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we're here meeting up with Simon from
finding Simon and we actually first met
up with him two years ago when he first
started this crazy van life adventure
now he's actually days away from selling
his van and buying a new sailboat so
we're gonna meet up with him to find out
how it's been living on the road for two
straight years two kilometers off road
let's do this
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so I've been on the road I've been
traveling for two years and I've gone
all around North America for the last
two years 100,000 kilometers it's been
big adventure
I crossed Canada I got to the west coast
and just did that Vancouver to San Diego
trip and learned a lot really quickly a
zigzag my way through the deserts and
fell in love with it went back home
worked a bit of a summer but traveled
most of it and then I set off again made
my way down to Baja and then decided to
turn around and all the way up to the
Arctic Circle and came back to Vancouver
and that's it no I'm gonna sell him let
it all go
a lot of people don't get why I'm
stopping right now because it seems like
a really good lifestyle and I've only
just feel like I'm really fallen into
you know I read them and I understand
the van life now a lot better than I did
when I set out but the truth is there's
a whole other world out there and I need
to you know cross some oceans and see
some other things so I'm going to set
out and try some different methods I
want to get a sailboat coming up soon so
that's gonna be a huge undertaking
probably a five-year plan so yeah I've
got some other motorcycle trips some
other backpacking trips planned and it's
just a lot of travel a lot of world to
see and it's not gonna all gonna be
there forever so got to get out there
now
when I first set out I budgeted like 2
grand a month to live out of and for my
aggressive traveling that that worked I
spent a good chunk of it maybe like
three quarters of it just on gas but
after a while you know the money starts
running out and you try to be a little
bit more creative I set up my own
YouTube channel finding Simon and and
that you know generate a little bit of
income but actually what I found was
really interesting is the map that I was
doing all my research on that helps me
with my travel anxiety of just like
having points I know exists that map a
lot of other people wanted access to so
I set it up through my patron for now
and people are liking it and setting out
on their own adventures and following in
some of my research so it's been really
kind of a cool thing that not only am i
generating some income off it but also
people are adventuring as well thanks to
something I've done so I like that
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the van is very stuck the whole wheels
just boom this ball joint its control
arm
they're not making friends my plan for
the van was always a two-year plan it
was always like make the tour get out
there but originally I thought I would
just like get a house after and fall
into that normal life again and as hard
as some of the travel has been as I was
challenging as has been and
uncomfortable sometimes I've really
learned that you know it's it can be a
lifestyle and it's a very rewarding one
I found that the van life really changed
my character it changed my personality
it changed the way that I react to
things and it gave me the skills to
really change the direction of my life
which is kind of a big deal if you
really I just didn't think it would be
that big of a deal I didn't think that
it would change my whole life goals and
everything I was setting out to go do
it's all it's all different now
now that the two years is up I am
totally ready to go and do you know
these huge other trips these big
undertakings because I've slowly built
up these skills and I'm still scared I'm
still terrified you know these are still
massive undertakings and I really I have
no idea which way it's gonna go and it's
gonna change my life again in ways I
can't foresee but to be honest doing
anything else just feels like a
half-measure
when I first had an event two years ago
I took off as a couple and it was
crowded in the van and we didn't know
what we were doing it was pretty tough
sometimes but is also pretty rewarding
but ultimately it didn't work out and so
this year I've been traveling on my own
and it's been a real different
experience people ask often if I'm
lonely on the road and I'd say actually
the scarier part is not being lonely and
it's being a little bit too aware of
yourself and having to deal with all the
issues that you are it's just you and it
can be tough sometimes you know on your
own and you know socially when I'm not
on my own when I'm in other places I
meet so many people solo travels like
that you always meet so many people and
it's been some of the most rewarding
parts of my travels and amazing people
I've met
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I have spent a total of three nights and
campgrounds my Walmart stays have
happily been going down steadily I've
been getting a lot better at finding
camping I've been getting a lot better
at finding resources of talking to
locals these are all skills that are
pivotal to the way I travel each person
has their own way of traveling and so
nothing I do is gonna be foolish or work
for everybody else but there are certain
things like doing research loads and
loads of research having loads of Plan
B's but no schedule that's been a huge
thing for me when I set out originally
my travel goals were all cities and now
they're not at all and that I think is
one of the biggest ways that it might
travel has changed and I'm out in the
woods I'm out on nature seven days a
week I scoot in for an afternoon to do a
little internet work and then I'm back
out again so in terms of city camping I
hardly ever do it anymore although there
are tricks to it obviously it gets
easier the more confident you get the
less you worry about getting kicked out
because honestly getting kicked out is
not that bad and finding those crazy
camp spots is extremely rewarding I
bathe a lot in lakes now I've got a
shower out the back of my van which is a
nice game-changer hit up the water
heater on those colder days and got
myself a hot shower out the back I used
the toilet almost never anymore because
I'm out in the bush most the time I
don't worry about the things I used to
worry about all those little bits they
you know the camping the toilet the
comfortable the heat that what are you
gonna do with your dog what are you
gonna do with it all of that stuff is
just my life now and it's not its second
nature
having done two years of this my only
advice to anyone setting out is just
don't worry about it it's not that scary
people are nice the world is a big
beautiful place there's so much of it to
see and really worrying about it too
much is only making it hard on yourself
just get out there
enjoy I hope you enjoyed Simon's story
definitely check out his YouTube channel
he's got tons of amazing videos there
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