Hey Everyone! Together with my boyfriend Dave, a British guy from Cornwall England, we love living and traveling full-time in our self-converted van, Flo. Flo is the second van we have converted and lived in together. We traveled all across Europe in and now America in , and I am so beyond grateful for where we are at and what we are doing each and every day. So how did we get to this point together? How we Met To get straight to the point: We met online. On a dating app known as Tinder. In January of , we were ridiculously swiping through dating apps and matched with one another. This is because Dave works on yachts and the boat he was working on was docked in my hometown for a few months. But at the same time, I thought he was cute and my little American girl mind was excited to meet a guy with an accent. It seemed exotic and exciting, so I decided to give it a chance.. When I met him I definitely swooned over his accent.. Much to my surprise, we clicked right away that night and ended up in small local pubs until 2am chatting away… on a week night. On our first date, I had brought up my dream to live in a van one day. Most people always raised an eyebrow at me when I said that I wanted to live in a van, or flat out said I was weird or crazy. From that point on, there was no turning back. We hungout nearly everyday for the first few months of knowing each other… including renting an RV for a week, road tripping and boating the Everglades for a weekend, spontaneously flying to New York City for no reason, and meeting in the Bahamas to snorkel and relax. That was just in our first 2 months of knowing each other..
https://vanlifematters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Van-3.jpgHow Tinder made me fall in love with van life
Because of this, we mutually agreed that we should pursue our van dreams sooner rather than later. We decided to do so in Europe the first time around spoiler alert: we loved it so much we currently have a 2nd van in the US now. This was absolutely terrifying to both of us, yet so exciting at the same time. The unknown was scary. But we knew we would never know unless we tried.. April was the last full month at our jobs at the time, which was also our first experience being in a long-distance relationship. Not down the road, not in another state, but across the globe on different continents. Dave finished working on the yacht he was on that had since crossed the ocean to Europe , while I finished up working in the USA. This was a mentally trying time, and a time that seemed to sluggishly drag by. I often questioned what I had gotten myself into, because long-distance is NOT something I was interested in doing. But at the same time, I knew it was temporary and that I had to take this giant leap in order to obtain the van lifestyle I had always wanted to try. April was also the month that I packed up my apartment, donated or put all my belongings into storage bins, and prepared a minimal amount of stuff for van life with him. It was a lot of change and crazy choices all at once eh? So worth it though. In May , I was on a one-way flight across the world to Europe.. It was a Vauxhall Movano.As an American, I honestly had never even heard of this make of van before haha. But quite common in Europe. What started out as ripping out one tiny wall, ending up as gutting the entire van to rebuild it ourselves. There was just too much we wanted to change and it needed more storage space. This was our first time ever building a van and provided a lot of learning experience. Granted, we did not have to complete the electrical, plumbing, or insulation process ourselves the first time around in this van. Pictured below is our first van that we had in Europe in We lived in this van full-time for the next 6 months. It took us through 10 countries. We summited so many mountains in the Alps, the Dolomites, and the Pyrenees. We layed on beaches all along the Mediterranean Sea and English Channel. We were surrounded by a myriad of languages, cultures, and new ways of life. We learned to live with what was necessary and learned to live without a lot. I gained a new appreciation for hot water, air conditioning, the sun, quiet roads, and the natural world. We argued about little things and forcibly learned to get over it quickly since living in such a confined space together. It was the most challenging, life-changing, and rewarding 6 months of my life. The very thing I was dreamt about and longed for, actually came to life. I had found and felt true genuine happiness for the first time.
Dating Apps for Dirtbags/Nomads
It was then I knew I wanted to make this lifestyle more long-term. Because of this, we decided to sell our first van over in England. We flew back to the USA and worked hard saving up money for a few months definitely needed some funds at this point. This meant not buying a single thing except necessities like food, water, and gas while we saved up. After browsing and inquiring about a myriad of vans in our limited budget, we finally found one we wanted. We flew up to New Jersey in February and purchased our second van, who we have named Flo. Flo is a Dodge Sprinter. To us, this was the perfect opportunity to empty her out completely and have a fresh slate. But fast forward to a few months after buying her, our second van build is complete! Just goes to show you can do anything you put your mind to. The build took countless hours, long days, frustrations, victories, self teaching, blog reading, video watching to learn , doing and redoing.. From treating rust, to installing 4 brand new windows, to making a custom roof rack, setting up plumbing, electrical wiring, batteries, and solar panels, to building all the structure and choosing what we want and need. Some days it was anything but easy. As of May , we are living in Flo full-time! Our plans are to continue exploring this earth far and wide. We like roads less traveled, hiking, being surrounded by the sounds of nature, far from civilization and able to live offgrid. It is where we feel free and where we feel most ourselves.. I have a long list of mountains I want to hike, landscapes I want to see, and roads I want to drive. We take each day as it comes and adapt our lives to our situations.
