Disclaimer: This title is mostly for SEO and simplification reasons. There is no hard division between Digital Nomads and Vanlifer.
Indeed there are people living in a van working online remotely as I do.
In this article I want to focus on the difference between remote workers with and without van; often the label of Digital Nomad in Europe refers to people working online remotely without fix home and without their own transportation.
One of the most common feedback I get when I say I live and travel in a van, is: "That feels so free! This is the real nomadic life"
I was rather surprised to hear these feedbacks from digital nomads too. To them, I often reply: "Isn't digital nomad lifestyle pretty nomadic too? :D"
I never understood why digital nomads think living in a van is freer than what they do until I experienced the digital nomad lifestyle myself.
Why did I move from my van to a rented flat:
When the winter began, I decided to move into a flat for several reasons:
- Living in a van in winter is cold. I wasn't ready to deal with that challenge yet (yes, my van has a good heater system. But still.)
- I started a new work project which required me to stay from 4hrs till 8hrs sit in front of a computer in a videocall. This means: a) is even more difficult to fight the cold (the first way of fighting the cold is actually move the body) and b) sharing the van with someone else become very very difficult since the other person will not have much space to move or will have to reduce the noise at the minimum.
- I was craving for city life and living in a city in a van is not much fun. At least in Europe.
- I wanted to meet full-time travel remote worker. Most of the vanlifer I met, take time off from their work, live out of their savings or do some kind of occasional work. I didn't find many vanlifer that work remotely online.
Main differences between vanlife and digital nomads:
I spent some time in flats, shared flats, and hostels.
I was going to cafes to work, visiting coworking spaces and various expats / digital nomads events.
Those are the main realization I made:
- Nature vs City: The main difference I notice: while living in my van I spend much more time in nature. Even when is not a remote place (since I still need good internet coverage) is still outside the city. Moreover, I can stay near a city during working hours and quickly move in the wild as soon as I finish my work and don't need stable and good internet coverage anymore.
- Static vs on the move: While living in a flat, I have more of a static feeling. Whit static I mean being in the same physical space and also set up a static daily routine: Wake up, work, go out in the evening and repeat.
I have a personal routine while living in the van too (meditation, training, working, exploring, dinner..) but I have the feeling I quickly slide into a stricter and flatter routine while living in a flat.
Also, without personal transportation is more challenging to explore the surrounding. In countries without a good public transportation system is very challenging but even when public transportation system is good, making a daily trip requires some degree of mental and practical preparation, whether with a van is often quicker. As result, I end up exploring less while living in a flat. - Planning: Being nomadic doesn't mean having fun all the time. We still have to take care of basic life stuff like going to a dentist, sending/receiving packages (that can become a real challenge sometimes!), going to an hairstylist, and so on.
I found it much easier to take care of all of those duties while staying in a place for longer; being somewhere longer means getting to know the place and people that can help you achieve those tasks.
I could stay in the same place longer with my van and probably get the same benefit. Still, when living in a van I find it very difficult to spend a long amount of time in the same city/village. Even if is about moving of few km, I still have this urge to move, to see different places.
It is also easier to plan some of my daily routine like training.
I found a pretty good way to stick to my training while living in a van, nevertheless, I feel staying somewhere for longer made it even easier to stick to it. And of course, having a shower whenever I want is a big plus! :D - Working and social environment:
The first time I went to a coworking space after a long time working from my van I felt so much inspired and focus on my work (I mean, the first time I found a coworking that was actually a good fit for me!). This feeling didn't last long and I actually got tired pretty fast of the office environment.
This reminds me that each situation has its own pro and cons: Coworking can be silent and provide the equipment to work properly; working from home allow me to save time and work when I'm actually more inspired and productive; working from my van gives me the same benefit of working from home plus some amazing view which makes me even more inspired. Sometimes tho, it lacks in comfort or in equipment.
Of course, coworking and cafes give me more chances of meeting other digital nomads which is one of the main reasons why I decided to rent a flat in a city.
I personally realized I do not enjoy going to digital nomads meetups or to meet other nomad workers randomly.
I did meet some amazing and inspiring digital nomads but I did in alternative ways like socials, forums, in specific communities, or by chance. - Internet: One other reason why I decided to move to a flat was because of internet stability. With this project that keep me on video calls for a long time, I was very worried to have stable and reliable internet. I thought a flat would give me that. Wrong :D
I end up living in different flats without stable internet and using my portable modem with a local sim card. Which is the same solution I use in my van.
Of course, this depends a lot on which country and place you are but what I learn is that nowadays mobile network is pretty strong, and having cable internet doesn't always mean more stability.
So once again, is important to be prepared for different scenarios and have a plan B! - More time: While living in my van I live a simpler life, following more a natural rhythm.
I also spend more time alone and in particular, I don't have the fear of missing out.
This results in me feeling more creative and having more time to work on my own project like finishing a book, writing articles, building something, or simply sticking to my routine and doing the things that makes me happy every day.
This is probably more related to the type of lifestyle I end up doing in each place. Maybe I could have done a simpler lifestyle in a city as well but I often had the feeling I was missing out on important events or special nights and often end up filling my time with things I'm not so sure were the ones that made me feel fulfilled and happy.
But at least I can say (to whom?? My self!) that I did them -.-
My personal conclusion:
Personally, I didn't enjoy the digital nomad lifestyle more than the vanlife lifestyle.
I suffered from a steady routine, lack of nature, and loss of freedom of movement.
What I thought I was missing in my life in a van which is the social interaction and organized social situations, I discover not being what I look for in my lifestyle. And I learn to find and connect with the right people in alternative ways.
This is of course very personal and each one of us has to find what works for him/her.
I anyway found it very interesting to experiment with both lifestyles and experience what each one has to offer. I will probably keep switching from one to the other (and many others!!) based on what I need in that moment of my life. But generally speaking, the wild, nature, and being constantly on the move is what gives me that smile on the face that allows me to deal with anything else in life ;)