As I sit here in a coffee shop typing much as I use to in college, I wonder if living in a van in college would have worked too. 

Yes, you can! Just as much as you can live in a home, apartment or dorms you can live in a van through college. Looking back I think that #vanlife in college is easier than normal van life. I’m not going to lie there will be some pitfalls and maybe even more than that some things that will be harder by choosing this lifestyle. Let’s look into what that means for you and your life!

Is it legal to live in a van?

Honestly, this is the big question for people that are looking into van life. In short, it depends, helpful I know. What you need to do to determine this is to look into the regulations regarding sleeping in your car. Most towns the law will be it’s ok to sleep in your car for a day or two. However, the other lar to look for is how often you need to move your vehicle. Most towns it is every 48 hours. 

Don’t feel down if the town says, “hell no that’s illegal.” a lot of towns say that but in honesty, the cops are to busy to care about a van that you can’t tell if there is someone in or not on a surface street legally parked. A and I have lived in a town now for almost a year with no knocks and we never park in Walmart either, they don’t allow it here. 

 This is the scariest part of Van life if you’re not living van life currently. the hundreds of people that do it every day we would all probably tell you that getting that dreaded knock on your van in the middle of the night has not happened. However, it can if you’re loud annoying or a noxious. If you follow a few simple steps you won’t get that knock probably ever. 

Will I smell gross and be unattractive if I live in a van?

I love this question. You will smell just as gross as you let yourself be! Being in college you will have an amazing asset at your disposal to help with hygiene, the school gym! Lucky you. This means you have “free” access to showers and bathrooms. Make a habit of heading there every day or every other day to shower. If you’re like me I feel super awkward walking into the gym and heading straight for the shower so I usually end up working out too…serendipitous bonus 

Will I miss out on the “college experience?”

You’ll miss as much of it as you’ll let yourself miss. Where you live won’t effect going to parties or eating great pizza with friends. Many colleges force you to live in the dorms for the first year anyway, so this means you won’t miss that part of college. Honestly, it’ll push you to get out and make friends, simply because you want something to do after class so it’ll be easier to say yes to that beer/milkshake or healthier things like hiking or school events.

I know my college experience was majorly lacking because I was working all the time. Literally, I worked 40+ and was more than a full-time student. Looking back now knowing what van life has allowed me to do I wouldn’t need to work so much. That means all those beers with friends I turned down probably wouldn’t have happened. Not to mention you can actually eat! No more cup-o-noodles cause you are not so financially tied up! 

What are the benefits of van life in college?

Money! I know this is simple but wow it’s true. Instead of paying $1,600 in rent and another $400 in other crap just to live, you pay nothing! (cause you’ll be paying for your car and insurance regardless if you are in a house) That means smaller loans or if you’re a workaholic like me you might be able to go to college with no loans and maybe graduate with money in your pocket. 

Freedom from so many things. Even simple stuff like getting suck in a rut watching tv or being a recluse at home living in a van will make it harder for you to fall into things like that!

Bonus: If you go to a party and get drunk, your home is right outside so so need to spend money on a uber or a lawyer for that DUI. Just remember to LEAVE YOUR KEYS IN YOUR BUDDIES HOUSE OR PLACE THEM OUTSIDE OF THE VAN. Cops can give you a DUI sleeping it off in a car if your keys are within reach.

 One of the things that sucks the most about college is going to bed late and hating that damn person with LEAD bricks for shoes walk-in at 5 fricken a.m. above you. When you’re living the van life, if you don’t like your neighbors, the people parked around you, you can just pick up and move your home to a quieter part of the city.

Usually, it is incredibly expensive to live close to the college campus. However, you can park in those same neighborhoods and not pay the rent that everyone else does. What that means is you can be that much closer to your classes or the bus route.  No more waking up at 6 a.m. to make the drive or the bus to be at campus for your 8 a.m. class. Yes, 8 a.m. classes still suck in college as they do in high school.

What are the drawbacks of van life in college?

If you are not ok with yourself this may hurt your hopes in dating. Dating in van life is perfectly possible but it is a skill that is kind of hard to cultivate. Growing up short, 5’, I’ve learned to be able to deal with peoples hate much easier and even use it to my strength in many ways. So when I tell someone, “I live in a van like a hippie” they rarely view me any different. Yes, that’s how I say it too. How do I pull that off? It’s actually pretty easy. Say it with pride. Don’t say it looking at your shoes quietly. Look them in the eye smile and say it like you mean it! If they don’t like you because of it…you probably don’t want to surround yourself with people like that anyway.

 Also if your van breaks down then your homeless for the time being. However, that’s an issue regardless if you are in college or not. 

 One of the biggest drawbacks would probably be the weather. Weather is something that affects van life so much more than house life. The reason being is if it’s raining outside and you’re wet you can’t just step into your entryway take your clothes off at the front door.  There are so many more Logistics to keeping your van dry or warm or cool then when you live in a house. If you’re going to be in college a lot of problems can be avoided by simply going to a coffee shop or going back to Kansas to work out till the rain clears. However, make sure if you’re going to be somewhere where it’s going to be cold you can take the necessary precautions in your van build to ensure that you can stay warm in the winter. 

Will it affect my grades?

Honestly, I think if I was living van life in college it would have helped my grades. This lifestyle leads to a form of minimalism and that ultimately removes a lot of distractions such as video games. Yes, that was my biggest distraction. If I would have been in the van there would be so many fewer distractions for me to study. And as you’re laying in a park or a natural area trying to figure out what you would like to do for the next 3 hours before you go to bed might be enough motivation for you to actually hook up that book and study. Today I spend the vast majority of my life in coffee shops typing and writing, that’s not too different from my days back in college. Surprisingly enough I needed to get away from my apartment study effectively. Which means it’s not like I was at my house anyway.  If you go back to campus to shower you really might as well swing by that study group that John told you about that is going down anyway.

 If this helps you out feel free to leave a comment below I would love seeing them. And if you’d like to take a deeper dive into we are producing articles every day that aim to help you live a happier life via van life.