like that would drive me freaking nuts. After only two months on the road, Katie is already unsure if she will ever want to settle down again. Back in Florida, the fights are on their way to explore the Keys, a beautiful chain of islands near Miami. It is a well-earned break for them, and even though their budget is small, they don't stop smiling. Like, oh, I'm poor and I'm showering in a parking lot.
But before you could be like, oh, yeah, we're going to sneak into this fairground and take a shower and it's going to be really fun. And so we just tried making everything in our mind, making it like this could be really fun. You know what's crazy? Look at it, Ed. It's like turquoise. Ah! We're seeing private swimmers.
This is the pool. For these few days of vacation, they have granted themselves a little luxury. They are staying at this campsite with a spectacular view of the bay. Water forever! Ever since the family sold their house a few years ago, they have to make all their meals on a small camping stove.
But they have adapted well to their nomadic lifestyle, believing it to be more in tune with the modern world. I think our generation is saying, no, I can work on the road, and I can live on the road, and I can go see all the things that I want to see before retirement. Because we're not given that time.
We don't know that we're going to live. to see retirement or to be healthy whenever we get there or whatever it is that could get in the way might as well do it now and for schooling the parents use new technology four-year-old everly has never set foot in a real classroom she learns everything through apps very nice good job yeah if you can finish all preschool level one i'll get you pie feline pie I feel like there's a lot that you gain whenever you are more intentional with your parenting and with your life, whereas you kind of lose that when you get into a lot of routine, like a nine to five job, and you don't have time with your kids. And I mean, I have friends that do that really well.
But for us, like this life is more, we're wanting. This afternoon, the family will discover the clear waters of the Keys. Three days of vacation after four days of work. This is what they do all year round. The fights begin their escape, heading towards Florida Bay.
Lamar is going to go diving for the first time in his life. He has negotiated a fair price with a local fisherman. I'm excited slash scared a little bit. But more excited than scared! After days of assembling and disassembling promotion stands in supermarkets, this is a real change of pace. That was so much fun.
Wasn't it? Was it better than anything? Oh my gosh, it's amazing. We need to push in the sea. I think I was meant to live under the sea. In a year or two, the family is planning to settle down and find a school for their daughter. Then, the van will only be used for vacations. If we get a place, you know, we will get a place in the future, but even when that happens...
I mean, we'll always have a van and that'll always be like home still. Like we can go out on the road for however long a period of time and, and, uh, and, you know, we have home with us, except it's just a different, you know, a different location watching the sunset. Since we filmed them, Corey and Emily have traveled more than 3000 kilometers and crossed 11 states from North to South America. They still continue their yoga practices en route, and they have more and more followers.
In the Sierra Nevada desert in California, Allen and Liz, the two adventurous retirees, finally reach their destination, the famous Eureka Dunes, which can be as high as 200 meters. Yeah, we appreciate it so much more. with all the hard work that we did and we just kind of look at each other and laugh now like as long as we can do it 20 more years 30 more years the van life phenomenon is only just beginning today 11 million homeowners in america already own vans and are ready to hit the road
2025-02-20 04:31
