Though it is surely a long ways away from the 2200Sqft house I bought in 2015 for over $550,000, it is surely a lot better than what I am living in now. I am in the process of acquiring this van on trade for my Ford escape, I will most likely have to have a finance payment of $250/month, but with all that extra space, it will surely be worth it.
One of the downsides of living in a van is that I will have to move to somewhere warmer in anticipation for next winter. I was lucky, I lost my house near the end of winter, so I haven't had to deal with much cold yet living in my escape. Nevertheless, seeing that it usually gets down to minus 40 during the winters in my city, I will most likely have to move to Vancouver Island to be with the rest of the lost vagabonds of Canada.
With an average winter temperature of around +8 Celsius, that is much more manageable than minus 35.
Sometimes, when you can shrink everything that you own down into the contents of a van, you can start to appreciate the smaller things in life. Sometimes, when you have to focus your energy more on surviving, you stop thinking about the trivial and meaningless things that you want, but not necessarily need and focus more energy on living life.
Some well to-do's see minimalism as a losers method to justify their failures in life, for me, I do not see it this way. Minimalism is a choice, minimalism is a way of life. Not everyone needs to subscribe to these peoples ideologies of what is right and normal. Most of the people who make these generalizations are people who have found ways to exploit the system and make more in a year, than most people like me do in a life time. But what better way to end this vicious cycle, but to leave it altogether.
I was never one for working for other people. Sure for a day or two is fine - just until I get enough to sustain myself for the next week. But never will I fall victim to the system, just to feed my hunger for all the worthless garbage that the average person accumulates in their lifetime. As you can see, I rather live in a box, than submit to the idiosyncrasies and hedonistic peculiarities of modern society. In actuality, there isn't much difference between you and I. The only difference there is, is the size of our box