There’s something highly appealing about taking your life and moving it to a new way of living. One that means you could wake up one morning and be in one place and then the following week, be somewhere completely different.

Van life is something that many people adapt to when it comes to their lifestyle choices. Whether that be something they do for retirement or to combat the rising cost of house prices making getting on the property ladder or renting a very expensive challenge.

If you’re considering a big change and have always considered living in a van as an alternative, then here’s everything you’ll need to know to make that transition.

image of a van during night time

Find the right van

In order to take full advantage of the van life, it’s important to find the right van. That is probably one of the most important parts of adapting to a van lifestyle because, without the right van, you’re going to ruin your experience of van life.

With that being said, think about what type of van you need. Perhaps, it’s just you and your dog that’ll be embracing this new way of living, or maybe it’s you and the rest of your growing brood? Everyone is different when it comes to their needs and requirements so make sure you find the right van and one that’s a comfortable size for all of your loved ones to enjoy.

Do it up to make it liveable

When it comes to the van life, it’s important that you’ve done everything possible to make it liveable. For example, you may have a van that functions mainly a place to sleep and lounge in. When it comes to going to the bathroom or cooking a meal, this may be all done outside of the van as an extension of the vehicle.

There are some vans though that are considered a lot more luxurious and more adaptable for those who are used to living in a property or building. You may want to do some serious work to it so that it becomes even more functional.

Test drive before committing

Before you throw everything into this way of life, it’s important to test drive before you commit. Driving a van is different from driving a car and driving a van that also becomes your home is a decision that you shouldn’t take lightly.

With that being said, it’s important you do your testing driving to make sure that this is something for you.

Put any excess belongings in storage

Storage is a useful thing to have and there are plenty of self-storage services worth using. This can be helpful if you already have a lot of furniture or belongings and this move to a van life may only be temporary for so many weeks, months, or years.

With that being said, consider the benefits of using self-storage, especially when it comes to embracing the van life.

Adapting to a van and living within the confines of this vehicle is an adventure and one worth taking advantage of if you get the opportunity to do so at some point.