Are you living the van life and not feeling completely safe? Perhaps you want to live this lifestyle however don’t feel it will be safe enough for you?
Check out the vlog here to go through the safety checklist.
For all the readers out there, read on. In this blog, I provide safety information for the van lifer and give you access to a safety checklist that will help ensure you’re feeling more at ease with the van lifestyle, from choosing your destination, to your stay and beyond. It is mainly targeted for free camping as caravan parks and paid camps ‘usually’ have enclosed areas and more people about which helps with safety however it is still relevant for van lifers in general. I will provide the link to this free checklist down below in word format so you can edit to suit accordingly.
I have been living van life free camping for almost a year and a half and although I’m no expert I have managed to stay alive and well enough to tell the story. I did have one isolated incident where there were some young ones were scoping out my van, sneaking up touching it then going back to the group. I knew that if I didn’t do anything they were likely to try and enter so I jumped up really loud making a loud bang as if I were a large man and they all ran off. Unfortunately, they came back in a car and proceeded to throw bottles at Kalypso. (Luckily no damage was done) This could have been prevented if I created the checklist sooner. (Moving on to a different place if there is no one else present is an important item on the list).
I’m going to give mention the use of weapons as this is an important subject. I can’t advise you of what to do in this area however I will let you know of the conversations I had. When I posted about my concern regarding my isolated incident many ladies suggested I carry a weapon. I didn’t like the idea of this however the one suggestion I took on board was if I happen to be carrying some form of spray like deodorant, fly spray etc this could be used in case of an emergency to protect myself. I do have some sprays in Kalypso which could be easily accessible in the case of an emergency. There are legalities depending on what state you travel in, so please check this first.
Here's what some other solo female van lifers had to say about safety.
Charlene Louise who spoke in my vlog had a great tip of knowing your precise location. I called the police when I had that run in and they had no idea where I was even when telling them the name of the place I was called. They had gone to a completely different location. Luckily for me, these guys didn’t do anything too drastic but it shows the importance of knowing your exact coordinates. You can check out Charlene's YouTube here : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8gDrt9xFg7s_A1l0AvuQGw
Wendy from Natural Women’s Network and Secret Herbal Medicine spoke of knowing about your van, what it needs, what can potentially go wrong etc. I recognize how important that is now after my time on the road and feeling a little clueless. I recognize many things could have been prevented if I had gotten to know Kalypso a little better. You can check out Wendy's YouTube here : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Zx1eyRaoKDV2xK86UmbQg
Meredith from Vamped Van Chronicles who has helped me through much of my van life journey spoke of not being fearful. I would have to agree that there seems to be a much bigger perceived threat of safety than any of us have actually experienced.
All of these solo female van lifer vloggers spoke of intuition which leads me to my top safety tip. You can check out Meredith's YouTube page here : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCilRTj5-BQfifq04A4vuE3Q
My tip is to get to know yourself and your environment, be present and aware and by doing so you will know what is safe and what is not as your intuition is your best guide when completely connected. (A mindfulness guide) It’s great to be aware of risks and potential dangers however don’t let that take over your ability to let go a little and enjoy the ride. My suggestion is to download the checklist, fill it in and add any other relevant information you may have. In doing so you will be taking the steps to prevent incidences from occurring in the first place.
To further add, if there has been trauma, violence or a history of being/feeling unsafe it’s only natural that we don’t feel safe on the inside. This can be worked on by accessing professional support but I would suggest you reflect on the reason you feel so unsafe in the first place. I believe that once we start to feel that safety within, we start to make conscious choices ensuring our safety around us is taken care of.
I hope this has been of some help in allowing you to feel a little safer on the road. If you have any tips to share, I would love to hear them so add a comment below.
Until next time,
Stay SAFE, Stay PRESENT
TamSun x