How I Got the Van, How it Went, and Why it's Ending!
March 2020: At the beginning of Covid, I lost 2 of my 3 babysitting jobs. I was fortunate enough to continue babysitting (around 25 hours/week) for one amazing family in San Jose, California. I would continue to work for this family until the following November.
June 1st 2020: I knew I wouldn't be able to afford my apartment for much longer, so I moved all of my belongings into a storage unit and began living out of my Mazda. I began making silly, lightweight TikToks about being homeless.
September 5th 2020: I spent ALL of my savings to purchase a 1990 Chevy G20 van! It was $6,000.
September 10th 2020: I took my "new" old van to a mechanic to get a full check up. Many things needed to be repaired/replaced including (but definitely not limited to) the catalytic converter for smog pass. The price was around $1,800. Thankfully, the mechanic was a family friend, and he let me pay this off over the following 6 weeks.
November 13th 2020: I left San Jose (and my job) and began on a 3 month adventure around the United States. Thanks to this decision, I met many other van lifers who I'm certain I will be lifelong friends with!
April 2021: I returned to San Jose, California to convert my van and make it nicer. In the midst of that process, my van's engine went out. I took it to the same mechanic, and they installed a new engine. The cost was $4,500. I borrowed money in order to pay for this in full.
Summer 2021: I started babysitting again while also learning about how I could make money through social media. Simultaneously, I continued my van conversion. By the end of the summer, I would have my van converted with an electrical system, cabinets, a fridge, a real bed, and shiplap walls. I finished paying off my van engine debt in September.
October 2021: I started traveling again, but mostly within the vicinity of California and its surrounding states. I continued to have occasional minor problems with my van, including (but not limited to) the alternator needing to be replaced.
January 2022: I relocated to San Diego, California! Within a month of living there, I started to notice that my transmission wasn't doing too great. I took it to a new mechanic who informed me that the current transmission only had a few hundred more miles before needing to be replaced. I've driven the van 30 total miles since then. I retrieved my Mazda, and have since turned it into the tiniest little home ever.... and yes, I am happy with it :)
And here we are!
Over the past year and a half, owning this van has completely transformed my life and has led me to countless beautiful places and experiences, many of which I'd consider priceless. At the same time, the van has caused me a tremendous amount of stress financially... and therefore mentally. Once I realized that the transmission would be needing to be replaced, I was distraught. I had to decide whether to continue pouring money into my 32 year old vehicle.. or get rid of it (despite all of the love and growth that it has indirectly brought me). It took me months to decide what to do, but here is my final conclusion:
I'm not ready to give up the travel and the experiences (hence, me deciding to live in my Mazda), but I have decided that I'm ready to part with the van.
Now, I will absolutely miss this van. I hope more than anything that it goes to somebody who really needs the experiences as much as I did when I got it. Additionally, I hope whoever gets it has a much easier time with all of the mechanical problems.. since so much has already been fixed. The transmission will be a big cost, but there shouldn't be too much else!
Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for being here. Thank you.
-Billie
