I've been working on this video for
a few weeks but I didn't want to post this without mentioning Gabby Petito, a 22
year old woman who is missing. She had been traveling in a van with her fiance who has
not cooperated with the investigation and is now a person of interest. Just wanted
to give my support to Gabby's loved ones; this is a heart-wrenching situation
and I hope she is found soon. Hello my dudes, my name is Tiffany, welcome back
to my series, Internet Analysis, where I like to research and discuss things relevant to social
issues and media. Today we are covering Van Life! Van life has become increasingly popular in recent
years, especially on social media. This lifestyle is often depicted as very aesthetic. Van-lifers
are wild and free, disconnected from the grind; their lives appear relaxing and inspiring. Many of
the most followed van life influencers look pretty similar; most commonly, you'll see young,
straight-passing white couples, in western countries such as the US, Canada or Australia.
But despite the popular media depictions, this lifestyle is popular with people of any
race or nationality, across the spectrums of age, gender or sexuality. Van-lifers do tend to share
some common mindsets, philosophies, and values. Tired of working too much to pay for housing they
can barely afford, they decide to escape the rat race in a converted van. They seek a slower,
less stressful lifestyle. Though of course van life has its expenses, most find that it costs
much less than their traditional lifestyle did. With lower cost of living, many can afford to work
less; they can freelance, work remotely, or just pick up odd jobs on the road. Many van-lifers also
have wanderlust, they crave travel, exploration and adventure. Participants know that van life
will have its ups and downs, but they embrace the challenges as opportunities for personal growth.
Van life is often considered a rejection of the modern lifestyle. Reject over-consumption, seek a
more minimalist life with less things: just a van, basic necessities, and a few small comforts. Some
may seek to live more sustainably, waste less, live off the land, or at least partially off-grid.
Ultimately, they hope to connect with nature and find a like-minded community, bonding with
strangers over similar values and experiences. I find there's a lot of crossover
with the appeal of tiny houses, RVs, houseboats, and any other off-grid or
self-sustaining lifestyles. But again, this video will focus mainly on van life, specifically.
In this video, I want to make distinctions between how van life is represented on social media,
versus how regular people who are not rich influencers experience it. While they may share
some similar experiences, undoubtedly the popular van life influencers enjoy many privileges and
benefits from earning a living by documenting their lives. Being an influencer can offer
much more flexibility and opportunities than van-lifers, who have a lot more limitations or
much stricter budgets. This video will also cover the major differences between choosing to live
in a vehicle and living in a vehicle as a last resort. #VanLifers are often seen as aspirational
and cool, while others are disparaged for sleeping in their cars. There's a lot of classism
to discuss, and we will get into that.. But first let's give a shout out to today's
sponsor, Blueland! Blueland sells a variety of cleaning products that can help you cut down on
single-use plastic. Instead of buying a bunch of plastic soap dispensers over and over, I can wash
my hands for weeks with one little tablet. These start at just two dollars per tablet, or could
go as low as $1.50 for each if you buy in bulk, and they are super easy to use; allow me
to demonstrate: fill the bottle with warm to hot water, drop in one tablet, let
it dissolve, put the nozzle back on, and you can use within minutes, no shaking
or stirring needed! I really love the foam, it cleans without leaving any residue, and it
just feels very light and fresh. My kit is the hand soap duo, it comes with two glass bottles
and six tablets, with three different scents. If you already have bottles or soap pumps that
would work, you can just buy the tablets, but I've got to say, these glass bottles are beautiful,
and you'll save a bit if you do buy a kit! Blueland has plenty of other cleaning products as
well, to help you cut down on single-use plastic. If you want to try Blueland, you can click
my link in the description to get 20% off your first order; now shipping to the
US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand! ...And getting right back into van life! First,
I want to highlight that van dwelling is not new; many different cultures and peoples have
historically had very mobile or nomadic lifestyles, including but not limited to the
Romani people. Romani is an ethnic group that originally migrated from Northwest India over a
thousand years ago. The Romani diaspora extends across Europe and the rest of the world, including
the United States. For those of us less familiar, you may know them as the G-word, which I
am not going to say, because it's a slur. It's long been used as a pejorative. but you
may recognize the image of groups of families traveling together in caravans. It's hard to
generalize or describe the Romani as a whole ethnic group, because much of their written
history has been lost, and Romani includes many distinct subgroups and clans, in different
locations with different customs. Today, the Roma are Europe's largest ethnic minority, with up to
12 million living across the continent, most of them in central and eastern Europe. The Romani
have long faced discrimination and persecution, which has forced many to continue moving, as
they've been threatened or deported. "Wandering became a way of life." They'd work as performers,
musicians, skilled laborers, tradespeople, pretty much use any skills or talents however they
could to find work. "With improved communication networks, the Roma continued to do seasonal work
that required movement, replacing traditional caravans with trailers and campers. Some Roma
now value the freedom of an itinerant lifestyle and consider it part of their culture. Contrary
to stereotype, however, wandering is no longer the default for the Roma." I'd love to learn
more about the history of the Romani people, and I'll continue to research after this video.
