What’s Next?
Here we are, one year after the crash. After the wreck, it took me only 10 minutes to know that I wanted to start over and rebuild. Even though I had just lost my house and my heart was broken, I didn't feel like vanlife was over for me. There was more I wanted to experience.
However, I may have jumped the gun on investing in a new-to-me van. The one I ended up with was beyond my budget, but I just wanted to get into something as soon as possible, hoping to get my nomadic life back.
Cut to today, where I'm living with my dad in his apartment in Southern California and working as a Graphic Designer at a non-profit actors studio. It's not ideal or exactly fun, but it's temporary. It's what I had to do if I wanted to save money, pay back some debt, and rebuild my tiny home.
Nebula (the new van) is slowly but surely becoming a livable home. Last month, I installed all the windows (one on the sliding door, one for the kitchen area behind the driver's seat, and two on the back doors, which I'm pretty excited about since my last rig didn't have these).
This weekend, my boyfriend and I made some progress on the flooring. It was a hot and mosquito-filled day, so we couldn't get it all done, but I'm very satisfied with the progress. I hope to finish it next weekend.
So what's next? We keep working. I hope to have everything completed by the end of the year, but at this point, it's a bit of a waiting game. My fingers are crossed, my shoulders are shrugged, and I'm thinking, "It could happen."
A few things need to happen before I can actually hit the road:
First, the van has to be finished (obviously). My cash flow at the moment is VERY LOW. A lot of my income is going to bills, making my extra money for van "things" pretty minimal. Thus, the building process is slow and steady.
Next, I have to find remote work. For the past four months, I have been applying for every graphic design, executive assistant and/or illustrator remote positions on LinkedIn, Indeed, FlexJobs, and everything in between, but haven't found anything yet. It's slim pickings out there, folks.
Finally, I have to settle some debts. Like many of us, I have debts that need to be paid, especially my student loans and credit cards. I feel like life on the road will be less stressful if I can pay off some things beforehand, so that I will have some "uh-oh" money in case something happens - you know, if the van breaks down, or I need a new windshield, or if I hit another deer (knock on all the wood).
Here's to progress and enthusiasm - I WILL get back out there soon!
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