Living in a Van. Am I mad?

Day Lewin

Don't mind them, OP: I'm in quite a few facebook groups that share tips about parking places, etc. and there are regular posts from people who live full-time in their vans or have done so before. Some single women, too.
Its definitely do-able, though you need to be streetwise: some towns have by-laws that say you can't leave a vehicle permanently parked beyond a certain length of time: so you need to move around from time to time.
The driveways or yards of friends houses, certain suburban locations, and official parking areas. Plus trips out of town, now and again.
It's a quiet little subculture, but it is there!

And Dublin needs more caravan/motorhome parks, for sure.

SteM

Day Lewin wrote: »

Don't mind them, OP: I'm in quite a few facebook groups that share tips about parking places, etc. and there are regular posts from people who live full-time in their vans or have done so before. Some single women, too.
Its definitely do-able, though you need to be streetwise: some towns have by-laws that say you can't leave a vehicle permanently parked beyond a certain length of time: so you need to move around from time to time.
The driveways or yards of friends houses, certain suburban locations, and official parking areas. Plus trips out of town, now and again.
It's a quiet little subculture, but it is there!

And Dublin needs more caravan/motorhome parks, for sure.

I'm not saying it's undoable. I'm saying it'd be downright unpleasant to have to attend and study for college while doing it.

Scraggs

I just don't see how this can be any cheaper than renting and for what kind of life. I can imagine it is very isolating lifestyle and you already say you don't have support of family/friends so I imagine charity will wear thin quickly.

Are you doing a degree for 3/4 years or is it a post grad? Have you considered how this will impact your studies? Will you have a part-time job? Will you live at home or in the van out of term time? Will having no fixed abode impact getting a SUSI grant?

I completely understand the need and want for independence as I myself went back to uni as a mature student after being away but I think this is just running away from your problems and creating more!


Ps. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

TresGats

Hi Op- I had a friend do this when he came back from Australia, he lasted 4 weeks, and gave in and rented a room, sold the van. It just became too depressing, sleeping in a shopping centre car park with the wind & rain beating against the van all night, and having to get up and get washed & dressed to retail work standard. This guy had travelled Australia in vans , but once he got his 1st months wages he put it all down on a room.

Henry Ford III

If you have light & heat, and toilet and washing facilities it's certainly possible.

Might be tough going with a few concerns but it can be done.

worded

TresGats wrote: »

Hi Op- I had a friend do this when he came back from Australia, he lasted 4 weeks, and gave in and rented a room, sold the van. It just became too depressing, sleeping in a shopping centre car park with the wind & rain beating against the van all night, and having to get up and get washed & dressed to retail work standard. This guy had travelled Australia in vans , but once he got his 1st months wages he put it all down on a room.

I'd imagine winter here could be dog rough in a van.

worded

TresGats wrote: »

Hi Op- I had a friend do this when he came back from Australia, he lasted 4 weeks, and gave in and rented a room, sold the van. It just became too depressing, sleeping in a shopping centre car park with the wind & rain beating against the van all night, and having to get up and get washed & dressed to retail work standard. This guy had travelled Australia in vans , but once he got his 1st months wages he put it all down on a room.

I'd imagine winter here could be dog rough in a van.

thierry14

worded wrote: »

I'd imagine winter here could be dog rough in a van.

Not with the engine running

Cant believe so many are saying go for it

Running a van ( insurance, tax, servicing, fuel etc ) will cost 5k minimum per year

Vans are expensive to run

Ireland 2017

J Mysterio

thierry14 wrote: »

Not with the engine running

Cant believe so many are saying go for it

Running a van ( insurance, tax, servicing, fuel etc ) will cost 5k minimum per year

Vans are expensive to run

Ireland 2017

I think a lot of people think it sounds 'cool' and that it is a romantic idea. They want to hear how she gets on (ooh, a blog), they arent thinking of her welfare, which is why I reccomended OP listen to her friends and family (who are against it and presumably care about her). It's a dumb idea.

SteM

J Mysterio wrote: »

I think a lot of people think it sounds 'cool' and that it is a romantic idea. They want to hear how she gets on (ooh, a blog), they arent thinking of her welfare, which is why I reccomended OP listen to her friends and family (who are against it and presumably care about her). It's a dumb idea.

Personally I think it'd be fine if she was thinking of heading off and driving around Europe or something. Going to college while doing it would be a grim life imo.

J Mysterio

SteM wrote: »

Personally I think it'd be fine if she was thinking of heading off and driving around Europe or something. Going to college while doing it would be a grim life imo.

Yes, of course. Driving around in a van with a matress in the back while on holiday can be great craic for some. Trying to live any semblance of a normal life out of a van when you have responsibilities, not so much.

bucketybuck

SteM wrote: »

Going to college while doing it would be a grim life imo.