But I just wanted to add this little section to emphasize that again, van life or living a nomadic
lifestyle is not new, and also that many traveling groups such as these have often faced hardships,
and again, discrimination, persecution... Let's continue with a classic. What's cute
and trendy if you're rich, but stigmatized if you're poor? For the sake of this video, I'll
mention living in cars or vans, RVs, mobile homes, or tiny houses. I definitely understand the
appeal of van life or the tiny house movement. Actually, a few years ago, I was completely
convinced that I would buy a tiny house, and lately, the idea of taking a nice long road
trip in a van sounds pretty nice; but no, I don't think I'd be interested in doing it long term.
The reality is, there's a huge difference between choosing to do van life: having privileges and the
financial freedom to do so comfortably and safely, living in a nice converted van or
bus with all the bells and whistles, as opposed to those who live in a vehicle
because they have no other options. It's not about travel or adventure, it's about survival.
I found this great piece by Katie Jeddeloh... "While this kind of alternative lifestyle appears
exciting and cool, romanticizing life in a van is rooted in classism. The people going on these
trips are not doing it out of necessity, rather they come from a place of financial privilege,
and are rejecting traditional social protocol out of choice. In many ways, this practice
invalidates the experiences of real people who are homeless or living out of vans, who do not have a
say in their situation. These articles idealize a living situation that, in reality, is heavily
stigmatized and quite difficult for those who, because of need, are forced to live in their
cars. Furthermore, glamorizing van life reveals the hypocrisy of the ways in which we view
homelessness in the United States. There's a significant difference between a list article
praising people living sexy, free lives in vans, and the reality of homelessness, perpetuated
by the ever-rising prices of urban living. Glamorizing road life through Instagram posts
and Buzzfeed articles masks the real and present problem of homelessness, and allows readers
to ignore the difficulties of the homeless, or even worse, to glorify and envy them,
from a place of clear financial privilege." And I thought Katie's points were very
interesting. I think it's similar to the idea of someone living in a tiny closet-like
space because that's all they can afford, versus more well-off people, who choose to
live in a very small space for the efficiency, or for the minimalist aesthetic. People have the
right to spend their money as they'd like, and I would rather see people who have the privilege of
options live in smaller spaces, try to live more mindfully, consume less, rather than living in
the biggest space with the most stuff. But still, it's like, you know, this nice, tiny house
has plenty of light, and it's well-ventilated, it's clean and cozy, while this tiny place
could have toxic mold and bug infestations. If it happens to be an illegal basement apartment,
it could be flooded, like what just tragically happened in parts of New York. So yeah, for
well-off people, it's a trend of living small, for others, it's called poverty.
