Embracing the Freedom of Vanlife—A Beautiful Path to Simple Joys
Living in a van is one particular expression of minimalism. It's beautiful but can also be challenging. In any case it offers a lot of opportunity to grow.
Imagine a life where the boundaries between home and adventure dissolve, where your neighbors are mountains, rivers, and wide-open skies. This is vanlife—a way of living that celebrates freedom, simplicity, and connection to what truly matters.
I am a big vanlife enthusiast. It gives me more that I could ask. The thing I like the most is the almost unlimited freedom of moving where I want when I want it. It contributes a lot to feeling “rich” as a minimalist as I wrote in my intro article Welcome to The Rich Minimalist.
But of course there are also challenging sides to traveling and living in a van. In my Substack publication I am covering that all and provide a balanced view about promise and perils. Before I get to these, though, let me share a bit of my van background.
My Van Background
All my life I loved the outdoors, nature, camping, camp fires, or hiking. Right after completing university I want on a three week trip through the north of France in a very, very basic van—literally just had a bed and a cafetiere. It was an accidental first exposure to vanlife simply because I couldn’t afford more. But the experience stuck with me.
It was always in the back of my mind to get my own van. About 18 years later I started to seriously look into this and read everything I could. 20 years later I bought my first empty van which was converted by my friends Toni and Marie in Barcelona, Spain. It’s a Mercedes Sprinter and I still have and I still love it. It’s super individual—incl. a BBQ, splitboard and a washing machine—but that’s topic for another post.
My fascination with this style of life grew into a side hustle. I am involved in several projects around camper van conversion, renting, or consulting.
But what is it that’s so fascinating? Let’s dive in.
Freedom: More than Just a Physical Place
Vanlife is the embodiment of freedom. It’s about waking up wherever your heart desires, whether it’s a quiet forest glen or a sun-drenched coastal cliff. This freedom extends beyond geography—it’s mental and emotional. Living in a van breaks free from the constraints of traditional housing and societal expectations.
There is a lot to be said about the philosophical aspect. Vanlife asks us to rethink wealth. True richness is found not in possessions or paychecks but in the freedom to live on your own terms, savoring the small moments that often go unnoticed.
Solitude and Connection: A Balance of Being and Belonging
A van is a sanctuary for solitude, allowing a lot of space for reflection in a world that’s crowded with distractions. It also creates opportunities for authentic connection with nature—which is the part I value the most—with oneself, and with a community of fellow vanlifers who share your values.
This blend of solitude and community nurtures inner peace and social engagement, two essentials for wellbeing. Moving with nature’s rhythms—waking with the sun, observing seasonal changes—fosters a deep belonging that modern life rarely offers.
Minimalism: Focusing on What Matters
Living in a van naturally enforces minimalism. With limited space, you become intentional about what you own—keeping only essentials that add value to your life.
Minimalism here is not deprivation but liberation. It encourages mindful consumption and gratitude, focusing energy on experiences and relationships instead of things. This clarity of focus leads to less stress, fewer distractions, and more joy.
It also has lots of practical implications. You need to be very organised and disciplined. Order is important when living in a small space. And you need to be creative with your space and the things you have. Most will have double functions or more.
Practical Benefits: Affordability and Flexibility
Beyond freedom, philosophical richness, vanlife offers real-world advantages. It’s a much cheaper way to live or travel compared to traditional housing. Without rent, mortgages, or utility bills, your expenses can drop dramatically, allowing you financial breathing room.
Cooking your own meals, skipping commutes, and choosing your own pace help trim costs further.
Flexibility is another standout benefit. Vanlife adapts to your changing desires—whether it’s exploring new places, chasing good weather, or finding the perfect spot to park and recharge. This fluidity breaks the monotony of routines and injects excitement into everyday living.
You like it, you stay. You don’t like it, you move on.
A Lifestyle Rich in Meaning and Experience
Vanlife isn’t just a mode of travel or a housing choice. It’s a philosophy that embraces simplicity, self-sufficiency, and intentional living. It invites you to slow down, focus on essentials, and engage fully with the present moment.
When you live with less, you gain more—more time, more connection, more peace. You learn skills like adaptability, problem-solving, and resourcefulness, all of which contribute to resilience in life’s unpredictable journey.
The Call to Simplicity and Freedom
At its core, vanlife challenges us to ask: What do we really need to be happy? It nudges us to strip away the excess and rediscover richness in nature, freedom, and simplicity.
In a world that often pushes for more—more money, more stuff, more work, more noise—vanlife principles can serve as a compass for a balanced, fulfilling life grounded in essentials.
In this post, I focused on the promises of vanlife. In a future post, I’ll address the perils.
Please also take a look at the Welcome to The Rich Minimalist article, where I describe my mini manifesto and how it all fits into the bigger picture.
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