We are drifters and this is our journey. It’s our signature, but it’s more than a tagline and it describes our life better than you might think.

Greg and I met in college at Colorado State University while we were pursuing degrees in Natural Resources. At first, I wouldn’t date him. He was unemployed, homeless, and had a clunker jeep with a hole rusted into the floor. I called him a drifter because he didn’t fit the idea of what I thought an adult was supposed to be like. Our joint passion for the outdoors is what eventually brought us together. We spent our time hiking, rock climbing and mountain biking and soon realised that we wanted to do this forever. The idea of living in a van wasn’t even on our radar at this point, but we knew we wanted a life of adventure together.

As time went on, we both got steady jobs at a great company and fell into a routine. We bought houses and cars, and went on a couple of vacations every year. It was the typical American Dream and we slowly departed from our young, dirtbag selves. We tried to adventure outside as much as possible, taking long weekend trips to rock climb in South Dakota or mountain bike in Utah. It was all we could do to feed our wanderlust.

That was enough for a while, but at some point we became hungry for more. More time to explore, travel, and enjoy our youth while we’re young. We were restless. It felt like we were wasting our lives doing the same thing everyday, just working for the weekend. We questioned what we were working so hard for and why we needed all of this money.

Over time, it dawned on us that we didn’t need a lot of money to live if we just lived a simpler lifestyle. Owning a home, all of the things in it and our cars had become a huge burden. All of these nice things didn’t make us happy. We’ve always been happiest when we’re camping in the dirt and basking in the sunshine. We just wanted to be outside. Together. Enjoying this one short life.

“It took us a while to figure it out, but the key to happiness is not money. It’s choice. We’ve taken control of our time and structured our lives so that our choices serve us rather than our obligations. From working seasonal jobs to camping in some of the most remote and scenic places, every choice we make leads us to the life of our dreams. ”

I thought vanlife was another one of Greg’s crazy ideas at first. He has about a million new ideas everyday, and most of them are completely wild. Some of his ideas, however, are absolute gold, so I’m always listening. Living in a van became a real, tangible solution to our desire to live simply and travel more. Once we started shopping for a van and planning out our own conversion, our dream took shape into reality. We built a budget for vanlife and made a financial plan to fund this adventure. It was important to us that we begin vanlife debt-free and with enough money saved for retirement. We saved as much as we could for over a year. From beginning to end, it took about 2 years of planning, research, budgeting, and taking the necessary steps to get our van built before we sold our house and moved into the van full time.

Ironically, quitting our jobs was the hardest part. I put it off as long as possible. Our parent’s voices were in my head, saying that we were crazy. We were leaving behind something familiar, people that we really enjoyed working with, and a steady paycheck. The company was really great, and our jobs were our safety net. But here we were, leaving it all behind. All because we thought it was possible that there was something bigger out there for us.

Living in a van is not the point. We did not pursue vanlife because we want to be crammed into 80 square feet with another person and all of our gear. That is the not-so-glamorous side of vanlife, along with pooping in a hole and doing laundry at the laundromat. We’ve made sacrifices and worked hard to achieve the life we have now. Sacrifices like indoor plumbing and personal space.

We do it because vanlife is a catalyst for the freedom we crave on a daily basis. It took us a while to figure it out, but the key to happiness is not money. It’s choice. We’ve taken control of our time and structured our lives so that our choices serve us rather than our obligations. From working seasonal jobs to camping in some of the most remote and scenic places, every choice we make leads us to the life of our dreams. We can finally explore hot springs, eat tacos, climb mountains and ride trails as we please.

It seems counterintuitive to say that we worked hard to have less and to be drifters, but it’s true. Living an alternative lifestyle is not easy. The external pressures that tell us the definition of success is a big house and a BMW are intense. Going against social norms requires courage and personal conviction. It requires an incredible amount of confidence in yourself and a deep understanding of what makes you happy.

I no longer see being a drifter as a character flaw, but rather something to be proud of. In the pursuit of ultimate freedom, we are drifters and this is our journey.

Jess & Greg - Drifter Journey