Van Life is booming. Amassing 17.4 million tags on instagram and an increase in searches by 216% since 2018, it’s clear #vanlife is gaining momentum.
The impacts of the Covid pandemic resulted in working remotely not only being more popular than ever, but more possible- even from a van. After spending 2020 in lockdown, people want to travel and many are finding van life the perfect solution to balancing work and fun.
As of 2023, over half a million UK citizens lived in vans and in the US the van living population has increased by 63% from 2020 to 2022, going from approximately 1.9 million to 3.1 million people.
It’s a common thought that this increase is a consequence of the rising costs of living and increases in house prices, but whilst the elimination of rent and mortgage payments is appealing, for many van life is about more.
Tom Weston, 28, is seasoned in this lifestyle, taking to his converted Ford Transit in 2021.
“Everyone thinks it’s about costs- oh it’s cheaper to live in a van, lower utilities, no financial ties like you get with traditional housing, but for me it isn’t about that. Not everything is about the housing crisis, some people, like me, just want this lifestyle. I wanted to travel. I surf a lot. I wanted adventure, I’m at my best when I’m surrounded by nature. And so van life makes everything much easier.”
Talking to BBC Emily Cotgrove, who runs VanLife Conversions in Essex, shared she believes this accelerated demand is due to covid: “Before Covid, we had a six to eight-month wait list, now we are booked up for 18 months.”
Tom agreed that Covid pushed him to pursue this lifestyle.
“It had always been something I wanted to do. And then the pandemic hit. My job- I work in marketing- already required a lot of UK travel and then with Covid, they made it a lot more flexible so that I could work from home whilst travelling, at that point van life became a real possibility. It meant I got to do it all.”
For others, it’s about family.
Ellinor Smith has lived in her Iveco Daily camper since June this year, with her partner, dog and their two children aged 2 and 4.
“The best part is definitely the amount of extra time we get to spend together as a family, that’s our main priority. All the special memories we get to make together. And how much better our general out look on life is, we are all round more positive, relaxed people now. I’d say our mental health has definitely improved too… there’s many reasons why we decided to transition to this lifestyle. The main one being wanting to escape the rat race and break away from the 9-5, so that we could spend more quality time with our children, make memories with them and enjoy these years we have with them whilst they are young. This way of life is cheaper so we can save more and work less, meaning more quality time.”
For Ellinor, her transition opened up a new career, where she shares the highs and lows of van life on TikTok.
“I now earn from social media,” and this flexibility suits her “as my main focus is now home educating the children.”
SMMT data reveals that UK van registrations continue to rise annually. In the past year vans between 3.5-6 tonnes have gone up by 59.8% and vans under 3.5 tonnes have increased from 282,139 at the end of 2022 to 341,455 in 2023.
As we approach winter, van life becomes more difficult. The picture perfect Instagram feeds of campers on sunny Cornish beaches are no longer the reality.
Ellinor shared her approach: “For winters moving forward we plan to go abroad. When we are not travelling in the van we do have a base- a friend here in Cornwall owns a farm with land and lets us stay in her field.”
Tom, however, stays to endure the Cornish weather.
“The surf is better here in winter- more consistent swells, better wave conditions and less tourists, so I stick it out. My van is pretty sturdy and has great insulation so winter doesn’t really bother me.”
The demand for van life continues to grow, with Autotrader stating commercial vehicles are up 57% year on year, suggesting the appeal of living in a van transcends mere financial considerations—it’s about embracing freedom, quality time and adventure.