Harvest Hosts/Boondocker’s Welcome
Our Message to You We hope to inspire you to do what makes YOU happy, regardless of others opinions and outlooks on it. Regardless of your doubts, fears, what ifs, and personal situations. I like to say that a tough journey to happiness is better than a pitiful acceptance of unhappiness. Remember that. I am sharing this part of my life with the world to remind you of that fact. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your life, whether that be a relationship, a job, a home, your weight, your goals.. Point is, ACT on what you want. You never know the happiness you will find! Please continue to follow our journey on Instagram KellyNicoleTravel Your support means so much more than you know. I have been actively working on my goals to make a remote income from the road someday. This is my ultimate personal goal. This is what gives us the most purpose and meaning in our lives.
How to Date When You Live in a Van
I spent a lot of time putting a lot the materials you need to convert a van into my shop, and a lot of time writing blogs and making videos to help others that are interested in doing it themselves.. All for free. For you. We Love you! Do what makes you happy. Share 0. Tweet 0. Pin 0. You may also like. By Kudrat Wadhwa. If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
After matching on Bumble and texting and FaceTiming for a week, Ramasami suggested they meet in person. They hit it off and scheduled a second date of hiking and dinner by a lake. At first, the Sacramento professor was curious. But, soon after, she gave him the bad news: she wanted to just be friends. Like Ramasami, many who consider themselves nomadic have tried to find love on the usual dating apps, like Tinder and Bumble, without much luck. Dating apps are generally meant to help you find a partner near you, but for vanlifers, they may not be near any place for too long. Recent studies show that RV ownership increased by 26 percent during the past decade, and sales of RVs broke records in March this year, with over 54, shipped to dealers in North America. Still, these users sometimes strike out when they disclose their lifestyle to dates. Taige Zhang, a remote worker himself and the founder of Fairytrail, says he initially launched the app as a travel-matching platform, to find people to travel with or share an Airbnb. But over time, he found more people using the app to date, so his team adjusted their strategy. They stopped accepting travel bookings and poured all their resources into the dating functionality. Bryce Yates is one such person. He moved into his Chevy Astro van in November of To assure one woman he was seeing, Yates requested his then-tenant let the two of them see the place he was renting out. Ramasami believes that part of the problem is that as a society, we connect having a house with stability and security. While some vanlifers struggle to get dates because of a stigma against their lifestyle, for others, vanlife has proven to be an advantage, at least in the initial stages of the dating process. She added that in her experience, many men on dating apps were fascinated by her decision and expressed a desire to also do something similar. These apps have a much smaller dating pool than mainstream competitors.
15 Must-Have Van Life Apps
The challenge for this person arises after she has already been on a couple dates with someone. The Fairytrail user says she likes the idea of a dating app for remote workers and vanlifers because ultimately, she is looking for someone who shares a similar lifestyle. For instance, as of July , Fairytrail has a little under 20, users, whereas Tinder saw a turnout of 20 million people to use just one particular feature on the app. Even for nomads, distance is still an issue. Also, because Fairytrail serves remote workers, users often find themselves speaking to someone thousands of miles away, sometimes on a different continent. Ramasami says he recently matched with someone in Portugal. Plus, Ramasami says most women on Fairytrail are in their 20s. Recently, he did find a woman closer in age, named Amy. Skip to main content The Verge The Verge logo. The Verge homepage. The Verge The Verge logo.
Menu Expand. Share this story. Illustration by Claudia Chinyere Akole. Making It Work Image: Fairytrail. Most Popular. From our sponsor. Advertiser Content From. My story begins on Tinder — yes, the online dating site — I met a guy who had a campervan which I thought was pretty cool. The same dream had always lingered at the back of my mind but I had assumed it would be too expensive to ever be reality.
