My partner and I are moving into a Sprinter van. Here’s why.

As “van people”, my partner and I are often asked the simple question: why?

Why would you choose to live in 50 square feet of space with another human being?

What do you think when you wake up in the morning? Does it ever hit you? Something like…“Oh, sh*t, that’s right. I’m moving into a van. Abort!!!”

Well hey, it’s easy to jump to conclusions. Maybe we’re crazy. Maybe we’re just trying to escape responsibility and make it to Neverland. These are all possible, and pretty viable, assumptions.

But the truth is, this has been our plan for more than a year now. We’ve given it a lot of consideration, and we’re sane, functioning members of society (at least in my opinion).

We both have well-paying tech jobs in San Francisco and an apartment that’s under rent control.

And yet there are still many reasons why we’re moving into a van. We’ve worked hard to make that dream a reality. Over the past 365 days, we’ve scrimped and saved, so that we can both leave our jobs to take an epic journey across the North American West: from Alaska to Baja. We’ve spent hours, days, and many weekends building out the interior of our van. And even though it’s been frustrating and difficult at times, it’s been so worth it. It’s been worth it to pave the way for huge change: to adapt to a smaller way of life.

So let’s break it down.
What are some of the main reasons we’re taking the plunge?

• We’ll get comfortable with discomfort.
  This is a favorite. One of the reasons that I’ve always loved backpacking is that it’s a unique opportunity to practice self-love. In the absence of convention and the media constantly comparing you to others, you’re allowed to truly embrace yourself, even in your dirtiest state. Out in the woods, miles from the nearest town, you don’t have to worry so much about appearance. Can you remember the last time you woke up and didn’t look in a mirror? The last time you didn’t have to care what you looked like for others? The last time you went a week without showering? Maybe not. But living in a van, we’ll have to get used to a similar routine, and the self-esteem rewards are huge.
• We’ll always have everything that we need.
  We’ll never have to worry about forgetting something at the apartment and wasting precious time driving home to get it. It’ll be right behind us, in our traveling home. This is an ideal situation for climbers/surfers like us, who have lots of gear!
• We’ll be living in the home we built: together. 
  We designed and built our own space. There’s no better feeling for an artist, designer, or engineer than to be living in that space. We’ve put careful consideration into every last detail. There’s love in every last nut, bolt, and splinter of wood.
• We’ll get to know the American West on a whole new level.
  We’ve both been lucky enough to have done a good deal of international traveling over the years. But neither of us have thoroughly explored our own country. North America is such an incredible place, filled with insanely beautiful landscape and adventure opportunities: climbing, hiking, backpacking, surfing. We want to really take the time to get to know it better. This is our chance.
• We’ll spend more time in the moment.
  As members of the tech industry, we’re constantly checking our phones (email, texts, social media) just to keep up with the world around us. But living in the van, and often out in the middle of nowhere, we’ll be able to just enjoy our natural surroundings. We’ll be able to take a deep breath and focus: on where we are and what we’re doing, in that moment.
• We’ll go where we want, whenever we want to.
  While living a mobile lifestyle, we can kick long-term planning to the curb. We won’t have to ask ourselves “When are we going to be able to go there?” We’ll just get back on the road and go. How romantic is that? Talk about driving off into the sunset.

Sure, there will be many challenges along the way. There’s no denying that. But we’re both betting on those challenges being transformative. In fact, we welcome them. We’re both betting on coming out on the other side with new perspective, and newfound appreciation for living simpler and living smaller.