When we told people we were building a skoolie, we didn’t know what kind of reaction we would get from our friends and family. We planned to construct the skoolie and pursue our goal regardless of how the news was received, but it was still nerve wracking to bring such a perplexing concept to some of our loved ones. Although the skoolie movement has grown and gained momentum across the globe, including landing a few shows on cable television, some of the feedback that we have gotten has been negative. We have also had very positive feedback from our more supportive peers, but all of our interactions have had one thing in common: being bombarded with questions about skoolie life.

FAQs

Here are some of the questions we have been asked throughout this process so far and what our answers are:

Why not buy an RV?

A used RV with hundreds of thousands of miles on it can go for upwards of $40,000. Buying an RV comes with its own complications like taking it to the dealer for repairs and service. By building a skoolie from a used school bus, we can complete our project for under $20,000 and customize the bus to our needs. We will know how to fix and repair all of its wiring and plumbing because we built it ourselves. Building the bus ourselves also gives us the unique opportunity to learn many skills just from the build-out experience.

How will you make money?

Elle has a remote job online which allows her to work on the road. Jake plans to take stock photography while finding random jobs. The skills that we will acquire from converting the bus ourselves will also come in handy when we’re looking for odd jobs. We also wish to become part of the harvesting communities that travel to wherever the fresh produce and herbs are. We’re not too worried about this aspect of the journey.

Where will you park your bus?

Parking the bus is not a huge concern because it’s really as simple as just parking somewhere. We have researched plenty of campgrounds and national parks that provide full hook-ups to shore power, water, and even wifi for when we want to be in nature. There are also plenty of places in the city and on the shore line to park for free. You’re likely to catch a skoolie or two in a Walmart or Home Depot parking lot if you’re paying attention.

How will you shower or use the toilet?

Easy. The bus will be equipped with a composting toilet and a heated shower. Next question.

How will you receive mail?

P.O. Boxes in our hub cities will receive mail depending on our location at those times. We can also have packages delivered to nearby post offices whenever we may need to.

Will you be comfortable in that amount of space?

Yes! MINIMALISM is the goal. We want to eliminate clutter and stress from our home and to keep only the things that bring happiness and value to our lives. We also want to eliminate distractions from the time that we have together and make the most out of our time on earth.

But.. why?

Perhaps people think its a rude question; ironically, we feel like it is the most important question of all and it is the one that is least asked: Why do you want to live on a bus?

The answer: We want to be free. Our society has molded us in our youth to believe that the American Dream included and was exclusive to getting a college education, finding a lifelong career, buying a house, and retiring as an old healthy grandparent. Unfortunately, it is precisely what we call it; a dream. That dream has long since passed and our generation has come to have some new aspirations.

Our personal goal with the bus is to unchain ourselves from the average working-class lifestyle. We have seen how the previous generations have paved the way for giant corporations to succeed and for the average American to struggle to survive. We have also realized that at this rate, we may never be financially stable enough to take a simple vacation, let alone get to see the world or have children. We have given every drop of our energy to companies who have taken advantage of our work ethic and underpaid us. We have even formed our own businesses and have sometimes struggled to make enough time, money, or energy to keep them going.

We realized early on that these were not the lives that we wanted for ourselves and when we met, it was clear from the start that we would break the mold and leave our boring lives behind.

The idea of converting a bus into an RV was a perfect fit for our goals and started to become our long-term plan in late 2016. Now, a year later, we have finally saved enough money to purchase the bus and the reality of the situation is finally sinking in. Meditating on the endless possibilities that await us, I can’t help but to be excited for this change in lifestyle.

Bus With Benefits

The benefits of moving into a bus and leaving the normal American lifestyle are the following:

1. We get to be homeowners and we’ll have a huge backyard.
2. We will be able to work for ourselves and be able to survive on that income.
3. We will be reducing our carbon footprint by using solar and compost.
4. We will travel without leaving our home or our pets.
5. We will broaden our horizons by meeting new people and experiencing new places.
6. We will be learning something new and challenging ourselves every step of the way.
7. We will practice minimalism and the ability to let go of our material possessions.
8. We believe that we will have the time and freedom to be happy and experience life together.

Another big reason for our decision to move into a bus is the simple fact that we have never felt like we belonged. We have always felt outcasted, underestimated, and misunderstood…

In just the last few months, we have had to face the fact that when others are presented with the big news about the bus, the thoughts and comments that follow are not always encouraging or positive and that some of the people we love the most understand us the least. We have an incredible amount of confidence in our decision to build the bus and we will be pursuing our goal regardless of how others take it, but it’s not easy to do something you love knowing the people you care about don’t understand you, necessarily. Our secret to staying sane and motivated is simply knowing that we have our own life to live and that others have already made their own decisions for their own lives. What they think we should be doing is none of our business.

We have come to understand that personal fulfillment is very unique to each person and that not everyone finds it. People who do as their told might find contentment in following the footsteps of another or making their parents proud, but they may never find true fulfillment.

We want to live our lives knowing that we didn’t waste our time working for 50 years to make someone else rich just because that’s what everyone else is doing to get by. If this venture doesn’t work out for us down the road, then we’ll try something new, but we will not regret never trying.