Hobo Stripper Guest Post or Go Live in a Van

Guest post today from Hobo Stripper. She lives in a van as primary housing.

This morning I woke up in an endless field of wild grasses next to a lake, where my dog and I ate breakfast watching geese fly overhead and deer flit in and out of the trees. Last week I was in farm country, sad dirt and oil wells, and a little stream covered in trash. Before that it was snowy plains and harsh winds, and before that I was in the mountains, spending days tracking lynx and following the hoot of an owl. I’m always traveling.

I only need to work about eight weeks a year. How is this possible?

I live in a van. A mini-van, to be more precise. Things are a little cramped (my bed takes up about half of my living space), but it’s more than worth it for the high gas mileage and ease of insulation in a small space. Living in a van is very economical. You can tell your boss to buzz off, because your cash needs will be reduced to car insurance, gas, and some food. I say some food because most food can be hunted, gathered, or scavenged from dumpsters and road kill.

With your time and energy reclaimed, you can go anywhere: there are National Forests in practically every state where one can hole up in peace and solitude for weeks at a time (two weeks, legally, but I very rarely see forest cops), and you can stealth park in most towns. Your van can be set up for crashing and re-stocking when you get back from long wilderness hikes and gathering expeditions, or it can be a cozy den (mine leans towards cozy den).

You can also do whatever you want: write a book, learn from plants, study medicine, howl at the moon. Cook big meals over the fire and can the leftovers so you can heat them on your defroster and eat them driving down the road when you’re in cities and can’t build fires. The possibilities are endless, and life is all too short. Reclaim yours.

When the SHTF, you will already be living in the wilderness, you will already have most things that you need, and you will already know how to live the way you have been.

Yo Hobo, BTW: if you ever strike it rich and still want to continue the van/blogging lifestyle, you might want to consider getting one of THESE!

Holy manoley! This thing is a “Digital Search and Rescue Vehicle”. I call it INSANE. It’s a totally high tech, tricked out, four-wheel drive, rolling computer station – on roids! It’s all self-contained, holds jerry cans on the back, side ladder, crazy roof rack, winch, a satellite, suspension and engine that’s absurd, and . . . an extendable sun shade.