Van Life Couple Burnout
In this blog post, I will be discussing the factors that contribute to van life burnout for a couple of humans sharing a very small space.
The gripe that most people have with van life is the lack of space. A lot of people claim the small living quarters is the reason why they’d be unable to reside inside of a van. I don’t blame them. The livable space of our old 2006 Ford Econoline was approximately 10 feet long, 5 feet wide and 4.5 feet tall. We lived hunched over under this ceiling for a year as I grew increasingly concerned about the effects this would have on my back and body long term. At this point, I was too focused on my lack of standing room to consider the smallness of the length and width of the space. We moved into a Ford Transit with a slightly larger living space at 12 feet long, 5.5 feet wide, and 6 feet tall. We could stand but still don’t have much space.
We are almost always in each other’s way. Whenever we go to the zoo we feel sorry for the animals who’ve been placed inside their little enclosures. We’re confident that they’re supposed to have more space than the small enclosures in which they live. I do believe the same applies to humans. Living so close to each other violates our fundamental need for personal space. Our fridge is small and I am frequently told to stop bringing home so much food from the farmers market I work at because we don’t have space. The bed is comfortable but I need to lay slanted so that my feet don’t touch the wall. It often feels ridiculous needing to crawl over Jess to get in or out of bed which often results in me stepping on her by accident.
The next thing that comes to mind is privacy. I often lose patience when it’s time to find a place to park the van at night to sleep. We are both keenly aware of choosing a spot that will provide us, as well as the community with privacy. We try to ensure we’re not parked in the line of a vision of a house in the neighborhood which is difficult when there are house windows facing every direction. The more tired we become, the quicker I want to just be able to go to sleep but we must protect our privacy and those around us, yada yada. And then comes finding a flat enough spot. And a spot that is not at a higher risk of being crashed into in the middle of our slumber. That’s always a fun thought as I’m dozing off.
Our suspension is squeaky, so any movement Jess or I make comes with a whine of the bushings. On a quiet street, this results in Jess telling me to “shh” anytime I move a muscle. The anxiety that comes with my presence being noticed by a tax paying neighbor is sometimes overbearing. While most neighborhoods we’ve deemed safe for snoozing, we’ve received a few rude awakening knocks from police or security in the middle of a dream. Waking up to police flashlights and knocking is surely at the bottom of the list of ways to be brought back to consciousness. But joining the police flashlights at the bottom of the list is the disturbingly loud music at unreasonable hours of night. My blood boils when I am forced awake to the sound of a low budget sub woofer blasting profanities. Jess next to me less disturbed than I am. I lie in bed and contemplate my choices as I listen to the blaring music. I move the van a quarter mile forward to be out of proximity of the hoodlums. Only to be woken up a few hours later to music originating from a different source.
The third and final thing I’ll mention today is water. Water becomes a problem when it runs out. Water in a van unlike a house or apartment is a limited resource. In our van we need to fill up on water once or twice a week depending on use. Sometimes we run out of water. In these moments, without access to water it’s easier for irritability and impatience to ensue. The blame game follows, why did you or I not fill up water today? Most couples probably don’t bicker about not having running water in their kitchen unless there is a rare issue. Picture this, the sun just set, there is a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, the water tank just dry and the water store is closed. To expand upon water related dilemmas, our electric water pump has been consistently burning out (no pun intended) every six months, causing us to spend hours on the same tedious plumbing repair on a semi-annual basis. When the water tank is full and the pump is working though, everything is just dandy.
The rhythm of life becomes more unpredictable in the van. I write these words and thoughts from the comfort of a living room, in a home where Jess and I are currently housesitting. Chances are our sleep will not be disturbed by the police or loud music tonight, maybe just the whining of the dog we’re looking after. We will not run out of water and we will have the personal space we need. What we will not have during our time in this home, are the nagging day to day aggravations of living in a van which I think is just what we needed.