Now, let's get into the realities of van life. A lot of van life content creators
do discuss these elements, 'what they don't tell you about van life' sort of videos,
some creators are more transparent, honest, and realistic than others; but spoiler, van life
is not always fun! Sometimes, you may feel unsafe, or isolated... but also, extreme heat or cold can
make it miserable or even dangerous. And honestly, van life is not equally safe or accessible
for everyone. Especially when traveling alone, or through specific locations, solo women or
femmes, trans or gender non-conforming folks, LGBT couples, people of color, some people could
be more vulnerable or at risk of being threatened, followed, or just be more likely to be ticketed
or have tense encounters with the police. Unfortunately, that is something to consider, and
I'm sure that people of marginalized identities are careful to factor that in whenever
they're deciding where and how to travel. So, let's continue... When I first started
researching for this video, which was actually many months ago, before I gave up on it and
picked it up again, many people told me to watch Nomadland, and I did. It's a drama about "a woman
in her 60s who, after losing everything in the great recession, embarks on a journey through the
American west, living as a van-dwelling modern day nomad." That description might sound kind of
romantic, kind of cool, but this film is not representative of the Instagram type of van
life; it's based on a non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder, an "investigation of transient
American seniors who follow seasonal employment while living out of their vans." There's a sizable
population of older Americans in the mobile living community. The film featured many non-actors who
genuinely lived the van life, playing themselves. The film's protagonist, Fern, is a widow; she
loses her job and decides to sell everything, move into a van, and look for seasonal work. While
she does make some friends and go to some van life meetups, she works blue collar, physically taxing
jobs, and keeping up with the van's maintenance and life expenses is difficult. Since the film
is based on the true stories of real, middle-aged nomadic travelers, it represents a side of this
lifestyle that we don't see much on social media. It's not glamorous, but people make it work. Maybe
because they love the freedom, maybe because they don't have anything to go back to, maybe it's a
bit of both. Anyway, it's a great film, highly, highly recommend, if you haven't seen it already!
Let's continue with the cost of van life. A lot of people wonder, how much does van life cost?
Well, it depends. I read a lot of blog posts from van-lifers about the finances of it all; plenty of
van dwellers just buy a relatively cheap vehicle and fix it up themselves, like this: "We
bought our 1996 Dodge Ram van for $3,700 on Craigslist, and spent another $5,000 converting
it, with a queen sized bed, fridge, solar power, and general repairs." Of course, on the other
end of the spectrum, van life can be extremely expensive and extravagant. Sprinters are usually
kind of the top of the line, and they go for like, forty or fifty thousand dollars; and some van
conversions can cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. "You can choose to keep things simple
and do van life on a budget, or you can shell out more cash for conveniences, like paid campgrounds
with facilities, dining out, paid tours, and activities, gym memberships, and more. By cooking
your own meals, staying at free dispersed sites, and going slow, you can do van life for a minimal
cost." Again, it's hard to say like, how much an average van life person or couple spends, but
monthly expenses can be anywhere from about eight hundred dollars to thousands, depending
on your lifestyle. The vehicle expenses tend to be the highest, fuel, car registration, auto
insurance, plus saving for regular maintenance and any potential emergencies. What if your car breaks
down? You lose your vehicle and your shelter, so you need a backup plan and some funds for a hotel
for when your car is in the shop, and that could take anywhere from a day, or even weeks, depending
on the issue. Even with all of its expenses, van life can still cost much less than regular
life in permanent housing, for many people. Let's talk about housing a little bit. According
to the apartment list national rent report, in New York City, the citywide median rent price
is now $2,052. Obviously, if you're in trendier, more popular neighborhoods of Brooklyn or
Manhattan, that could be even higher. The median rent in Los Angeles is $1,874. Rents are rising
everywhere, it's not just the big cities, everyone is experiencing this crunch. Even places that have
historically been known to be pretty affordable, are now becoming increasingly less affordable.
So, if you figure a couple could live in a van together and split like, a thousand dollars worth
of monthly expenses, that's a lot less than you'd pay just for rent in a lot of US cities. I
also think it's important to mention that certain people are in a much better position to
be able to handle van life than others. For many, their student loan payments alone, or medical
bills or health insurance premiums, would be too high for them to be able to switch to van life,
and working less. For others with dependents, such as children or others to care for, they can't
just get rid of their stuff and live in a van, unless you want it to be very crowded!
I found this great piece by Kit Carmona on the After Van Life: "At least for those of us
privileged enough to be unburdened by crippling student debt, or dependents to support, there
had never been a cage, I had never been trapped. Leaving everything behind had always been
as easy as saving up a grand or three over my designated safety net, and deciding!"
