Joanna Sobierska‑Paczesny Drive It, Live in It, Love It

With rising house prices becoming more and more of a problem for people wanting to buy a home, some people are utilising different living arrangementsliving arrangementsliving arrangements for themselves as a way to save money. One such way is vandwellingvandwellingvandwelling. Now it may not sound the most appealing as you might think it lacks certain amenitiesamenitiesamenities, as when you picture an everyday van, you don't picture one with a shower or a stovestove (AmE)stove installed. However, people have found a way to live in a van, instead of paying for expensive housing.

The vans that people are living in are very rarely your run‑of‑the‑millrun‑of‑the‑millrun‑of‑the‑mill vans, but specialised vehicles fitted withfitted withfitted with all the necessary amenities to live in relative comfort. Some vehicles such as RVRV, recreational vehicle (AmE)RVs (recreational vehiclesRV, recreational vehicle (AmE)recreational vehicles) are large vans fitted with beds, small kitchens, showers, and several other creature comfortscreature comfortscreature comforts. These vans even have running waterrunning waterrunning water and their own electricity, via water pumpswater pumps [ water pump]water pumps that fill with rainwater which is purifiedpurifiedpurified to make it safe to use for a nice, hot shower, and generatorsgenerators [generator]generators which produce electricity from fuels such as petrolpetrol (BrE)petrol.

Now all these amenities are taken for grantedtaken for grantedtaken for granted in a traditional, stationarystationarystationary house, so what are some of the benefits of living in a van? Well, the most obvious one is mobilitymobilitymobility, meaning you can drive your home anywhere you want. Do you want to live beside a lake? You can simply drive your van there. You on’t like your neighbours? Drive somewhere with more friendly people. The possibilities are endless. It is very common for people who live in vans to live in trailer parkstrailer parks (AmE)trailer parks, with like‑mindedlike‑mindedlike‑minded people and access to all the amenities they require. These trailer parks often have caravanscaravans [caravan] caravans, which are similar to RV’s, but need to be towed by a car or truck.

This lifestyle obviously isn't for everyone. It requires a love of the outdoors, as the space inside these vans is very limited, meaning they are very small inside, and can only really cater forcater forcater for 1‑2 individuals. So if you have a large family, this probably isn't for you as it could get very crampedcrampedcramped. But if you are an individual who loves spending time outdoors with nature, or just wish to have the freedom to live wherever you choose, this could save you some money on rent!

1 Źródło: Joanna Sobierska‑Paczesny , dostępny w internecie: https://www.loveproperty.com/gallerylist/64914/planes-trains-and-automobiles-youll-want-to-call-home [dostęp 11.07.2023], licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.