I Was Obsessed With Van Life, Until I Wasn't

Life's biggest dreams can start from something as simple as a housing crisis. One day you're dealing with an impossible rent increase, and the next thing you know, you're deep into YouTube videos about people living their best lives in converted vans.

The whole van life thing wasn't just about wanting to travel. It was about finding a way out of this crazy housing market where landlords can double your rent overnight and banks want you to sell your dignity for a mortgage.

I remember sitting in my new apartment after being forced to move, scrolling through endless van life content. The lifestyle looked freeing. The community seemed welcoming. And most importantly, it felt like taking control back from a system that seemed designed to keep us paying for everything endlessly.

This isn't going to be one of those stories about how van life is either perfect or terrible. It's just my story about how I fell in love with a dream, and how that dream changed into something else entirely.

When I moved to my new place, I couldn't shake this feeling that it could happen again. Rent prices were climbing everywhere. That's when I started watching some van life videos on YouTube.

At first, I was just curious. Then I started doing the math.

Car payment and converting costs? Sure.

Insurance? Manageable.

Gym membership for showers? Cheap.

Fuel costs? Less than rent.

Food? Same as always.

Even with emergency expenses thrown in, the numbers looked better than my monthly rent.

The more I calculated, the more it made sense. I could work remotely, live minimally, and actually save money. For someone making close to minimum wage, this felt like finding a cheat code for life.

I could go anywhere. Work from anywhere. Be anywhere.

Freedom started looking less like a house with a white picket fence and more like a home on wheels.

You know how YouTube's algorithm works. Watch one van life video, and suddenly your whole feed is people cooking breakfast in national parks and showing off their solar shower setups.

Trent showed people how to game online with satellite internet from the middle of nowhere. Nikki Delventhal travelled to places and experienced culture that I have never even heard of. Some went to extreme locations I probably wouldn't brave even if I had the perfect setup.

Then came Pinterest.

My collections grew faster than my savings account. Layout ideas. Storage solutions. Bed designs that turn into workspaces. Solar panel setups. Insulation tips...

It wasn't just content anymore. It was hope. Every video felt like proof that another way of living was possible. That you could break free from the endless cycle of rising rents and still have a good life.

I'd fall asleep designing my perfect van in my head. Something simple but comfortable. A space that would protect me from the elements while giving me the freedom to chase better weather. A tiny home that nobody could price me out of.

The more I dug in, the more achievable it seemed. Even on my near-minimum wage job, I could make it work. The math checked out better than traditional housing.

I learned about people working tech jobs from their vans. Writers finding inspiration in new places every week. Remote workers saving more money than their city-dwelling colleagues.

The freedom wasn't just about travel. It was about having options. If rent got too high in one city, I could just... leave. If a better job opened up across the country, I could just... go.

No lease to break. No security deposit to lose. No moving trucks to rent.

It felt like finding a loophole in the system. A way to live life on my own terms while everyone else stressed about their next rent increase.

Then I stumbled across something unexpected. A YouTube channel showed a net-zero home. And other videos about affordable housing in Calgary.

Something started to shift.

I found myself getting excited about different things now. Solar panels on roofs instead of vans. Home automation systems. Gardens. Sustainable building materials. Houses that could slash energy bills to negative numbers.

The same freedom I saw in van life started showing up in these sustainable homes. Not the freedom to drive away, but the freedom from high utility bills. Freedom from poorly built developer houses. Freedom to create a space that works exactly how I want it to.

Calgary's housing market looked like something from a different universe. Actual houses. Affordable ones. With space to breathe.

The dream didn't die. It evolved.

I haven't completely abandoned the idea of mobile living. I've actually been thinking about trying car living someday. Not tomorrow, not next month, but someday. It still makes financial sense. It could still help me build wealth faster.

Maybe that sounds crazy to some people. But is it any crazier than paying half your income to rent a tiny apartment? Than working forever just to pay someone else's mortgage?

The van life dream taught me something important. There's always another way. The "normal" path isn't the only path.

Life feels fragile right now. Housing costs keep climbing. Cities keep getting more expensive. But knowing there are options out there? Different ways to live? That feels like a superpower.

I might not be obsessed with van life anymore. But I'm still obsessed with finding better ways to live. A way that gave me control over my own life. A way out of this broken housing system.