Dating’s hard when you live the #vanlife
He had a quirky, DIY T5 and he taught me that building a camper van does not need to break the bank. I took most of my inspiration from van lifers on Instagram and YouTube and quite frankly, stole, many ideas from my Tinder acquaintance! The tools I needed were mostly borrowed from the garage of Dad and I did all of it, from insulation and carpeting to designing and making a bed. I initially found it hard to relax as a single female camper which surprised me as I am fairly outgoing and confident. I have searched extensively for advice and come across some amazing women with creative ideas about staying safe whilst camping, so I want to encourage anyone who feels the same to engage with communities online for advice and support for me this is mostly Facebook groups. In the past I perceived camper-vanning to be a somewhat solitary, quiet pastime, but I have experienced the exact opposite. Being a something-year-old, I typically decided to blog my build on Instagram. Within the year I gained over followers, which, for a random girl in the middle of Gloucestershire with very little travel experience, seemed quite strange. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Keep me updated with the Van Life Matters newsletter! Primary Menu Van Life Matters. Search for: Search. Rose Churchill, Van Life Matters columnist. Rose Churchill. Related articles. Volkswagen dealership operates from motorhome after fire destroyed building Mike Ruff October 18, October 19, Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. How do you find places to camp?How do you plan your route? How do you find fun things to do, like hiking and mountain biking trails? Luckily there are tons of van life apps out there that can make these tasks much easier. The Dyrt is one of our favorite van life apps for finding established campsites. It has comprehensive listings for paid campgrounds including public and private ones, as well as some free dispersed camping options although dispersed options are more limited than other van life apps. Their listings include reviews, photos, information on amenities, and more. With the free version of The Dyrt, you have access to search all of the campgrounds in the database, but upgrading to the annual Dyrt Pro membership gives you all of that plus a road trip planner, access to dispersed camping map layers our favorite perk! You can read our full review of the Dyrt Pro here. An annual Harvest Hosts membership allows you to park overnight for free at a variety of wineries, breweries, farms, museums, golf courses, and other attractions. Purchasing something and supporting the small businesses you camp at is encouraged but not required. These are often in driveways, fields, or backyards and some allow multiple-night stays.
Vanlife Dating on the Road – Bumbling for Showers
For hiking, I love using AllTrails because it has a database of over , trail maps, plus, detailed trail information, photos, and up-to-date reviews on almost every trail you could want. Even the free version is extremely useful for saving hikes and navigation when you have cell service. When I first hit the road, I used the free version of the app, but quickly upgraded to Pro and have never looked back. Gaia GPS is another great app for finding hiking trails, tracking yourself while hiking, and it can act as a replacement for carrying a separate GPS device while adventuring. Users can upload photos, a description, and other information, like internet availability, along with GPS coordinates. Because iOverlander is crowd-sourced, the app is constantly updated with new information and recent reviews. Here you can find upcoming van life meetups and gatherings, caravan invitations, and other opportunities to connect with other van lifers. What we like about AllStays is that it also has other types of places you can park for free, including Walmarts, rest-stops, and casinos, as well as other amenities. In addition, you can find places to fill up water, RV dumps, and other services that you often need on the road. For finding restaurants and other local amenities, like places to do laundry, for example, I use Google Reviews within Maps. You can also download Google Maps in sections for offline use which is super helpful for finding pre-planned campsites, trailheads, etc. For mountain biking, our favorite resource for finding trails is TrailForks. TrailForks is the most comprehensive mountain biking app out there with over , MTB trails. You can also easily filter to e-bike-friendly trails and see recent trail reports. If you want a free mountain biking app, check out MTB Project. Below are a few of my favorite pieces of van life gear and recommendations for the road:.If you plan on visiting National Parks or popular federal lands during your van travels, the Recreation. In partnership with 12 different federal agencies including the Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Forest Service , this app allows you to book paid campsites within parks, buy timed-entry tickets for applicable Parks, and book advanced permits for other outdoor activities. Here are a few examples of campgrounds and activities that required booking:. While you can also book permits and campsites on a desktop, the app is great for on-the-go bookings. Gas Buddy is an essential van life app for finding the cheapest gas prices. Simply open the app and GasBuddy will pull up the closest gas stations and their prices. You can sort by price, or toggle to view on a map. Another way to save money on the road is through the app Upside. While this might not seem like a large amount, it adds up over time! The downside to Upside see what I did there? Recently Upside also expanded its cash back offerings to include certain grocery stores and restaurants. If you work remotely from the road , Open Signal is a must-have van life app. With Open Signal, you can easily run internet speed tests with the tap of a button and you can run video tests for any calls. If you use a booster that needs to be pointed toward the closest cell phone tower, Open Signal can also help you locate towers. Physical books can take up a lot of room in a van, so switching to a Kindle is an easy way to stay well-read without losing storage space. We also love listening to audiobooks on long drives, and all Libby e-books and audiobooks can be read even when you lose cell signal. Plus, using Libby is a great way to support public libraries.
Votre commentaire: