With close to 10 million posts on Instagram and thousands of related channels to follow on YouTube, the hashtag van life is really blowing up the internet lately.
What makes people seek out and follow these vanners in their adventures across the world?
Living in a van isn’t a new idea, people have been living and travelling in vans for generations, so what makes the lifestyle so appealing to people today?
In this blog we will be exploring why Van Life is going viral.
You can also watch the video version below:
For a start, the photographs are STUNNING
Van life offers the perfect opportunities to take the best and most inspiring photographs you could ever imagine. You don’t even need to spend a fortune on camera equipment to set the perfect scene! Van dwellers display their beautiful converted vans with much pride, dressed up with colourful cushions, curtains and tapestries and looking super cute, parked up in some faraway paradise. In a van, you can wait all day for the perfect light to create awe inspiring photo reels. From making a morning coffee while watching a stunning sunrise to cosy campfires on chilly nights, cuddling together in warm blankets, eating food with friends under twinkling fairy lights, van life is full of so many great shared experiences, it would be a shame not to document them with a camera and share them with the world!
The Locations are Phenomenal!
It seems that even the most populated places in the world hold hidden, scenic secrets. Van lifers find and highlight these beauty spots as they hike the hills and swim in the still lakes, and afterwards, they get to spend the night there too! National parks make truly beautiful backdrops but there are so many amazing places to visit in between. From thick green forests to flowing waterfalls, from mountainside to seaside marinas, vanners can take their tiny houses anywhere they like, without the expensive hotel prices, and explore whatever destinations they choose. What a perfect and affordable way to explore your country!
The lifestyle is aspirational!
Living a van life, waking up in a new location every morning, owning your own time and being financially independent enough to live on the road is truly aspirational to those who feel stuck in their nine to five and the daily grind. Who doesn’t desire the freedom that van life provides? Van lifers are free to use their time in whatever way they wish and do whatever they please. Wouldn’t you like to be on a constant adventure, immersed in nature, off grid and self sufficient? Living for the weekend is so last year! Van life allows you to live for the now!
Financial freedom is so liberating
Money makes the world go around, we know this, but those who feel stuck in their current position, or are always chasing the next pay check to cover rent, utilities and other expenses associated with life, look at vanlifers with a pinch of jealousy. Most vanlifers that travel so freely are digital nomads, that is, people who earn their living online, wherever they are, and can take their work anywhere they go. All that is required is a reliable internet signal! Add to this the fact that living in a van soooo much cheaper than living in a house, with fewer expenditures and utility bills, these travellers either chose to work less to cover their immediate expenses or work the same hours and save money on the road. Digital nomads are often their own boss, seeking out clients and meeting deadlines set only by themselves. Less worry about the financial demands of rent, less stress about where your next paycheque is coming from means more time to focus on the things you love to do!
Influencers continue to sell the dream!
Hashtag van life is even more aspirational when the content posters are model beautiful, the van is a perfectly clean and functional home and the surroundings scenic and peaceful. Influencers continue to sell the van life dream all over the internet and when you follow them, you get access to their day to day lifestyles, to what they like to do and where they like to go. Some influencers are sponsored, building a brand for themselves and are paid to post their van life content, others work online and the lucky few have so many followers on so many platforms that leads to different streams of income and they don’t really need to work at all. They just hang around with friends, travel, create photographs and film video content and live their best lives all the while. Influeners know how to make us crave what they have. Isn’t the freedom vanlife affords the REAL dream?
It REALLY IS possible to achieve
The real reason van life is going viral is because it is well within the realms of possibility for most of us watching the hash tag boom in popularity. Any one can live and travel in a bespoke little campervan, RV or rig. All you need to do it save some money, buy a base vehicle and convert it to the tiny house of your dreams. Very soon, your photos could be among the inspirational and beautiful images we see on social media reels. You could be living a life less ordinary, in charge of your own time and free to visit whatever sights you wish in your home on wheels. So, what are you waiting for?
To help you decide if van life is really for you, and to learn everything you need to know about converting and living in a van, checkout Van Life Academy.
In addition, you can also interact on our live forum, learn about building your brand from the back of your van and get practical tips from the experts. Seek help, advice and support from van dwellers worldwide and join the largest community of van enthusiasts on the web, right here on our website!
