'Van Life' has been glamourised on social media. This is the reality.

Listen to this story being read by Shannen Findlay, here.

If you were to search for #VanLife on TikTok and Instagram a couple of years ago, the content would be vastly different to what's popping up today.

Back then, you'd find hundreds of thousands of people luxuriating out in their renovated vans, wearing bikinis and frying up sausages in their makeshift kitchens on their portable gas stovetops. They might be surrounded by several other vans, that are also touting the same independent lifestyle as them. Or they could be looking out at the picturesque view, soaking up some solo time as a drone flies over them, capturing footage that they later share to the 'gram. 

But in recent times, there's been a new form of content that now litters the once aesthetic feed – and it's debunking almost every single picture, video and story you've ever seen about 'Van Life'. 

If you're confused about what 'Van Life' actually is, it's grown to become a large community over the years and represents people who have given up traditional living and have opted to sleep, travel and work from their vehicles.

Watch 5 minutes with Kel: Travelling with beauty products. Post continues after video. 

We wanted to know what it was really like to live in a van and whether the good really outweighs the bad. 

Here, a pair of parents, a solo female traveller and two couples who left their lives behind once and for all share the reality of living in a van. 

Jess and Leon lived in a van with their two toddlers for 13 months. 

Jess, the children's author of We Live in a Caravan, and her husband Leon decided it was the lifestyle they wanted to try with their two children back in December 2020, following the long COVID lockdowns. For them, it was going to be an adventure of a lifetime. 

But the dream to live out of a tiny, but comfortable, fixer-upper began in their mid-20s. 

"Leon could barely keep his head above water," Jess told Mamamia. "He was drowning in an ocean of sadness. Battling severe anxiety and depression as a result of a psychologically debilitating hair loss condition called Alopecia Universalis. Life was tough. We were both sad all the time."

It wasn't until the birth of their first daughter that the couple decided they wanted to make a change. After undergoing a "life audit", Jess and Leon decided to change their lifestyle for the better. 

"We sold our 'dream' home and down-sized to a much smaller, more affordable fixer-upper," Jess explained. "This one decision ended up leading to an entirely new future and a life that we are obsessed with. Soon after we sold the fancy pad, we were able to invest in more adventures and family time – and this is when we bought our caravan."

Travelling out of a van began as family trips on the weekend in their spare time. 

Image: Instagram @jess_tsigros.

Before too long, they were taking every opportunity to get away. But when COVID lockdowns left Leon redundant, the pair decided to rent out their family home and give themselves a year to explore Australia. 

"I never thought I would have my name on a list of people who have lived in a caravan," Jess told Mamamia. "I was always more of a hotel girl. But I can now say 'Van Life' seems to have been our destiny all along.

"Considering we were a family who had never really camped before, embracing 'Van Life' felt very natural. It was abundantly clear, we were happier in our tiny home on wheels than we were anywhere else."

She added: "It rarely felt overwhelmingly crowded, or like we were in each other's way, When you have no other option, you adapt quicker than you think! I was also very surprised at the amount of available work out there."

Image: Instagram @jess_tsigros.

Despite the positive aspects of 'Van Life' that Jess and her family experienced – like being forced out of auto-pilot mode, escaping from the rat race and being able to slow down – she says social media has merely taken a "snapshot" of someone's reality and hasn't shown the challenges. 

"Yes, there are jaw-dropping beaches and unbelievable views and an abundance of beauty to be seen, felt and experienced around every corner of Australia. It is all a true reflection of 'Van Life' but living in a caravan also is challenging," she explained. 

Being away from their luxuries at home and from family and friends overall impacted Jess' well-being, she said. 

"I noticed a dip from not having access to simple things I took for granted like my gym, holistic health services including osteopathy, acupuncture and myotherapy." 

Jess is the author of We Live in a Caravan. Image: Supplied.

There was also the creeping feeling of guilt that seeped in from having her children apart from their extended family. 

The bad days and the false personas that exist on social media, are exactly why Jess was so adamant about showing the days that weren't so glamorous. 

"We always felt showing up online meant we owed our community a tour of our entire trip, that meant the good, the bad and the trying," she explained. "Living in a caravan provided us with so much more happiness than we had before, but it didn't take away the existing pain and healing we needed to do."

Jess and Leon gave up living in a van full-time when they were faced with the risk of being locked out of their state for Christmas due to COVID, but they were ultimately thankful the decision was made for them. 

"We were feeling a little flat around the eight-month mark and we needed a break from travel and each other," she told Mamamia. "We were very ready to see our family, have a break and reconnect with our friends and family back home."

Annie explored Australia as a solo female traveller for 12 months.

Travelling around Australia for a year was a welcome release for Annie, following a high-stress corporate job in Motorsport — and the opportunity to live and travel in a van was what pushed Annie out of her comfort zone.

"I decided I didn’t want to keep wasting years of having limited time to enjoy my life and realised if I’d stayed in Melbourne, I would be just like all my other friends looking forward to their two weeks of holiday a year and doing the same repeated activities on the weekend," she told Mamamia. "I wanted to enjoy every day!"

Image: Instagram @anniemedwin. 

After building up her savings, Annie decided to pursue travelling solo, but she didn't realise just how "scary" it could be at first. 

"I got used to it and I became a lot more educated and that fear went away pretty quickly," she explained. "But really, I was quite surprised at how minimally I could live and how much money I had wasted over the years on silly everyday expenses that aren’t even an issue when you live in a van (like electricity and water).

Image: Instagram @anniemedwin.

Annie does agree there's a high amount of romanticised 'Van Life' content but feels it mostly comes from travellers not actually living in their van full-time. 

"[I noticed #VanLife content] is mostly from people who probably call themselves 'van lifers' for the sake of Instagram but only go away for a month or so at a time and have extremely expensive van setups, they pay to stay at hotel-like caravan parks and have a lot of creature comforts, which in reality is just not how it is," she explained. 

"I always tried to make my posts educational and be realistic about what living in a van is actually like. Thankfully, there are still some great storytellers out there that show what it is really and all the things that go wrong."

Jill and her husband are travelling around Australia. 

For Jill and her husband, living in an RV was one of the best decisions they ever made. 

After her husband, who is originally from France, realised he had never completely seen the magic and diversity of Australia, the pair decided it was time to pack up and hit the road. 

Image: Instagram @bodyandbalanceaust.

"[It was surprising] how easily we fell into our roles of doing what must be done in order to make it work," Jill told Mamamia. "Including the setup and pack down each time we arrive at a new destination. It is satisfying to work out from the next destination and meet amazing people out there who are all travelling and have different stories."

Jill disagrees that social media has romanticised the idea of 'Van Life', arguing it's been a release for those who are unhappy in their regular life. 

"This is so free," she explained. "If you can do it, love what you do, what you see and if you have a certain amount of financial freedom then this is the life for you."

For Jill and her husband, they've been exposed to a new way of living, describing it as "total freedom". 

"You have the total freedom to choose where and when you want to travel to. You could follow the perfect weather, go to events that you usually would have been restricted from going to due to work," she said. "You have a small space and it becomes unnecessary to buy so many goods. You need less, wear less and you meet fabulous people with amazing stories to tell."

Apart from being able to swim in new water holes, try out new adventures, climb mountains and "walk in red earth", there is so much more Jill believes there is to be experienced from living in a van. 

"We've learnt not to rush and to savour every moment," she explained. "I am grateful for this time and for this amazing adventure. Living in a van and in a small space means having to make it work."

Wade and Dani transitioned from traditional living two years ago with their two cats.

Wade and Dani found similar feelings of security when they made the leap from traditional living to 'Van Life'. 

"I was very depressed and hated my job," Wade told Mamamia. "I had been working in the security industry for 15 years and I did not want to do it anymore."

After having a chat with his partner, he dived head-first into the journey. He quit his job, bought a van and converted it into a campervan. 

Dani wasn't too far behind him either and left her corporate career to undergo the adventure. Now the pair have been travelling for two years, with their two cats. 

Image: Instagram @wadeanddani.

"We now exist because we are both passionate about travelling but more than showing our stories to the world, the soul of our business is to inspire people to follow their dreams and goals, just like we did," Wade explained. 

What surprised them most was how slow their transition into adapting to their new lifestyle was. While the pair had loved living in their van, they admitted they jumped into it too quickly. 

"We realised we didn't have to move so fast. We had freedom. We could slow down and take our time. We didn't need to give ourselves a time limit," he said. 

Wade and Dani love sharing their lives and travel adventures online and while they agree social media has romanticised 'Van Life' (and everyone else's lives too), they believe being honest is happening more often these days. 

"We try to show the ups and downs, and we see great engagement from our followers when we show it - especially the downs," Wade shared. "But we do believe that there are many accounts that only show beautiful destinations or amazing experiences. 

"They don't share the struggles or this lifestyle such as sleeping on the streets, having to find somewhere to empty the pee bucket every day, searching for freshwater, or not knowing where to sleep for the night."

image: Instagram @wadeanddani.

In the past, the couple have been restricted to staying in their van for days in on end due to bad weather. They've also struggled to find fresh water to fill up their van's tanks. The pair have had to search high and low for a safe place to sleep and even somewhere to empty their "pee bucket". 

'Van Life' is just like most other lifestyles – it is difficult and the luxuries we're used to experiencing are not really available, but to those who want to make it work, it's paradise. 

"We love the flexibility. It allows us to travel wherever we want and whenever we want," Wade explained.
"If you get tired of one place, you can just pack up and move to another. You're not tied down by a lease or a mortgage, so you can move on at any time. 

"It's funny. I always thought of home as being a specific place. But now I realise it's wherever I make it." 

You can find Jess and Leon here. You can find Annie here. You can find Jill here. You can find Wade and Dani here or find them on their website here.

Feature Image: @anniemedwin, @jess_tsigros, and @bodyandbalanceaust.