If being in the crypto-sphere for the past four years has done nothing else it’s exposed me to a multitude of intelligent, free-thinking individuals, and ideas that will eventually change the world. I was somewhat of a free thinker long before being exposed to the crypto community but have taken on more of this attribute through osmosis, I think.
Backstory
A little backstory…like many other middle-aged people my wife and I thought it would be a great idea to downsize, sell our house in 2015, and find a trouble-free home base that we could leave for extended periods of time while satisfying our wanderlust. Most people go through this world travel phase when they’re in their twenties but we were a few decades late to the party. We rented for a while and then decided to buy a condo.
During the next four years we had the time of our lives. Never in a million years did we imagine we'd have a chance to turn these travel dreams into reality, especially when we were young enough to enjoy it. We were very fortunate to experience a lot of the world during that time --- New York City, Sedona, Amsterdam, England, Portugal, and Saint Thomas. I'll never forget it.
London
Sedona
Amsterdam
Then A New Reality Hit [Sad Trombone]
In early March the dream came to a screeching halt. We were looking forward to an awesome trip to Ireland we booked for this August. I was supposed to start filming my travel show during this trip. Then, like life tends to do, we were thrown a few serious curveballs. First, the COVID-19 hit severely restricting our ability to travel. Then the condo we purchased ended up being much more of a headache than the house we moved away from ever was. So much for trouble-free [more sad trombone].
During this quarantine we’ve had time to do little else but think. Americans will, assuredly, be able to resume international travel at some point in the future but I don’t think it’ll be until a vaccination is available with the way our new infection rate numbers are growing. I’m among those who believe international travel will never return to the way it was before. Global travel will be more expensive and there will be far less options from this point forward.
With our Ireland trip cancelled and no idea when we would be able to travel again we were getting depressed. Once you become a nomad it gets into your blood and it's almost as though you need a trip on the horizon to look forward to. Then my wife had an epiphany, Canada!
We could head to Montreal for a few months and ride this nightmare out, then 2020 said, “Nope!” and Canada closed its borders again. This year seems to be openly mocking us.
Investing In Wheel Estate
This is around the point free-thinking began to kick in. We had been considering buying a tiny home before we decided on our condo in 2018 so why not a tiny home on wheels? I started getting this crazy idea about buying a Mercedes Sprinter camper van. I’ve seen many millennial YouTuber’s already living the #vanlife but never really considered taking the plunge myself, especially considering we’re in our late forties/early fifties.
Once I started researching the van life I discovered it’s truly a rabbit hole. The Mercedes Sprinter van definitely seems to be the best option of vehicles (that is until Telsa rolls out their EV version of the delivery van, which I hear they're working on). The Sprinter is super flexible in terms of mods, parts are widely available if it breaks down, and the powertrain is typically good for about 300k miles. The link in the previous paragraph is just one of the many possible configurations of the Sprinter.
Also, technical innovation has finally reached a point to make this lifestyle possible. There are companies that will receive your mail, scan it, and email to you. You can receive deliveries at many locations around the world without a physical address. There is also the ability to outfit these vans for Wifi, streaming television, and nearly all the amenities of home albeit in many cases in a much more compact package. We even have the option of loading the van on a cargo ship and taking it overseas, eventually. This might not be a bad way to spend the next 5 or 10 years.
With reliable Wifi I can work from anywhere and there would be plenty of opportunities to meet other Hivers (or is it Hiveans?) and do some awesome vlogging along the way. There are plethora of “pros” to this idea but also a few “cons”.
On one hand we'd be free to follow both our whims and the sun. On the other hand, I don’t know if there are enough anti-inflammatories on Earth to ease the aches and pains of people our age living in these cramped quarters 24/7. Also there are the radical changes and unknowns that come with living a nomadic life on the road, many of which we won’t know how we’ll respond to until we take the leap.
Seeking The Unknowns
We're still in the contemplation and information-gathering stages. For this reason we're seeking the unknowns (feedback). If we get serious about this we’ll probably rent a camper van for a few weeks and take it for a “test-trip” before we make a final decision. Feel free to share any and all suggestions.
Is this a bat-shit crazy idea?
Should we go for it?
Do you know anyone who is living the VanLife already?
Drop any tips or links to good information about this in the comments below!
With Gratitude,
Eric Vance Walton
(Gif sourced from Giphy.com)
*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.
Alarm Clock Dawn, one of the first full length novels published on the blockchain, and the book that started it all for me can be found HERE. Or Click Here to read it for free on the Steemit blockchain
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