Sick in the Van
Well van life isn't all sunny days and beaches. Today is day 9 for my cold (worst cold since Covid hit). I don't have Covid at this time but cough in a public place and you might as well be typhoid Mary. I'm sure this is just a common head cold draining into my chest but living in a 6 x 10 ft box with another person makes it anything but simple.
I explained the design of our van in prior posts but basically we chose our bed/table design to allow for 1 person to lay down while the other has a place to sit, work or just relax including setting the table up if needed.
Comfort and practicality was important to us. Since we can't stand in the van having a walking aisle had no value and we maximized our space accordingly. I am very happy for the ability to lay down and sleep without disrupting Tom for the whole day or evening.
Next, the Covid quarantine. We live a lifestyle of self isolation already so no major changes. If I have to go into a store/public restroom or something I wear a mask. The biggest surprise I guess was the added expense of cold meds. We are doing Van Life on a very tight budget and purchasing cold meds meant we had to cut something else out of the budget. Tom had this great idea that while I was sick we could just travel, put some miles under our belt and enjoy a new location when I felt better.
Because our budget is only $350.00 a week for anything we need including fuel and food add in the current prices of both, I had to explain that $60.00 in meds means $60.00 less in food or fuel and if he wanted to cut his diet to travel go for it. I didn't feel much like eating anyway. lol
No surprise we spent the last week hanging out locally. It's been raining almost the entire time so boredom has been our unwanted friend. If you are considering van life for retirement remember the ordinary issues of life follow you. I think getting Tom to come to terms that we are not on vacation but living our daily life has been the hardest. He always wants to pack as much in the first few days we arrive at a new location forgetting we have no set timeline to leave and can enjoy a place for a week or a month.
It is hard for him because we have to return to our home base every 60 days for his Crohn's medication. On one hand it is great because it ensures we meet the local requirements for our health insurance and any international travel trip timelines. We will cover this a bit more in a special post about traveling as a duel citizen with a Canadian but if you plan on traveling across the country or internationally, make sure you know and abide by provincial health insurance policies and allowable absences from Canada timelines. One mistake and it could mean the difference of your ability to live this lifestyle affordably.
Well back to bed for me. Talk again soon.