I found it very interesting that they mention how they constantly miss van life now that they're
done with it, and it's always so tempting to just give everything up and get back on the road,
because for them, in their current position, or at least their position when they wrote
this, it would just be a matter of saving up some extra money and going! But of course,
you know it's not that easy for everyone. Okay, speaking of money, how do people earn money
to live this van life? Some people decide to save up, so they can live for months, or even up to
a year without working, but that seems to be pretty rare. So, how do people afford to do
this? What kind of jobs do you all have? Is everyone a blogger or an influencer? Yes, many of
the most well-known van-lifers are indeed making their living as influencers, which, I've got to
say, is a pretty ideal job for that lifestyle, aside from the internet connection
issues. Gotta get your wi-fi somewhere! But it's funny, similar to those other adventurous
lifestyle brands on social media, blue-ass water, "oh, just quit your job and like, go travel the
world!" It's pretty easy to say that when you're already making good money as an influencer. For
other people, it's not that simple. For many, though, doing online work in one capacity
or another is absolutely essential to freedom. "Staying digitally connected,
in fact, is what allowed him to live off the grid." Pre-pandemic, it was much
less common for people to work from home, but now, as remote work is becoming more common,
it might allow more people to consider van life than before. They have a little bit of flexibility
in their work; instead of going to an office, they can work from van, or more likely a coffee
shop with free wi-fi; and then others freelance, perhaps are self-employed, or might just work
temporary or seasonal jobs as they travel. Homelessness and the housing crisis. "Nomadland is
a modern Grapes of Wrath, depicting the dystopian economic dispossession of an aging population
for whom retirement is an out-of-reach dream." We have so few social safety nets. So many
seniors in the US struggle to pay for housing, medications, and other essentials. We've been
told that if we work hard our whole lives, then we'll be able to retire comfortably; you're going
to be on the golf course in Florida! But that is absolutely untrue for many Americans. According to
this article, 17% of 45 to 59 year-olds have zero retirement savings. And I'm sure people would love
to put money aside if they could, but the problem is, if you can't afford today's bills, there's
no leftover money to save anyway. With low wages, rising rent costs, student loan debt, no
universal health care, many Americans are one emergency away from being bankrupt or homeless.
According to estimates from 2020, nearly 600,000 people in the US are currently experiencing
homelessness, and those stats were pre-pandemic, which has obviously worsened conditions, so
that number is higher now. People of color are significantly overrepresented among people
experiencing homelessness. A high number of unhoused people are disabled, and many also have a
mental illness. Again, it's grim. So, in response to the horrible lack of social safety nets and the
outrageously expensive housing market, people are opting out. Choosing van life can make some people
feel much more in control of their circumstances, but is that a false sense of agency?
Here's another quote from Katie Jeddeloh's article: "Glorifying van life allows us to ignore
the gentrification of the housing market and the failures of our capitalist system to provide
reasonably priced living situations for all. These types of articles indicate that our
society has a skewed view of housing and shelter. We are now complacent enough to celebrate people
who choose not to live in houses or apartments." For this video, I watched a few indie van life
documentaries, and in both of the films, some participants made distinctions between living in a
van and being homeless, though, legally not living in a permanent structure and lacking a permanent
address is considered homeless... but many of these people do not see themselves as such.
"There's this, a continuum of people who live in a vehicle. I think the key difference is,
a homeless person does not want to live in his vehicle. He isn't escaping the rat race, he
doesn't hate the rat race, he hates living in his car or his van, and he wants to get out of it as
soon as he possibly can. That's a homeless person. I love living in a van or a vehicle. I love
it. I don't ever wanna live any other way. So I don't think of myself as homeless.
