🚐 Vanlife, the lifestyle that turns the world into a home

Vanlife is more than a journey: it is a manifesto of freedom, a way of inhabiting the world without being anchored to a single place. It means leaving behind the idea of a fixed house to embrace a home that changes its scenery every morning...

Each sunrise is different. Some wake up by an alpine lake and turn on their laptop with a steaming cup of coffee by their side; others transform a remote beach into an office and a classroom; some write reports as the sun sets over the Portuguese cliffs. What for many is a vacation adventure has become for others a permanent lifestyle.

🌍 A global movement on the rise

Over the last decade, the word vanlife has become a cultural phenomenon. Social media multiplied the images of couples, young adventurers, retirees, and families who decided to turn the road into their way of life...

• Today there are more than 40 million digital nomads worldwide.
• About 18 million are from the United States, but Europe, Asia, and Latin America are also growing rapidly.
• More than 3 million people in the U.S. live full-time in motorhomes or converted vans.
• In the United Kingdom, the number rose from 21,000 people in 2019 to nearly half a million in 2025.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Families on the road: homeschooling and worldschooling

While vanlife once seemed reserved for backpackers or couples without children, today it is full of different scenes: children learning math at the fold-out table of a van, teenagers reading literature by a lake, families who make travel the foundation of their education...

The phenomenon of homeschooling (education at home) and worldschooling (education through the world) expanded in parallel with the growth of vanlife. A medieval castle becomes a history lesson, a forest a biology lab, the van’s map a geography manual, and the night sky an astronomy class.

🌍 Europe: a continent ready to roll

Europe has become one of the friendliest places for those who choose to live on wheels. Not only because of its cultural and landscape diversity but also thanks to its infrastructure...

• Service areas for motorhomes with water, electricity, and drainage.
• Campgrounds with facilities such as showers, laundries, and common areas.
• Free overnight spots in small towns that see vanlife as an opportunity for tourism.
• Apps such as Park4Night or ACSI that make planning easier.

In addition, several European countries offer specific visas for digital nomads, including Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Malta, and Romania—making the continent a hub for those who combine long-term travel with remote work.

🛠️ The practical side of the dream

Behind the romantic image of a van parked by the sea lies a daily logistics routine: energy, connectivity, food, safety, and community. Every centimeter of the van counts, and families must balance school routines, remote work, and intense coexistence.

🌱 Challenges and rewards

Vanlife is as inspiring as it is demanding. Rewards: the freedom to choose where to wake up, constant contact with nature, family bonding, creativity born from simplicity. Challenges: lack of space, intense coexistence, travel fatigue, uncertainty about where to sleep each night.

✨ Final reflection

Vanlife is both an outer and inner journey. Each mile traveled not only brings you closer to a destination, but also opens the possibility of experiencing a different way of understanding home, work, and education.

Sometimes all it takes is an open horizon and an endless road to feel at home.