Have you ever been curious about the nomadic way of life? Thanks to social media providing a window into the adventures of people living alternative lifestyles on the road, it's never been easier to follow the lives of those who have chosen to leave it all behind to travel full-time, taking their homes with them. If you're feeling inspired to join the van life or 'digital nomad' movements, we've found some people who are making their travel dreams a reality.
Click or scroll through the gallery to see what it's really like to leave convention behind and hit the open road...
Owners of awe-inspiring Instagram account @permanentroadtrip, Joe, Emilie and their dogs have been hitting up some of North America’s most scenic national parks in their converted Mercedes Sprinter van. Both were avid travellers for some time, but as of December 2016, they decided to move into the van full-time and head out on the open road.
Their Instagram page is an inspirational resource for travellers who love venturing into the unknown and enjoy adventure, thrill-seeking activities and the outdoors. The intrepid couple spend most of their time exploring sun-soaked landscapes such as Arizona, Baja California and Colorado.
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Because it's their permanent home, Joe and Emilie have got all the essentials, plus a few luxuries. There's a full kitchen, with maple and walnut walls and cabinets for storage. Cooking with views like this would certainly make up for living in such close quarters. The campervan has also just been rejuvenated. "Now it looks as wonderful as the day we started back in 2016," says Joe.
Joe and Emilie seem to wake up every day in a new and interesting place, and they document their travels in the form of an inspirational poster which maps out their travels. This bold piece of wall art is colour-coded for each year they've been zig-zagging around the continent. Of course, when it's time to move on, everything packs neatly and expertly back into place in the van, ready for the next adventure.
Full-time travellers Savannah and Drew have spent over seven years living and working remotely from their van. The creative couple were looking for a way out of the daily grind that allowed them to continue their lives as artists and creators. They bought and renovated a 1987 Ford Coachman camper in 2016 and soon started the engine for life on the road without knowing anyone else who had done the same.
Savannah and Drew have embraced their new way of life with the help of a wonderful online community of fellow nomads, many of whom have become lifelong friends. The couple have since travelled over 100,000 miles (160,934km) touring the US, Canada and Mexico and have no plans to stop. They have three RV renovations under their DIY belts and have built a YouTube channel and website, Our Way to Roam, documenting their builds.
The shuttle bus renovation was aided by a perfectly designed floor plan that utilises every inch of space. The cosy living space is decorated in inviting block colours and warm natural textures. Home comforts include heated floors, a shower cubicle and toilet combo, a compact kitchen with a pull-out chopping board, integrated knife block, and vertical pantry storage. The bedroom even converts into a movie nook thanks to a magnetic projector and screen.
Bitten by the motorhome makeover bug, Savannah and Drew have since purchased their dream vehicle: a 1987 Mercedes-Benz Unimog 1300L, an ex-German military ambulance. They are currently in the process of converting the rig into their full-time home. Once complete, the couple are looking forward to taking their tiny-but-tough home on wheels on off-grid adventures with their two dogs, Pablo and Mateo.
Ariane Walder and her partner Zach live in a 152 square-foot (14sqm) 1976 campervan after needing to escape intense non-profit jobs and "the grind." They document their nomadic and bohemian lifestyle on their Instagram account @with.love.and.dirt. The creative couple bought their 1970s van in 2021 and set to work renovating and injecting their own personalities into the small-but-mighty trailer. Their maiden voyage came eight months later, which unexpectedly took them to Las Vegas.
Ariane told Apartment Therapy that her favourite room is the bedroom: "It's the coziest! Pillows, books, plants, and the most gorgeous windows. It almost feels like a cabin." The couple live a freeing lifestyle that is funded by selling jewellery, tattooing, playing gigs, hosting open mic nights and picking up casual employment wherever they are based.
The van is decked out in hip decor and peppered with interesting souvenirs from the couple's travels to Mexico, Morocco and Vietnam. As the couple are ready to hit the road on any given day, almost everything on the RV counters and shelves is Velcroed and taped down. Peel-and-stick elements such as the wallpaper and tiling are not only lightweight, they add retro-look colour and pattern to every surface, including the ceiling.