A person who hates it is homeless." I definitely don't agree with
his attitude about homelessness, but it is very interesting to
me that so many van-lifers draw this distinction. "No I'm not homeless, I'm
just houseless. Not the same thing right? No." I'm not homeless, this didn't happen to me,
I chose it. I'm just 'voluntarily houseless', living mobile? Perhaps this is another indication
of classism or anti-homeless sentiments. Maybe people want to create distance between themselves
and the undesirable state of being unhoused. And to be fair, I'm sure that a lot of van-lifers
do have more solidarity with the unhoused population. But again, I did see a few people
who had interesting takes, to say the least. Structural bullshit and the limitations on
alternative lifestyles... Sleeping in a car is illegal in many parts of the US. There are
many limitations on where and when it is allowed, and with the increased popularity and visibility
of van life, many cities are cracking down, and the attention and regulations are particularly
harmful to people who rely on stealth camping or sleeping in their vehicles for survival. "The
boom had made it more difficult to find a place to stay for the night; parking lots in Taos
that had previously been reliable, like their normal spot the library, now have signs posted
prohibiting overnight parking." People attempting to sleep in their vehicles can be rudely awakened
by pounding fists on their windows. They can be ticketed or even towed, and these unexpected costs
can be so unaffordable to the many people living in their vehicles, that they can't afford to pay,
and they might risk having their car impounded. From this article: "Long was 56, working part-time
as a janitor and living in his old pickup truck, when police had it towed, because it was parked
in an unused city-owned gravel lot for more than three days. He spent the next three weeks
living outdoors without his tools, sleeping bag, and nearly all of his other possessions, which
were in the vehicle. He had been trying to save for an apartment, but couldn't work without
his tools." Strict parking restrictions are one part of criminalizing homelessness. There
are many policies that don't outright ban or police unhoused people, but they do aim to prevent
unhoused folks from being visible in public; so yes, in effect, they just want them to disappear.
"The notion that homelessness is caused by individual shortcomings also prompts governments
to create unproductive and often costly band-aid interventions. For example, some cities have
past laws banning sleeping in public places and have used hostile architecture to prevent people
from lying down. Many cities also offer one-way bus tickets, in the hope that people experiencing
homelessness will leave, while others spend time and money clearing encampments, without offering
assistance, services, or alternative places for people to stay." Those who resist, or are unable
to integrate into normative society, including working a stable job and living in permanent
housing, have often been harassed or brutalized. Bringing it back to the example of the Romani
people, "Nomadism as a way of life for GTR peoples is in sharp decline across Europe, as a
result of harsh policies enacted over centuries, which have limited stopping places and
criminalized nomadic lifestyles. At some points in history, this was on pain of death, enforced
through shooting horses used to draw wagons, or imprisoning and deporting migrant or nomadic
Romani populations, even when born in the country in which they traveled." When governments
restrict or ban certain behaviors or lifestyles, or criminalize homelessness, but don't offer
solutions, what do you expect people to do? And the thing is, if all you care about
is what's the most financially efficient, it costs less to house people than it costs
to police the unhoused; and obviously, it's the more humane compassionate thing to do.
especially in a country as wealthy as the US, we can absolutely afford to end homelessness.
House the unhoused, and address the root cause, prevent others from becoming homeless by building
and supporting nationwide affordable housing! I always think back to this video by the Gravel
Institute about the public housing in Vienna. I am so jealous, it looks so beautiful! It's
high quality, it's affordable housing for all, and it's not stigmatized, unlike the public
housing in the US, which tends to only be for the poorest people. Public housing could
be the standard for everyone, except the very-very-very richest people. Imagine that!
Finally, we get into final thoughts. I know, this video ended up mostly being
about homelessness, and the housing crisis, and the economics of van life, but let's get
back into the- the social media depictions for a moment. Maybe you like the idea of van
life but don't like how van life influencers depict it. When we're looking at the branding or
the aesthetics, I can see how some people might think it's a bit pretentious? You know, the
sunsets, the coffee on the roof of your bus, looking out at beautiful views. You know, only
showing the positive, pretty parts of van life and not showing the rougher, more realistic sides.
Living that Chris McCandless, into the wild life! except he tragically died and would have
been vehemently opposed to the glamorization of this... So sometimes yes, the branding, the
aesthetics, can be a little bit much. but again, that's influencing! that's instagram
especially, a very visual medium. If pretty pictures and sunsets and coffee
and dogs sell, you gotta make your coin. And last question, is van life really
a rejection of capitalism, materialism, and modern living? There was a clip from
one of these documentaries that I watched, roll the clip! "They don't know that van life is
a thing, you choose to do it... A lot of people actually use houselessness as a form of resistance
against capitalism, against a form of government or capitalism that they disagree with. So it's
kind of the opposite of being homeless, right? It's filled with agency. Like they're choosing to
do this because of something that's driving them." I thought that was a great prompt! it's definitely
thought provoking. And that leads me to this: "A lot of our culture in society is focused on
distracting you from whatever you might want to think about. They don't want you to think, and
keeping you worried is one of the ways to do that, to me. I think that the more someone is
worried about something that could go wrong, the less they'll think about what is going
wrong. I've felt that way for quite a while..." But I raise you this: though most van-lifers are
escaping the rat race, as they say, they're opting out of parts of the system. Obviously, they can't
remove themselves from society entirely. but they too are not necessarily actively resisting. I
worry that, because the world is so overwhelming, many of us often feel compelled to just opt-out,
leave. It seems much easier to go off-grid, leave the world behind, than to stay tuned-in, to play
your part in fixing it. It seems like the world is beyond repair, and we just want to go live our
cottage core dreams in our van. Is that so bad? I definitely like the idea of people who
have the privilege and ability to do so living smaller, more mindfully, consuming less.
