7 Things I’ve Learned About Myself Since Living In A Campervan

Last Updated on 11th April 2023

Living in a campervan has taught me many things in the short couple of weeks that we’ve been travelling around South Island New Zealand.

For those of you who’ve been following my blog for a while now, you’ll know that Matt and I used to live in a studio apartment back in our hometown of York so we’re not exactly adverse to living in a small, confined space. However, living in a campervan is quite different to an apartment, regardless of how small it was.

These last few weeks of living in a campervan have taught me some truly invaluable life lessons and I wanted to share just a few of the things I’ve learned in today’s post just in case you’re planning to go and ‘find yourself’ by living in a campervan 😉

All the things I’ve learned since living in a campervan

This journey has without a doubt been one of the most incredible, mind-blowing, thought-provoking and fascinating experiences of my entire life.

I honestly never, ever thought I’d enjoy living in a campervan as much as I have done and as we’re slowly (we’ve still got just over two weeks left!) coming to the end of our South Island New Zealand road trip, I’ve been reflecting on all the lessons that living in a campervan has taught me so far.

Living in a campervan has taught me to appreciate the simple things in life

When you’re living in a campervan where there’s very little heat (read: none at all), limited water supplies and food that should only be eaten as a last resort, it’s remarkably easy to learn to properly appreciate the simple things in life.

Some little things I’ve learned to thoroughly appreciate and to not take advantage of since living in a campervan include; a hot (non-timed) shower, meals that haven’t been cooked in the back of the van on a gas stove, free Wi-Fi, FaceTiming my family, all the little things that Matt does for me, plus so much more.

I think that this lesson might be one of the most valuable things I’ve learned and while I was always grateful for everything in my life before, this adventure really has taught me to appreciate the simple things in life.

I can hold off going to the toilet a LOT longer than before…

Sorry for TMI on this one but it’s definitely a “life skill” (I’m not exactly sure it counts as that, but let’s roll with it!) that I’ve learned since living in a campervan.

The freezing cold nights combined with the prospect of weeing into a disgusting long drop has really helped me to control my bladder much better. I’m not exactly sure it’s healthy or good for me, but it does mean that I’m no longer getting up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet!

I’m slowly learning to become more patient

Matt may disagree with me on this and say that I’m still as crazy as before, but since living in a campervan, I truly feel that I’m learning to become more patient.

Life in a campervan really can throw some tough challenges at you and I feel like over the last month or so, I’ve really learned to get a handle on my patience and to not sweat the small stuff quite as much.

It’s amazing what you can handle in tough situations and I love the fact that I’m beginning to get a grip on my emotions much better when it comes to dealing with things that don’t quite go to plan.

I really don’t need as much sh*t as I once wanted

Of course, if there was even a slight possibility of me being able to own a Central Park-facing penthouse apartment in Manhattan, New York, obviously I’m not going to say no.

However, since living in a campervan, I do think that my priorities have shifted slightly and now all the crap that I was once desperate to own, well, now I’m sort of not too bothered about it.

Things like my hair straighteners, all my beloved Urban Decay makeup (I do sometimes miss this though!) and all the crap that we used to have in our studio apartment, no longer seem as essential as they once did.

Living in a campervan really has taught me that I can live quite comfortably and most important, happily, without all those unnecessary belongings I once thought I couldn’t live without.

P.S. Take a look what I’ve packed for a trip around the world here!

Living in a campervan has taught me to be more frugal and travel on a budget

While my blog specialises in affordable luxury travel anyway, living in a campervan has really taught me how to travel on a budget.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a LOT of expenses when it comes to a 5 week road trip around the South Island including petrol (by far the biggest travel expense), food, campsite fees plus all the activities we want to do as well, but despite all of this, we’re managing to travel on a budget.

It’s incredibly important to know when to implement a travel budget (as I mentioned in my post about how to stretch your travel budget further); you don’t want to limit your expenditure when it comes to the things you really want to see and do. However, it is important to know when to cut back and I think most of our travel budgeting has been with regards to the food we’ve been eating.

If you’ve been keeping up to date with our South Island travels, you’ll know that we pretty much live on a diet of noodles, soup, pasta, Coco Pops and the occasional ‘treat’ such as sausages or chicken burgers. And despite my utter adoration and quite frankly, obsession, with food, living in a campervan has taught me to appreciate when we eat a good meal and learn to live off the most basic ingredients the majority of the time.

That I can deal with the cold slightly better than before

Travelling around in a campervan in South Island New Zealand in the winter is bloody cold.

And I’m not talking “ooh it’s a bit nippy outside, isn’t it?” cold, I’m talking “JESUS H CHRIST IT IS FREEZING, I HAVEN’T FELT MY TOES FOR THREE WEEKS” cold.

While the weather in the South Island has been fairly mild considering it’s winter (according to local Kiwis that is; I would say otherwise…), when you’re living in a campervan and staying in campsites up a mountain, it’s safe to say that the cold weather is more than just a little bitter.

Having said that, I’ve actually surprised myself quite a lot at just how well I’ve managed to cope in the freezing climates. I’m definitely someone who would rather be too cold than too hot but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed being cold. But since staying in the van in the minus temperatures (it’s been -6°on some nights), I’ve kind of become accustomed to the cold weather in that I can no longer remember what warmth or sunshine feels like on my skin!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times more in my upcoming New Zealand blog posts; despite the freezing temperatures, travelling in the winter in NZ has been infinitely better than in the summer as it’s been so quiet and way cheaper!

That showering is pretty much a myth when you’re living in a campervan

OK, so this might be a slight hyperbole (and rather unattractive and disgusting…!), but since living in a campervan, we’ve kind of had to learn to shower less.

With the way we’ve been camping (staying in both paid-for and free campsites), we can often go three days at a time without a shower. While I appreciate that it’s pretty gross, the reality of our road trip has meant that we’ve prioritised staying in a free campsite right next to the beach, rather than paying $50NZD a night for a shower…

While of course I would love to enjoy the best of both worlds and stay in a beautiful location with a shower, living in a campervan has taught me that the world needs to be seen more than I need a shower!

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Have you ever lived out of a campervan before? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @imjustagirl_16.

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