Daydreaming about becoming a nomad.

Motivation

With one more year to go in my undergrad, I got an email from our property manager asking to re-sign our lease. My situation is pretty unique compared to my three other roomates in the sense that I:

want to go to grduate school right after my ugrad
supposed to graduate in F’26 (December)
don’t really have to graduate in F’26 if I don’t have to (i.e. if I don’t get into any grad programs)

With these three conditions in mind I didn’t really want to get myslef into a hassle where I signed a year-long lease and then after living here only for 3 months, having to find someone to sublease my room over to.

Would this still be less of a hassle than going through a whole process of by a new car just to sleep in it with less amenities? Absolutely. But let me explain:

Since high school, I’ve been fascinated by the philosophy of minimalism. To carry less things with you means less burden and more freedom, physically and mentally. As a freshman in high school first moving into my dorm room, the constant flying back and forth from Massacusetts to South Korea made me realize that out of all the things that I own in my room, there are really quite a few things that really matter to me. Ever since then, I’ve been aggressively getting rid of things that doesn’t bring much utility to me. In a sense, this brought me peace that I could not quite explain. The fact that I was able to go anywhere in the world knowing that all I ever need is right there with me was a feeling that felt so free.

I recently been watching a lot of camping videos like “the Outdoor Boys” or “Mav.” Their videos always feel so peaceful. Watching them makes me think maybe it’s not a bad idea for me to also record my adventures and just my daily life if I were to live in a car.

I’ve also been facing a lot of struggles lately when it comes to consistency. I feel like I am just getting distracted way too much: bed rotting, doom scrolling, video gaming, etc. Perhaps, drastically changing my environment will change that. Think about it: if I live in a car, I would realistically only come back to sleep meaning I’ll have to spend the rest of the time outside like in a library or in a school buidling. I think simply being outside will help me get more work done.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I simply just want to try it out. All the things I’ve mentioned above could so easily be done with a house (and for cheaper as well). Perhaps, I’m just making an excuse for myself to take the road not taken. With college coming to an end, I realize that this is perhaps the last time that I will ever be by myself doing whatever I want to do. Everything after my college life will be in a cascade of events (going to the military, getting a job, getting married, having kids, etc.). I think it’s finally time to stop day-dreaming and finally do the things I’ve always thought of doing.

Pros and Cons

Pros

I get to travel every week
I am forced to wake up in the morning and leave (even just to use the bathroom, I’ll have to go to the gym)
I have to live a routine life, with facilities that were always given to me (like bathrooms or showers) now only limited a certain time
I’ll spend much more time outside, hopefully meeting new people and trying new things

Cons

It’s expensive (more on that later)
It will take some time to get used to
With graduate school applications coming up, I don’t have much freedom to deal with unexpected events which will most likely happen

Cars that I am Considering

Let’s get to the juicy part. If I were to live in a car I would probably go electric given the fact that I’m in California. I saw a handful of Youtubers making videos of them living out of the Tesla Model Y. There is also the Rivian R2 which is set to come out in 2026 and has fully reclinable seats (even the driver’s) for larger space. Of course, this has some safety concerns if you are sleping outside in a random street but since I would be sleeping on campus that would be fine. I’ve also thought about buying a midsize van like the KIA Carnival.

Conclusion