The Difference Between Living in a Van and Being Homeless
During the month of November, my girlfriend Jess and I immersed ourselves in a 6,700 mile roadtrip and poetry tour, living out of her car for 22 of 32 days. In Coachella, a homeless family thought we were, too, and commiserated with us about it. In Los Angeles, the homeless just assumed we were also, and welcomed us in as their own, many of them sharing advice on where to busk art for money, or where to park our car each night. In New Mexico and Arizona, the homeless and the transient mingled without judgement. At every single truck stop that we car camped at, there were other obvious car campers and other obvious homeless folks that lived in their car.
Jess and I talked about it everyday of the trip. Both of us having experienced homelessness, and a lot of housing instability in our lives. Both of us well seasoned travelers that have seen and experienced much of what life has to offer, good and bad.
And after years of following and participating in Van life, RV groups, and car camping sites, both in real time and online, for several years now, I can confirm that it’s one of the frequent hot debate topics inside those groups. What is the difference between Van life and homelessness?
Comrades, I’m not an expert on the unhoused. I’m not an expert at anything. But I have survived homelessness, poverty, mental health, trauma, and addiction. I’ve lived on the streets, in cars, squatted in abandoned buildings and houses, slept in shelters, and lived in halfway houses. And over the last 18 years of California sober living I’ve participated in at least 100 support groups in prisons, jails, homeless shelters and halfway houses, helped serve meals to the homeless at least a few dozen times through volunteering with various shelters, agencies and missions, worked with homeless and vulnerable teens, written and fundraised for a local homeless newspaper, and given away a few paychecks and all of my dollar bills and pocket change to panhandlers that I keep befriending somehow. These are my people and no matter where else life takes me, once they realize that I was once homeless, and once they understand that I speak our language, most of them understand that I’m their people, too.
This column, and the next couple to follow, may be some of the most important that I ever write, and they grew in importance to me last week when I read the end of the year news reports that homelessness rose nearly 20% in 2024. Of course it did. Housing prices are unaffordable, and billionaires are now measured by how close they are to being trillionaires.
And I’m not going to get into economics. They aren’t real numbers anyway. The only economy that you and I should ever care about is can me and you and other working people afford to live. That’s it. Wall Street doesn’t mean shit to me and you, but believe what you want.
Am I homeless living in my camper year around? This year when I hopefully obtain a van to spend the next winter living in, will I be homeless then? Yes and no. It’s complicated and it depends on who you ask.
In Arizona, Jess and I camped for three nights in Quartzite. It’s the winter Mecca for those that live in their vehicles full-time. On any given winter day there are 15,000+ people there living off grid in some sort of vehicle, and more than a few in tents, or sleeping bags. Many of them are there by choice. A lot of them are retired and either choose to travel full time, or are just snow-birding, and have a traditional home elsewhere. There are wealthy folks living the RV life in $500,000 rigs there. There’s a large percentage of folks living there that have dropped out of the traditional rat race. A lot of disabled folks. Homeless folks. Veterans. The two truck stops in the small town look like an RV and homeless convention collided at the same intersection.
So, what’s the difference between living in a van and being homeless? I keep asking hoping that one of you readers will answer it for us already, but since you haven’t, I’ll tell you all, it’s a fine line. First, it’s sometimes challenging to convince homeless people that they’re homeless. True story, but there are folks that think that as long as you’re not sleeping on the streets that you’re not homeless. I used to be one of them, until a homeless colleague pointed out the bullshit in my thought process. He and I were eating at a soup kitchen when he pointed out that I was eating with the homeless because I was one, too. I’d thought that since I had a car I was somehow better, I guess.
Second, there are thousands of humans living in vans that could afford to live in apartments and houses. I know that baffles many, but with a little money and a monthly income stream, I’d never stay in one place long again myself. 22 out of those 32 days we lived in the car, and 20 out of those 22 days were amongst the best days of my life.
Third, there’s a large group of humans like me that have decided to seek free time over money, and have adapted to a modest, nomadic lifestyle, because it’s low maintenance and the most affordable way to live. Many of these humans would live in houses and apartments were they able to do so.
Fourth, there’s thousands living in RVs, vans and cars because they can’t afford to live in houses. You wouldn’t call a married couple with two children living in an RV homeless necessarily, but there’s thousands of families living just like that all over the country, and they’re certainly not living in the homes they’d like to live in, and while they’re not counted amongst the homeless, I’d argue they should at minimum be part of the conversation.
Fifth, there’s thousands living in their vehicles out of necessity. Living in your car is the next step after losing your housing. Either cars or cheap motels, and we’re not even adding those motel dwelling friends into our van life vs. homeless discussion.
Sixth, there’s so many people forced to live in their cars, because the world is fucked, that car life is becoming its own, new level of poverty on the caste system, and large cities are starting to open car camper parking lots to provide a safe place and to care for basic hygiene needs.
Seventh, it’s nearly impossible to fully, accurately even define what homelessness is, except that it’s not just living on the streets. It’s also impossible to accurately count how many humans are out there living in those conditions. Every study, including the recent year end ones showing it on the rise, mentions this fact. You can only really count those in shelters, or those getting some type of government help.
And like I mentioned about seven minutes ago, I’m not a fucking expert. I don’t know how to count all of my people, and although I could solve about 90% of homelessness in a few years with enough money, there’s parts of it that I know can never fully be fixed in today’s society. Yes, there are humans living in sleeping bags on the street that could have other options, and please don’t get me started on their reasons why. Even I only understand some of them.
Nah, comrades, I’m not an expert, and although Jess and I both talked about it everyday of our trip, I couldn’t even be certain all the time who was homeless and who all was living in their vans. When we started on our roadtrip journey, I was worried about my own PTSD and how I would deal with living out of a car for this length of time. And there were a few take a deep breath moments, especially at the truck stops we slept at, where there was a lot of commotion around us, but if anything, living that way in and amongst the other travelers, car campers, vagabonds, hobos, and the homeless further radicalized me, and added to my fire and desire to tell the stories of the forgotten, the discarded, and those left behind.
Since the pandemic hit in 2020, the number of people living in vans, cars and RVs has risen over 60%. During that same period, housing costs have risen nearly 50%. In 2023 the United States saw a record breaking rise in homelessness. Last year, in 2024, that record was nearly doubled. It’s a problem, and it’s going to get worse. Stay tuned. In case it happens to you, or a loved one, I’ve got some self help guides for how to survive forthcoming.
Love,
Dan
*****Coming soon to the Factory Poet
Sunday Jan 5th (tomorrow): The poem of the week!
Monday Jan 6th: Microdosing Monday weekly writer newsletter update
Tuesday Jan 7th: New column “101 Ways The Homeless Are Fucked.”
and more columns like “How To Survive Living Homeless In Your Car” and “How To Survive Living Homeless On The Streets.”
