VAN LIFE ｜ PARKING + SOLO FEMALE SAFETY

Hey. Okay, so a lot of you have asked about safety. Is it safe to live on the road, in a vehicle, in a van? Is it safe as a female to travel? What about traveling solo as a female? These are all great questions. Maybe you're interested in trying out this lifestyle. Maybe you know someone who is, or maybe you think this is absolutely crazy. Maybe you've watched way too many horror movies. Today, I want to share my perspective on safety as a solo female traveler and also share some tips and tricks that have helped me and will hopefully be helpful for you. All right, so I just want to start off by saying that I live on the road, in a van, by myself, by choice. I want that to be clear because there are people who live in a vehicle out of necessity and not by choice. When I was growing up, I lived in a car with my mom for a time. We didn't live in a car because we wanted to, but because we had to. And I'm sure that was really hard on her because when things felt unsafe or it was maybe a bad situation, she didn't necessarily have the resources to remove us from those situations. Ideally, if you are going to pursue this lifestyle, you have a little bit of money tucked away so that if things get hard or you find yourself in a bad situation, you can rent a hotel or an Airbnb or maybe even scrap the whole plan and go rent an apartment. I choose this lifestyle because it allows me to travel and be in the places that I love and do what I love. And it actually really benefits my career because I'm an outdoor adventure photographer and being able to spend the night not too far from a trailhead or a new location really helps me create new content in an easier way rather than commuting back and forth from an apartment all the time. I tried that. It was not very efficient or fun to do. So I just want to put that out there, that those are two very different things, choosing this lifestyle on your own terms or choosing it out of necessity. Now, the big question, is it safe? I want to ask you something. Do you feel safe right now, like in this moment, wherever you are with the people you're with, completely, entirely safe? I have experienced one break-in, and I've been living in my vehicle for two plus years. And that break-in happened when I was living in a house 10 years ago. I've had two vehicles stolen, once from right outside my apartment where it was parked, and another time in a gated community with 24-hour surveillance, like an actual guard. Safety is never really guaranteed. We all come into this world the same way. We all leave it the same way. We die. That's how it goes. Whether or not you choose to limit yourself based on fear and where that line is, is entirely up to you. So what are some things you can do to minimize risk? I'm going to start with the most controversial topic, which could be a whole other episode and probably will be, but parking. Some of the resources I use are freecampsites.net and the app iOverlander. I'm typically spending the night on BLM land, Bureau of Land Management, national forest land, and campsites. I also stay in Walmart parking lots when it's allowed, or a rest area, or sometimes residential neighborhoods, though I really try to avoid that. There are a lot of other options out there. Some are very gray. Some are arguably not okay. So like I said, controversial, but it's really important that if you do park and you're set up for the night and then you get like a funny feeling that you act on that, you leave. Like, don't take chances. Okay, this is super basic, but I'm going to say it anyway. Lock your doors. Sometimes it's easy enough to forget when you're on the inside of the van. And put up privacy curtains if you have them. I have magnetic covers that go on all my windows, and I also have a blackout curtain that I shut completely. So unless someone has been paying really close attention to me and I've been getting in and out of my van, it's hard for them to know who's in this van and how many people are in this van. Don't draw attention to yourself. So this kind of plays off of what I just said, but you don't want to be going in and out of the van unnecessarily and like setting up lawn chairs and just being very visible in a place where you are potentially unsafe. You know, if you're out in the middle of nowhere and there aren't people around you, or you can generally get a feel for what's going on around you, like, of course, live your life. But if you're in an urban area and it's not your space to be spreading out and like running around like you own the place, you know, like in some Walmart parking lots, people just put out their awning, they put out their chairs, they put out their coolers, they cook dinner, and, you know, you can do whatever you want. I guess it's a free country, but at the same time, if you're a solo female traveler, you might want to think twice, unfortunately. Change the Wi-Fi hotspot on your phone. So try to make it sound like something intimidating or at the very least a party of two. I can't tell you how many times I've rolled up to BLM and there's maybe one van near me, and I can immediately see their Wi-Fi when I go to sign on, and it's something just really obvious, you know, like, what's a good example? Cat mom. I don't know, it's just like, maybe change it to something that isn't too obvious that it's like a female in there. Anyway, that's just my two cents. Don't let your phone die. This is your lifeline to the outside world. Let someone know where you are at all times. So in this case, I do Google location sharing with my mom, and she knows where I am all the time. And if for some reason I'm not moving for a good amount of time, she's super rad. She checks in. And that leads me to my next point, which is share a password with that person. So let's say my mom sees that I've been in the same place for a little while, and she asks why and if I'm okay. Well, worst case scenario here, but if I've been taken hostage, they take my phone, sign in with my password, and they're trying to reply to make it seem like everything's okay. My mom is going to ask for a password. She wants to confirm that it's me. So we have a password between the two of us that she'll ask for. And if said kidnapper is asking or is trying to act on my behalf, he or she is not going to know that password. So that tips my mom off right away that something is not right. Self-defense. This one is super obvious. I'm not going to tell you what methods I have or use because the element of surprise is honestly one of your biggest assets in a threatening situation. There are a lot of possibilities here. Firearms, bear spray, pepper spray, bow and arrow, baseball bat, BB gun, machete, hatchet, taser, taekwondo, booby traps, ninja stars, brass knuckles, unhinged lagoon mount, basically a baseball bat, empty wine bottle, like smash it, use it. Seriously, don't take this lightly. Keep weapons peppered throughout your vehicle and know how to use them. So imagine different