Which is the core question is it not? What sort of life will she have?

It's physically possible to live out of a van, of course it is. But the title of the thread doesn't ask how to do it, it asks "Am I mad?". And when you consider the serious practical and social disadvantages to such a plan its hard not to say yes.

The OP is suggesting she lives out of a van that will have worse comfort and amenities than even the crappiest of bedsits, and far far worse conditions than the majority of houseshares. Its just not a rational choice.

Shelga

Don't think anyone has mentioned this yet- but how are you going to have any sort of romantic life living like this? If a guy brought me back to his little van in mid winter to get down to business, I would be running away faster than you can say chemical toilet.

I think it's a type of living situation that can be suitable sometimes, like travelling around for 4 months or something, as other posters have said. As a lifestyle choice with no definite end point? Grim grim grim.

Gravelly

Shelga wrote: »

Don't think anyone has mentioned this yet- but how are you going to have any sort of romantic life living like this? If a guy brought me back to his little van in mid winter to get down to business, I would be running away faster than you can say chemical toilet.

I think it's a type of living situation that can be suitable sometimes, like travelling around for 4 months or something, as other posters have said. As a lifestyle choice with no definite end point? Grim grim grim.

And therein lies a fundamental difference between men and women. The OP is female I believe. Most guys don't care if they get the ride in a van, a compost heap, or a nuclear waste storage vessel, a ride is a ride.

J Mysterio

:pac:

bucketybuck

Gravelly wrote: »

And therein lies a fundamental difference between men and women. The OP is female I believe. Most guys don't care if they get the ride in a van, a compost heap, or a nuclear waste storage vessel, a ride is a ride.

They might not run away but they will certainly form opinions on the matter, unless you honestly think relationships are all about sex.

If a girl brought me back to her "stealth camper van" it would negatively affect my opinions of her, thats just a simple fact and I doubt I would be an outlier in that regard.

tomwaits48

is living with your parents that bad to resort to this?

Gravelly

bucketybuck wrote: »

They might not run away but they will certainly form opinions on the matter, unless you honestly think relationships are all about sex.

If a girl brought me back to her "stealth camper van" it would negatively affect my opinions of her, thats just a simple fact and I doubt I would be an outlier in that regard.

An oul bit of humour might help you in that regard. Anyway, I've managed to sustain a relationship for a quarter of a century with a woman who, I have no problem in admitting, was out of my league back then, and is waaaaay out of it now - that makes me competent to hold an opinion on relationships I feel.

There are two reasons a girl would bring a guy back to her dwelling in a romantic sense (which was what the poster specified) - either because she was interested in a long term relationship with him, or because she wanted the ride. If it's the latter, most straight males won't give a flying fûck what she's living in. If it's the former, and he thinks to himself "oh my word, she doesn't live in a conventional two-up two-down like mammy said she should, I cannot possibly have a relationship with this creature" then she dodged a bullet. Either way, it's a win-win for her.

bucketybuck

Gravelly wrote: »

An oul bit of humour might help you in that regard. Anyway, I've managed to sustain a relationship for a quarter of a century with a woman who, I have no problem in admitting, was out of my league back then, and is waaaaay out of it now - that makes me competent to hold an opinion on relationships I feel.

There are two reasons a girl would bring a guy back to her dwelling in a romantic sense (which was what the poster specified) - either because she was interested in a long term relationship with him, or because she wanted the ride. If it's the latter, most straight males won't give a flying fûck what she's living in. If it's the former, and he thinks to himself "oh my word, she doesn't live in a conventional two-up two-down like mammy said she should, I cannot possibly have a relationship with this creature" then she dodged a bullet. Either way, it's a win-win for her.

Its a rather simplistic point of view, but I would defend your right to hold it.

Gravelly

bucketybuck wrote: »

Its a rather simplistic point of view, but I would defend your right to hold it.

Simplistic has kept me in a loving relationship with a hot woman (the same one!) for over half my life. Simplistic is good.

Graham

Mod Note: accommodation and property forum. Cough... Nudge...


Meanwhile, my own personal answer to the OP.

Is living in a van possible, absolutely.

Would it be mad, quite probably.

Day Lewin

À modern student who needs accommodation in Dublin may be offered a shared room, mattresses on the floor, for eight hundred a month, it said on the radio yesterday. No private loo, no lockable door, no private cooking facility. Shared mess and smells.
Whereas a van can be a "Tiny House" (That's a subculture too) and it is well possible to live out of one if you organise it. A safe pitch with access nearby to wifi and a shower would be the hardest nut to crack: but once done, the rest is not difficult.
Modern bourgeois privilege is showing through - "many a good one was reared in a tenement" as O'Casey said somewhere.

