What a stressful and exciting month this has been. The van is 99% complete according to the plans and goals I had originally set for it. I have planned as much as I could up until this point with hundreds of hours of research and testimony from other van-dwellers… The only thing left to do now is live in it and figure out what works and what doesn’t. I have 2 successfully overnight trips so far, where I even shared the space with another person, and things worked out just fine. I wish I have the time for a few more, because I like to be super prepared like that, but it doesn’t seem likely anytime soon.

I will be selling my other car any day now, and I’ve begun interviews for tenants to rent my house. This is constantly on my mind and has been a little stressful. The whole landlord thing is brand new to me, and I’ve decided to manage everything myself in order to save a little more money each month. It looks like I will be using a really nice online service like Cozy to manage applications, accept rent payments and more.

Overall, I’m confident it will work out, and everything will come together sometime during October as I had planned. Everything else seems to be in order, including moving to part-time remote work at my company, and they only need 2 weeks notice before that needs to happen. I guess I’m pretty damn lucky to be able to keep my same position and have a source of reliable income - but this is what happens when you become a real asset to a company and they are willing to compromise so they don’t lose you completely.

Honestly, I could keep living comfortably like this indefinitely, as I have been for years. There is no real rush. But I had set a goal for myself and I really want to stick to it. I want to get my free time back and ease into this lifestyle while I can still enjoy Fall weather on the east coast. When Winter comes I had hoped I would south of it and well underway.

People keep asking me where I’m headed and what my plans are - but I honestly haven’t mapped this out yet, and I don’t think I need to. I don’t have a date that I need to return and so time is on my time. I want wake up everyday and figure out my options, take it slow and not miss anything that I might regret later. There is no need to. However, I do think that Asheville, NC will be my first big destination where I plan to post up for awhile. I’ve heard good things.

Van Camping in Elk Neck