There & Back Again… Almost.
Our Traveling Hobbit Hole & Other Adventures
-The Frizz in Arches National Park, March 2021
The Adventure Begins
During our free time during the 2020 lockdown, Will and I began to discuss our long term goals for work and housing. We enjoyed living in the Keys and still plan to return to working seasonally when the bus is finished. Living and working in paradise year round comes with different struggles like the limited affordable housing to rent or buy, it was becoming clear we needed to find a different solution.
We wanted a way to mitigate general housing and moving expenses of living and working in paradise. We wanted the opportunity to work and then travel seasonally. We also wanted the opportunity to travel for extended visits with our family and friends across the country.
How large an investment was within our comfort range?
How much space did we want and ultimately need?
Where would we store or move it to in the off season?
How much time and effort are we comfortable committing to if it’s a “fixer-upper” or renovation?
Asking ourselves the tough questions and deciding how to divide our time between work and travel was ultimately how we discovered bus life.
I have always loved the concept of a tiny home, especially one that could be moved seasonally or at will. For a couple of hobbits like us who love to dwell inside our humble abode, we needed a hobbit hole that possessed the capability of being packed up and taken with us on our adventures.
We looked at a few different styles of houseboats. Several of our friends and coworkers lived and worked in the same canal where they docked their boat. We checked into some sail boats, a few large houseboats, and we even looked at an old liveaboard fishing vessel. None quite fit the bill for either of us.
We each came to a conclusion of “minimum indoor space needed” to stand up and feel comfortable moving around inside; therefore, boats, vans, and truck bed cover camper styles were all just too small for us. As we sat in our studio apartment, I began researching other tiny homes that could be mobile.
ENTER: BUS LIFE!
Somewhere in all the videos of van life and cross country motorhomes, I stumbled on the page of a couple in their thirties that had taken an old school bus and transformed it into a reliable, functional, and adorable tiny home on wheels.
They made very good points about safety standards being incredibly high for buses since they are created with the purpose of transporting tiny human lives. When compared to the safety and quality standards of any motorhome of similar size on the market, the cost of a school bus build was a fraction of the cost without sacrificing quality. They also pointed out how rigorously school bus engines are maintained during their active life which significantly aids in their longevity as a reliable vehicle.
Will and I immediately began filling up pages with ideas! We created different scenarios calculating square footage for different buses and even considered other unconventional vehicles. Will had considered converting an old ambulance before he moved down to the Keys.
So in our tiny studio apartment, we began formulating A Master Plan. We crafted a budget and mapped out floor plans with tape to figure out how much space we would need to feel comfortable.
Our first home together was beginning to take shape…
Everyone Has a Plan ‘Til They Get Punched in the Face
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly RESISTANCE appears from every area of life as soon as we make the big commitments to begin making the hard choices, doing the hard things, and challenging ourselves to be better.
The Original Master Plan was ditched almost immediately. We were hit from every direction after we brought The Frizz home from Seattle, WA. Many plans had to go back to the drawing board before they started.
We quickly decided our original idea to do a quick, low-budget quick-build for our bus was not the route we wanted to take. We chose rather to build with the intent to put our “weekend” hours and money into the project over time. We would let her pay for herself in rent, utilities, and quality of life perks (ie. taking care of ailing loved ones in remote locations, furthering our education, and so much more).
This schedule has its own set of challenges but we are happy enjoying every phase of this build whether it’s perfectly aesthetic or not. Because while juggling the expenses that have been increasing exponentially since the pandemic, we have also been able to mitigate some of that cost of inflation and still enjoy more travel time visiting family and friends.
A Message in a Bottle
So while bus life is not for everyone, and our home is not a completed work of finished art yet, she has provided value and opportunity in areas of our life where we didn’t even know we could improve. The bus has taught us new skill sets both physically and mentally. (I can now confidently tile and plumb a bathroom.) Choosing to live in a renovation requires the discipline of maintaining a steady mindset practice to stay sane and continue forward on the project at a pace that fits well. We are learning to slow down and take advantage of all the side-quests this bus conversion allows. We’ll return to Seattle one day with her completely rebuilt and enjoy the PNW in our tiny home’s hometown.
I’m so excited to share what we have worked so hard on over the last few years as well as all the adventures that are to come!