My little van has a comfy bench and table that converts to a bed at night, and has seen plenty of action, believe me. (Warm quilt and all)
And I've made fresh coffee of a morning, sat and sewed and played screen games and done the crossword. I'm sure I could write a student essay in the van. There's room for beer bottles and glasses and plates and a sink to wash up in. I'm just not seeing why the general air of alarm!

professore

Gravelly wrote: »

An oul bit of humour might help you in that regard. Anyway, I've managed to sustain a relationship for a quarter of a century with a woman who, I have no problem in admitting, was out of my league back then, and is waaaaay out of it now - that makes me competent to hold an opinion on relationships I feel.

There are two reasons a girl would bring a guy back to her dwelling in a romantic sense (which was what the poster specified) - either because she was interested in a long term relationship with him, or because she wanted the ride. If it's the latter, most straight males won't give a flying fûck what she's living in. If it's the former, and he thinks to himself "oh my word, she doesn't live in a conventional two-up two-down like mammy said she should, I cannot possibly have a relationship with this creature" then she dodged a bullet. Either way, it's a win-win for her.

I would assume that any woman who is bohemian enough to live in a converted van is so fantastic in bed it wouldn't bother me whether it was 1 or 2, if 2 it would be worth it just for the sex alone.

bazmc35

Op. I've the perfect van in mind. It's a Transit converted to camper, cheap tax and insurance. Fully insulated with sink and cooker and small toilet. A nice pull out double bed with plenty of storage in it. Needs a little work to get it through the DOE if you wanted it straight away or if you could wait can have it with a full DOE. Pm if your interested with contact number.

waterfaerie

Deleted User wrote: »

OP have you fully or close to fully costed any of the options and spec you're considering

The anti-conformist posters here might be well fit to clap you on the back on a message board, that costs them nothing and is easy to do, but it's cheap noise.

I'd think very hard about all you'd be giving up and the difficulties you'd be introducing in a student life and I'm far for convinced you'd save much money versus finding the right houseshare.

All well and good to start the thread looking for encouragement, but encouragement towards a bad idea is a very funny kind of positivity.

Can you set out hard, finalised and thorough decisions and demonstrate that when honestly costed this is a money saver?

Life isn't all about money. The OP would be gaining freedom on so many levels, which is worth so much more.

She doesn't want to live in a house share, she said. I don't know about you but if I really didn't want to do something, I wouldn't do it, and money wouldn't enter the equation.

waterfaerie

marielovesstea wrote: »

Even if I wasn't to live in the van, say a year from now, if i got sick of it whatever, it could still be used for trips away down the country/out of the country. The van is not going to leave me stuck- rather it opens up more possibilities and opportunities.

I think that's it in a nutshell. You've got nothing to lose.

waterfaerie

dbagman wrote: »

You do realise the cost of buying the van and converting it would probs pay a year or 2 rent.

It doesn't matter how many years' rent it would equate to. At the end of it, she'll have the van for travel or whatever else.

It's an asset but, unlike a house, it won't cost her her whole life to pay for.

Andrew Gleeson

judeboy101 wrote: »

Some skanger steals anonymous white van, finds girl asleep in back, instant rape-mobile.

Bloody hell it's not Sweden she's moving to.

rustynutz

Day Lewin wrote: »

À modern student who needs accommodation in Dublin may be offered a shared room, mattresses on the floor, for eight hundred a month, it said on the radio yesterday. No private loo, no lockable door, no private cooking facility. Shared mess and smells.
Whereas a van can be a "Tiny House" (That's a subculture too) and it is well possible to live out of one if you organise it. A safe pitch with access nearby to wifi and a shower would be the hardest nut to crack: but once done, the rest is not difficult.
Modern bourgeois privilege is showing through - "many a good one was reared in a tenement" as O'Casey said somewhere.

My little van has a comfy bench and table that converts to a bed at night, and has seen plenty of action, believe me. (Warm quilt and all)
And I've made fresh coffee of a morning, sat and sewed and played screen games and done the crossword. I'm sure I could write a student essay in the van. There's room for beer bottles and glasses and plates and a sink to wash up in. I'm just not seeing why the general air of alarm!

Personally, if faced with paying 800 a month for a shared room in some grotty student accommodation, or a well kitted out camper, I would pick the camper everytime. I've done the house share thing, and I've done a couple of weeks at a time in a camper, and id say the camper is the better option. But I love the freedom of a camper,like I suspect the OP does.

marielovesstea

Not sure if the above images will be seen in this message. But just want to give people a general idea of what I would be aiming for.

I think a lot of people here are picturing quite dark, gloomy old fashioned motorhomes. The types you usually see OAPs driving about- which is not at all what I'm going for (no offense )

It just shows what can be done that yes they are tiny, but still fit for purpose, fully functioning smart living spaces.