I like the idea of spending more time in nature, because I do think that is good for us. Rejecting
hyper consumerism and hustle culture is also good, and if one chooses to either temporarily or more
long-term live in a vehicle, do that! I think van life can be pretty cool, but it's a long
way away from being a truly radical movement, and many people, I'm sure, in van life, aren't
interested in being part of a radical movement, they're just trying to vibe! But I would love
to see it move in that direction, if possible. It can't be about trends or aesthetics, it would
require organizing, but it just makes me wonder, what happens when we remove ourselves from
our communities? If van life brings you more spare time and more spare money even,
can we dedicate some of that to mutual aid? Can we pool our time and our resources to advocate
for better wages, unionizing, health care, and secure housing for all? And I want to give
another shout out to groups like diversifyvanlife; their mission includes creating an inclusive,
BIPOC-led community in outdoor spaces, where many are typically under-represented; to learn about
Indigenous peoples and the stolen land we live on; to minimize our environmental impact, and more. If
you know of any other groups like that, please let me know, I would love to check them out. I spent
way too long writing this! I've had such severe writer's block and lack of motivation. I
overwhelmed myself with this script for some reason. It doesn't make sense, I'm sure! And this
definitely ended up going in a slightly different direction than I had originally envisioned, but
I hope that you enjoyed it! And any chance I get to talk about issues like classism and
the housing crisis, I'm happy to do so! All right, let's do our freaking small
channel shout-outs! Actually, this week, I will do just one small channel shout-out; I do
have many other wonderful creators on my list, but it actually takes me a good amount of time to
watch plenty of videos from each person before I give them the shout-out, so that I can describe
their stuff accurately and stuff, so... I'm not trying to be lazy, I'm trying to get this video to
you, sooner. So, today's small channel shout-out is: Bryony Claire! She currently has less than a
thousand subscribers and her content is incredibly high quality, so I highly recommend it, I've
really been enjoying her videos. Her channel is a split between some cruelty-free and vegan
makeup videos, and then some very interesting video essays, typically covering environmental and
ethical issues. Right up our alley, baby! I really enjoyed her latest video at this point, which is:
We Need to Talk About Why You Hate Influencers, and she made an interesting point about us
typically hating influencers, hating sponsorships and brand deals. Yet, we're fine with undisclosed
product placement in movies all over the place. There's a lot of great other information in the
video, so I highly recommend that. I also liked her video on Judy Garland, she has a series about
kind of tragic figures in culture, so that video kind of goes through Judy Garland's life, and the
abuse and exploitation of the Hollywood industry and the people in her family. Seriously though,
Bryony is so consistent, especially for being such a small channel, you will not be disappointed,
you will get plenty of content from her, and we love a vegan leftist channel, what can I say?!
And finally, I want to give a shout-out to all of my patrons! If you'd like to support me on
Patreon, you can go to Patreon.com/tiffanyferg I make exclusive video content every month,
we do live streams now, which all patrons are invited to join, and it's just a really fun time
to get to know you guys. An extra special thanks to my top patrons: Jeff? Geoff? Still can't say
this because it's not a word... Kieran Janey, Jaden, Marty Schmeichel, Abby Hayden and
Rebecca Devillier. Thank you so much! Thank you for watching this whole video, and one
last big thank you to today's sponsor, Blueland! Click the link in the description to get 20% off
your first order! How many thank-you's can I say? A million! Stay tuned for more future
Analysis... what? I gotta go. Okay, thanks, bye!
