Introductions!

Who are we and why are we living in a van??

Hi, I’m Brooke! My boyfriend, Nick, and I live full time in our 1987 Winnebago named Winifred (Winnie for short). Originally, we are from the small town of Troy, IL, which is about 30 minutes from St. Louis. Through this blog, I hope to share our adventure with all of you and hopefully inspire at least one person to get out of their comfort zone or travel somewhere they’ve always wanted to go.

We both graduated college in May 2022 and started vanlife by June. I got a degree in Biological Sciences with a specialization in Ecology, Environmental Science, and Conservation from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). Nick finished two degrees in Finance and Economics from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) – so you could say our professional interests are opposite. However, we both have a deep love and passion for nature and enjoy being outdoors as much as possible. In our free time, we enjoy hiking and backpackpacking, as well as reading. Nick is also currently training for an ultra-marathon (50 miles!) in January.

We have been dating for eight years and have dreamed of doing vanlife since we were sixteen. Although we didn’t think it was very realistic, we still loved the idea of traveling and started saving money to do so. During college, our dream started to become a possibility. We thought graduating college is a natural time in your life for new beginnings anyways, so what better time to live in a van? Junior year of college we really started to consider vanlifing and making concrete plans. Can we afford it? What kind of van do we want to get? What places/things to do are on our bucket lists? We decided it was possible, and by September of 2021, we purchased Winnie.

People often ask us why in the world we would want to live like this. Winnie has no bathroom or AC. She is old and gets a whopping eight miles/gallon. We often don’t have service, Wi-Fi, or a warm shower. To us, it was about challenging ourselves. All our lives we have been so dependent on those things, but we want to learn what you really need to be happy. That’s why, when we left, we only took essentials with us. I have about ten outfits in the van, and Nick has even less. We have one plate for each of us, two forks, one coffee mug, one pot, one pan, etc… Our lifestyle is a step towards minimalism. Sure, we still have items that bring us joy more than functionality. We brought many books, my Nintendo Switch, a GoPro, and other items that are not considered a necessity. Nick went a step further and actually got rid of most of his things from home, while the rest of my closet is waiting for me back at my parent’s house. The point is, we are living with a lot less than what we are used to, trying desperately to get out of our comfort zone.

The other goal of this trip is to have and value experiences. Our hope is to visit as much of the US (and possibly Mexico/Canada) as possible to appreciate the beauty all around us that we didn’t know existed. People often scoff and joke about how there is nothing to do in places like Nebraska or Kansas, but what if we proved them wrong? Every state and region and community has to have something beautiful, right? We want to learn to appreciate anywhere we go and find the beauty in places other people don’t see. Whether this means going on a hike, meeting the locals, or trying local food, we want to experience it. Hopefully, by the end of this trip, we will know where we eventually want to settle down and live our lives, and more importantly, where we don’t!

I hope this explains the purpose of our trip and helps you understand why we choose to live this way. Keep in mind that every vanlife experience is different and there are many reasons people could want to try it. I encourage you to read other people’s stories to get a more well-rounded perspective on this lifestyle.