We moved into our van in September 2020, just after COVID-19 hit and just before Winter hit. After living in Vancouver for three years, we had always planned on moving into our van around this time. However, we originally wanted to head south to the USA for winter. Due to COVID-19 that was obviously not an option anymore, so we decided to spend most of our winter in BC where the temperatures are much more mild than the rest of Canada. We made the occasional trip to The Rockies for a bit of fun in the snow but mostly we spent it on the coast.
While winter in the van is not new to us (we have had many winter adventures in our van), living permanently in a shoe box in the middle of winter is. And it's not an easy feat even in the best conditions. Add on top of that the fact that we can't have running water in our van during winter (in case the water freezes and the pipes burst), most campgrounds, even if they are open, turn all their water taps off in winter(so no drinking water or showers), and not being able to venture outside as often so literally living under each others feet. It has been a huge learning curve!
We've stayed in temperatures as low as -25C (-13F)
In saying that, we have seen and done some pretty incredible things, and stayed in some really beautiful places, all with minimal people around, most times with no people at all!
In winter our bathroom turns into storage for all our ski gear
If you have any questions on our winter living conditions, or just vanlife in general, please comment below :)
Nice ✌🏻
I'd go insane.
Trust me, there's definitely days when we go crazy. Haha! But we do get out as much as possible, and sometimes we go and do things by ourselves to give each other some space.
Oh my. That looks way too cold for me. I don't think I could stay cooped up day after day with one person. No matter how much I loved them! 😂
As someone who LOVES summer, it is hard believe me! and we definitely have our moments haha! But we have good heating and good sleeping bags. Lots of board games, and getting out for a snowshoe or a ski helps too :)
Haha I feel exactly the same when my friends back in Australia send me photos at the beach
This is basically my dream lol - vanlife just seems so cool, if money wasnt an issue i would definitely do this. Would definitely go 4x4 though and go out having fun in the show but looks like you do with skis and snowboards.
It definitely has its perks and fun adventures. Once we saved up enough to do the trip we have found it cheaper than the rent we were paying for our apartment in Vancouver. But depends what you like to do and what you spend money on too.
A 4x4 trip would be great! We hope to do the 4x4 around Australia when we eventually move back. I hope you get to live that vanlife dream one day :)
Yeah I can definitely see that it would be a cheaper way of life but I guess you need to still main an income - for me at least. I teach so would be difficult to manage the two unless I moved into online teaching where pay is considerably lower. I follow a lot of YouTube channels of 4x4 groups in Aus and it looks amazing to be able to drive through the outback on long extended trips.
Yes, for sure. We both worked and saved for about 3 years before we moved into the van, so I agree, unless you have a job you can do remotely you do need to take the time to save. Who knows, maybe we'll all get rich from Hive haha!