Van Life Couple Burnout
In this blog post, I will be discussing a few factors that contribute to van life burnout for a couple.
The gripe that most people have with van life is the lack of space. I’m often told that 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 the low ceiling of our Econoline for about a year. Over time, I grew increasingly concerned about the effects that hunching would have on my back and spine. We took special note of individuals living in their vans with ceilings tall enough to stand. It must be nice to stand up we thought. Eventually, we molted into a Ford Transit van. A van with a slightly larger living space measuring in at 12 feet long, 5.5 feet wide, and 6 feet tall.
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 the animals are 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. Not only do we not have personal space, but we don’t have space for food and clothing either. Our fridge and pantry space is small and I am frequently told to stop bringing home food from the market. Our bed is comfortable but I need to lay slanted so that my feet don’t touch the wall and I need to crawl over Jess to get in and out of bed.
The next thing that comes to mind is privacy. Finding a place to park for the night can sometimes becomes a source of stress. We are both keenly aware of choosing a spot that will provide us as well as the community with privacy. So we must find a spot which keeps us out of sight from neighbors. This isn’t easy though in a suburban neighborhood where there are houses and windows everywhere. The more tired we are, the more cumbersome this process becomes. And then comes finding a flat enough spot. And a spot that is not a higher risk of being crashed into in the middle of the night. 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 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 as Jess lies next to me somehow 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 usage. In 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 normal couples probably don’t bicker about not having running water in their homes.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, everything is great.
The rhythm of life becomes more unpredictable in the van. I write these words 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 what we needed.
