Credit: Backroad-life

Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah. Photo by Calvin Ma.

roadkill

Little Byron Bus

Byron Bay, Australia

The reality of a cost of living crisis really hit home recently when I discovered that my cousin, a woman with a full time job and a PhD, is living in a static caravan in a field a train ride away from her workplace because she can't afford an apartment.

Apparently "its fine so far in the summer" but she's worried about heating it in the winter and already planning to couchsurf with friends and family.

Yes, she works in London, but even so! She got educated in England in order to get qualified to help people and use her skills for society's benefit! (Not that you need to be educated formally to deserve a fair wage and standard of living - but it feels doubly cruel that she's done all she can to improve her chances and she's still stuck!)

This is the cost of living under 13 years of Tory government. And ultimately though it negatively impacts this one individual, and her family, it also has a knock on effect on the whole community - a community she and others like her are essentially excised from just due to circumstances beyond both their immediate control and their strive to not be bound by them.

Quite depressing!

“tiny home culture”, “van culture” isn’t cute it’s fucking tragic. no i don’t want to live in a fucking shed. thanks but i already lived in a fucking vehicle. MAKE ACTUAL HOMES AFFORDABLE AGAIN. social media is trying to glorify *PAYING* for what is essentially homelessness. NO. STOP IT.

I was thinking that if I had van life and driving around in a camper van. I'd love that so much it'd be my dream life to explore and wake up every day surrounded by nature. Nature is one of the few things that makes me happy and so living in a van in a campsite or something would make me the happiest of all. Being connected to nature and living a simple life

Joshua Tree National Park, California. Photo by Tri Cao.

Sometimes I long so much for the open road. When I cannot calm myself, only the street can calm me down. The endless night, with its roof above me, made of stars. The rain is my shower and the cold is my rest

Venus in furs, they say? Who will be my bear then to stir my brick blood hard? Because Venus is nude at night

You know as soon as I get done with high school next year I want to get group of girls we all apply for online collages and jobs. Buy a van and just go driving around no end to it until were ready too! (Maybe start a girl band too)

tp

1975 Dodge Van magazine advertisement