I Tried Living In My Car For 24 Hours To See If #VanLife was For Me

Inspired by “Van Life” content on YouTube, I lived in my car for 24 hours to see if “alternative living” is something I could do long-term.

I set myself a challenge to live in my small city car for 24 hours. Photo: Clare Cullen

I first discovered “Van Life” content on YouTube when Jenelle Eliana blew up on the site, and have expanded my viewing to include many different types of ‘alternative living’ content ever since; from ‘Van Life’ to ‘Tiny houses’ and everything in between.

The vast library of inspirational, luxurious-seeming ‘Van Life’ content on social media got me thinking — could I survive as a “Vanlifer”? Is living in a vehicle as easy as they make it look?

So I set myself a challenge; to live the ‘Van life’ for 24 hours.

This didn’t mean staying in my car for 24 hours; it meant living the way I’ve watched Jenelle and the other YouTubers live — sleeping in the vehicle but spending most of the time out if it; eating out, getting in the sea, going to the gym to work out and/or shower, doing yoga etc. The challenge was to live as normal as possible a life while living in my car (and without running water) and see if I could last.

Firstly, the experiment was a surprisingly expensive one. To really live the #VanLife, I not only needed to eat out all day; but I also…