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Van life’ is a movement that is sweeping across a generation. During a time where people reassessed their priorities, many have taken to a much more simplistic way of living. People living in vans come in all shapes and sizes, from weekend travellers to full-time dwellers. The mobile homes are mortgage-free and offer an unparalleled level of freedom and joy. Plus, with the rise of the digital nomad lifestyle (with 10 million Americans describing themselves as such), people are working from anywhere and everywhere – and that includes vans.

The van finance experts at Moneybarn have delved into the van life movement, to explore its popularity and hear from a van lifer themself.

The increase in #vanlife popularity

Diving into some data, we can see how the van life movement has exploded in popularity over the last three years, with searches for ‘van life’ having increased by a mammoth 216% since 2018. Even since 2019, there has been a 101% increase and a 27% increase since 2020.

Van life on social media

Van life is taking over travel inspiration, with over 11 million posts on Instagram. In the UK alone, there are over 230,000 posts as people explore the likes of Northumberland, Wales and Scotland in their converted vans. Van life has also swept over to TikTok, with over five billion views of the van life hashtag on the evergrowing platform. Many are using the short-form videos for tips on converting a van of their own, with 27 million views of #vanlifetips.