The couple have embraced the van life community and once stayed on a dried lakebed in California, where 30 or more rigs came together for an epic Thanksgiving. Other experiences they've shared include attending nomad festivals in Utah and New Mexico. On the flip side, Ariane also enjoys spending time solo in her camper with just her dogs for company.
Katie and Ben are a Minnesotan couple who describe themselves on their website, Two Wandering Soles, as a couple with "incurable wanderlust" who "[seek] out adventure". The high school sweethearts started their travel journey backpacking and blogging in 2014 and have since travelled and worked around the world.
Having converted three vans from scratch, the couple have become professionals at building tiny homes on wheels. Their first van, Vinny, cost just £1,576 ($2,000) with a £788 ($1,000) conversion budget. Although basic, living in Vinny allowed them to fall in love with the idea of taking their home with them wherever they went. A few years later, with a larger budget, they built a dream van named Pearl. However, when starting a family, they realised the short wheelbase would not be big enough when two became three. Cue Lola, their latest vehicle – a Ram ProMaster 3500 extended version that suits the whole family.
The couple admit that there have been adjustments to van life now there's a toddler on board. Their new family-friendly van consists of a bespoke compact kitchen, a composting toilet and shower combo, a revolving dining table that converts into a bed and plenty of hidden storage. Lola is also fitted with an additional two-seat bench that fits a car seat, a fold-down crib and a toddler bed, and features dedicated storage in handy-to-reach spaces. Pictured here is Ben doing the washing-up in Pearl, before family life.
Katie and Ben's two-year-old daughter has already travelled to 13 countries and 16 US states, and has spent months at a time living in a campervan (including Katie and Ben's vans, as well as rented ones). So, what makes the family choose van life? It's the simplicity, freedom and adventure. "Whether you choose to live in a van full-time or use your van as an adventure mobile to take you off grid on the weekends, there is no limit to the range the van life will take you," explains Katie.
Fed up with the 9-5 routine and mainstream life, Keira and Ric sold their house to go full-time travelling with their three children. They run a popular, travel- themed YouTube channel where they share their adventures and inspire others. The digital-savvy couple first bought a Citroen Relay LWB panel van during lockdown and set about converting it into a home on wheels on their own driveway. After a few practice road trips, the young family of five were ready for an exciting full-time life change.
The family explored the UK, Scandinavia and Spain in their beloved Relay van, but soon realised that although they had fallen in love with the nomadic way of life, more room was needed. After considering a few options, the family decided to purchase a lorry which they converted in just 16 weeks into their next family home on wheels. The heavy loader, named Tori, allowed the couple to design a practical layout which included home comforts such as full-size, permanent beds for their children.
Before buying their new tiny home, Ric had to take an advanced driving licence test to legally drive the 7.5-tonne rig. Inside the converted lorry, the decor is colourful, modern and family-friendly. There is a large living space that converts into a bedroom for mum and dad at night, a permanent bunk room for the children, a compact yet well-equipped kitchen plus a shower room and toilet combo. The driver's cab has enough passenger seats for everyone.
The family's latest adventure has taken them out of their comfort zone beyond Europe and into Africa. Their travel-themed Instagram feed, @touringwiththekids, proves they are embracing every minute of the journey. As well as making incredible memories and experiencing new cultures, the family also successfully combines home-schooling and much-needed downtime in their cosy space. "So many countries ticked off, memories made and personal growth achieved!" explains Keira on social media.
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Charlie and Julia met while both living in Colorado in 2017. They bought their first "travel trailer" and started renovating in 2018. The original plan was to save up, quit their jobs then travel full-time for a year. A silver lining to their pandemic experience allowed them to keep their jobs and work remotely, so they got a bigger 2018 Coachmen Chaparral 336TSIK that included work spaces.
