#vanlife has to be the coolest new millennial trend and it’s hitting Instagram hard. Why not though? Living out of a jazzed up van and traveling the world is pretty much the dream for most of us anyway. Others are taking to tiny houses (elaborate garden sheds) – a less mobile but equally quirky approach to a permanent residence. So why is it so popular?
Apart from the obvious – van life allows you to explore the world on four wheels without having to pay for accommodation – there is also a practical reasoning behind this cool as heck new movement. Essentially, if you think about the money you put into rent each month, funds that you pretty much just wash away (OK, you get a roof over your head) without anything to show for them in the long run. By taking out a loan and investing the cash into a van (or tiny house) you are replacing rent payments with loan repayments, after which, you have a van (or a shed). Your repayments probably cost less than your rent anyways (unless you have your eye on a serious RV) and your running costs will probably reduce as well.
Others are taking it further by using the investment, more so on the tiny house front, to save for a house deposit – once the tiny house loan is repaid, you can sell it and use that sizable chunk of cash (which would have just gone onto meaningless rent) to put a down-payment on a full sized house. You’d be hoping you did this within a few years, but it’s not a bad way to manipulate the financial system, and, being that it is harder than ever for millennials to get a foot on the property ladder, you have to admire their creativity.
So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at some inspirational Instas that will definitely have you convinced van life is for you:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVPVhpXgkLs/?tagged=vanlife&hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/BU74_PAhO3x/?taken-by=vanlifediaries&hl=en
It’s definitely cooler still with a dog, and I’m already working on the plans for my van, and the chance to say “hasta luego” to the 9-5 routine and constant burden of rental prices!
Featured image via Alex Azabache on Unsplash