scenarios. What if an attacker gets into your van and ties you up, throws you in the back, and drives away? Like you want to make sure you have a knife stored in the back so that you can cut yourself loose hopefully. What if a meth head breaks into your van when you're sleeping and climbs on top of you in the middle of the night? Make sure that you have a weapon right there accessible and one that's going to do some damage. Another thing to keep in mind is it's a good idea to have your phone within arm's reach. That's your lifeline to call emergency services or someone who can come help you. And also you might want to keep something near you that can make a lot of noise. So a whistle, a fog horn. Let's say someone is loitering outside of your vehicle and you just have like a really weird feeling about it. What I would do in that situation is I would put on a hoodie, I would hide my hair just so it's not super obvious that I'm a girl by myself, climb up into the front seat, I would start the car, turn on the headlights. If the person doesn't go away and I feel threatened, I would maybe even lay on the horn. Just something to send a very clear message that you're aware that they're out there and then of course just drive away. Don't take chances. There are so, so many things you can do to protect yourself. There's no reason why just because you're a female or a solo traveler that you can't level the playing field in a bad situation. I highly recommend having an arsenal of weapons at your disposal. Honestly, I'm not joking. I have a lot. You got to decide what you are comfortable with and be mindful of how you approach different situations. I just want to say probably the best method of defense is just to avoid bad situations altogether. What can really make a difference is your awareness level and how you're presenting yourself in a potentially vulnerable situation. So for example, when you're walking down the street, are you staring down at your phone? Are you fully engaged in a phone conversation? When you leave the store and it's late at night and you're going to your vehicle, are you fumbling around for half a minute looking for your keys in your purse in the dark? Or are you already ready to get in the car and go? If I'm passing through an unfamiliar town and I'm say at a gas station or grocery store and I feel this honestly, I can't even think of an example where this has happened, but it's just so rare. But if someone were to be taking a little too much interest in me or kind of I feel like I'm being followed a little bit, I would just hang back and wait. You know, like I wouldn't walk out to my vehicle because I don't want to associate myself with my vehicle. And that really just comes down to being aware of what's going on around you. Another thing to consider is when you're getting into your van or your vehicle, it's helpful to get into the front driver's side rather than if you have a converted van or whatever, opening the big sliding door just kind of advertises like, hey world, I live in my car or I'm traveling in my car and I have a lot of things in here. So I, whenever possible, try to get into the driver's side. Another small thing, just when you park, it's a good idea to always face your exit so that if you do have to peel out of there, you can easily. And also like before you go to sleep, putting stuff away so that if you have to hop in the front seat, stuff's not flying all over the place. You know, have your vehicle or your van fairly secure and just ready to go. If a stranger walks up to me and I'm alone and I'm potentially distracted, like I have arms full of groceries or something, I am already going to have my guard up as a solo female. If that person starts asking me questions like, oh, do you live in your van? Do you sleep in your van? Like, where are you going? Where do you stay? I don't understand like what kind of places allow you to sleep in your van. They could be put, they could be completely harmless, but I am already going to be very like guarded in replying to those questions because I don't want a stranger knowing where I'm going to sleep or whether or not I live in a van by myself because I could potentially make myself into a target. Especially as a photographer, I have a lot of gear in here. So I'm just super mindful of that. And honestly, like the only people that need to know where you're going to spend the night specifically are like your person that knows where you are at all times, unless you're traveling with friends and you're trying to coordinate with them. Otherwise it's just not information that you should be sharing broadly, in my opinion. So the same logic extends to DMs, emails, Instagram stories, any kind of social media really. I generally share to my social media a day, two days, sometimes a week or even later after I've left just to protect my privacy and my actual location. So unless you're a really good friend, I've met you in person, or you can be vouched for through friends of friends, like I'm neither confirming nor denying my location if you ask. And I just think that's a good rule of thumb for anyone, regardless of whether or not you live in a car. I realize that that can come across as super unfriendly at times, but you know, for me personally, I'd much rather be unfriendly than potentially put myself in a bad situation with a stranger. Trust your gut, trust your intuition, don't take chances, do your research. There are challenges and risks associated with this lifestyle, absolutely. Just like any other kind of living, you know, like if you let fear live your life, you're going to miss out on some really beautiful experiences. But if you aren't mindful of what you're doing, you're going to end up in some really bad situations. So I just think like anything in life, it requires a little bit of balance. And for me personally, this has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. I've been on the road for two plus years, I've traveled quite a bit by myself, and I just, I can't recommend it enough. There's so much personal growth, you really push your limitations, you find out what you're capable of and where your weaknesses and strengths lie, and it's just, it's a really beautiful way to grow as a person and to open your mind to other cultures and ways of life and perspectives. A lot of you might disagree with this, and that's totally okay, this is just my opinion. I personally have traveled through 36 countries and I've lived in five, and at least half of that time, I was completely alone as a solo female traveler. If you found this video helpful, please like and subscribe. I'll be working on another video for you guys soon. I'm thinking about covering how I make money on the road, just working remotely and what I do for a living. If you think that's a good topic, if you would find that useful, let me know in the comments below, as well as other potential topics. Until then, I will be practicing my high kicks and ninja star throwing skills. Stay safe out there.