Working remotely comes with some restrictions. Their equipment and communication methods need lots of power, so most weeks are spent pitched in RV parks with electricity supplies. The couple love to wild camp at weekends and enjoy heading out exploring and hiking.
Julia and Charlie compromise when it comes to RV decor: Julia makes 99% of the decisions while Charlie chooses two pieces of movie poster artwork. We think the deal works! The motorhome's relaxed bohemian-style decorating theme is ideal for the couple's desertscape backdrops. Home comforts include a mid-century modern-style sofa and king-size bed. The couple document their travels on Instagram page @_thehoneywagon.
The couple have recently taken a break from travelling while they set up a home base. When asked what changes that will make to RV life, Julia says: "Well, not a ton. We are already in the works of downsizing our rig... and have plans to Airbnb our new home while we're on the road." The couple intend to renovate a third RV and are looking forward to new adventures and having the best of both worlds.
Irish-born Shane Monks O'Byrne lives in a converted 2012 Ford Transit. The digital nomad bought the van for £5,900 ($7.6k) or €7,000 in the local currency and taught himself how to complete a full conversion, which cost about the same amount. He enjoyed the project so much that he now runs a tutorial website, The Van Conversion, teaching others how to do the same.
Shane has lived in his van, nicknamed Beans, for four years. He spends the majority of his time in Chamonix, France and has also completed an incredible road trip to the northernmost tip of Norway during winter. Shane remembers: "Norway was truly special. Specifically the Lofoten Archipelago in the Arctic Circle. I have a particularly fond (and freezing) memory of surfing big waves in the North Sea with snow all around."
Shane designed and decorated his van to look like a cosy Alpine chalet from Zermatt, Switzerland, and it has everything he needs for life on the road. The full-time traveller offers the following advice to those considering the van life: "Go rent a van first to test the lifestyle. Check out insurance and legal requirements for a camp conversion in your country BEFORE you begin. Plan your layout carefully. Sketch out many different designs before you start. It's crucial you get your set-up right from the onset."
Being an engineer turned campervan conversion expert means Shane thought outside the box when it came to kitting out Beans. As well as the usual home comforts such as fairy lights and candles, a wow-factor projector on the ceiling with a pull-down screen makes movie night memorable. On life on the road, Shane says: "I have spent four very cold winters in the van now and I need it to be as cosy as possible. It's the best place to come back to after a cold day in the mountains ice-climbing, ski-mountaineering or paragliding."
Originally from New York, the O'Phalen family have been living away from home and travelling since 2020. A shift in careers for both Kate and Dan led them to work remotely and allowed them to pursue a life-long dream of full-time travel with their three children. What started as a full summer escape to a coastal village in Maine then turned into a year and a half of staying in Airbnbs all over the United States. The next step was to purchase their very own home on wheels, which has turned them into full-time nomads for the foreseeable future...
The couple purchased and renovated a 2007 Keystone Raptor, both inside and out. The desert mural-painted RV has taken them to 49 US states, seven Canadian provinces and 15 countries so far. And, as well as parking up in RV campgrounds, the family loves boondocking. Living on the road with a family may sound tricky, but Kate has mastered the art of off-grid camping and shares many tips and tricks on her blog O'Phalen Adventures and Instagram account @kateophalen.
Kate and Dan gutted and beautifully renovated their 2007 Keystone toy hauler for their family of five. Inside, the muted green kitchen offers plenty of storage, while the living room includes a comfortable sectional sofa transferred from their original home in New York and a funky loft cubby for their eldest child to sleep in. The master bedroom includes a luxurious shower cubicle and ensuite toilet. Convertible options are key to optimising the living space – the playroom and home-school area switch into a cosy twin kids' bedroom at night using lift beds.
Fully embracing life on the road, the family loves exploring museums, hiking and kayaking fjords. Their favourite North American destinations so far have been Alaska, Arizona, the Oregon Coast and Quebec City. So, where's next? Watch this space!
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