With home prices so high, living on wheels seems a reasonable alternative. Many find it isn’t.
Siena Juhlin bought a white Ford Transit in August and decided to make it her home. She needed a new place to live, and the idea of traveling full time in a big cargo van sounded like a fairy tale. Soon, she was off, decamping from her waitressing job in Missouri with plans to live off her savings while exploring the West Coast.
That lasted two months. In California, Juhlin’s transmission died. Ever since, she has been working three part-time jobs to regain the $5,000 she had to spend to get it fixed.
It wasn’t exactly the journey she expected—but she still prefers it to her old life as an apartment dweller. “Everything is 10 times harder,” said Juhlin, 23. “But everything is also amazingly beautiful and rewarding.”
