Living Elsewhere Seems Like a Good Idea
I've been living in my van for more than a year now, and I'm already going down rabbit holes for future plans
“I just want to be happy.”
Everybody says they want to be happy.
There’s no way to be happy unless you’re in the present.
I teach this to my clients and most of my friends and family… I’ve lived this, and I know it’s true.
If you live in the past (depression, shame) or the future (anxiety, fear), you aren’t living in the Now. And the Now is the only place possible to be truly happy.
Always wanting to be someplace else (even a place like “Heaven”) can actually rob you of happiness.
But being in the present also makes you aware of what’s going on in the Now.
Vanlife has helped me become more present than ever before. I stopped planning my days weeks in advance, and now I just flow.
I just vibe.
If my vibe is low energy and introverted, I’ll impromptu walk into a campground and get a campsite (if they have any… if they don’t, then I wasn’t meant to be there!).
If my vibe is high-energy and extroverted, I’ll be more inclined to detour into a random town just because I saw a sign for a farmer’s market or artisan fair.
That doesn’t mean I don’t dream, though.
I visualize who I’m becoming, especially since I’ve been on a weight-loss journey for a little over a month (down 7 lbs!!).
In fact, being who you are becoming now vs. waiting until some future date to start being that person is exactly how you become that person.
It’s being Future You now.
(If you want an in-depth, solid breakdown of what it means to be the Future You now and how to do it, come to the next Transform retreat!)
Being more of who you truly are in the present moment means shedding the past. Understanding that you aren’t who you were — when you didn’t know better — you are who you are.
You’re not what religion says you are.
You’re not what the government says you are.
You’re not what your parents or siblings or friends say you are.
Only you get to choose who you’re being in each moment, in each “now.”
And as I’ve been working towards being the best version of myself in each moment—the unattached, audacious, inspired version of myself—I’ve also been practicing this thing called “following your highest excitement.”
When I realized I could get a van, build a tiny house inside it, live in it, and travel around the country indefinitely — which I knew would undoubtedly make me more resilient, resourceful, and courageous — it became my highest excitement.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I watched YouTube videos for 13 hours straight.
The same thing happened last Saturday when I went kayaking for the first time in three years. It was the first time I’d ever experienced kayaking outside a sweltering hot environment and/or with some dusty dude.
It was not fun when I was sweating buckets. I didn’t feel like I belonged in nature… it felt like nature hated me and wanted me to leave. It was too hot and miserable to really enjoy it. Not to mention… there was probably sunscreen in my eyes.
But this time… it was glorious. Breezy, sunny, and I felt like I belonged there.
I came back and bought my own inflatable kayak immediately (it arrives today)!
Kayaking is pretty much all I’ve been able to think about all week.
I have my own personal boat! How amazing is that?!
I watched a bunch of YouTube and TikTok videos about places to kayak in the areas I’m heading next… and learned a bunch of tips from experienced kayakers.
If you have ever met me IRL, then you know I love TikTok.
I know it gets a lot of flak, and there’s tons of propaganda that TikTok is bad bad bad, but my personal belief is that the government wants to prevent the spread of information that would clue people in that what they’ve been feeding us via the news and our school books is largely a bunch of bunk.
That’s why they wanted to ban TikTok. No other reason — just a bunch of cover stories/justifications.
TikTok is a great place to learn about new things (like kayaking!) and get fresh perspectives on real life — from people who are living it, not paid actors on “news” networks.
I learned a ton about vanlife through watching other vanlifers’ videos there. I’ve also made some amazing friends — some who are now real-life friends (shoutout to Kristina and Andrew!).
But the rabbit hole I fell into this morning was quite unexpected.
I ended up bingewatching a bunch of videos by this guy (who seems to be close to my age) that has moved to Russia.
He’s making dozens of videos a week about his firsthand experience there — and how the Russian government has decreed that anyone who doesn’t agree with the morality of their home country’s government can come to Russia.
You can live there as a temporary resident for three years, after which — assuming you’ve learned Russian — you can become a permanent resident.
Apparently — and I noticed something similar when I went down to South America — nothing is as bad in Russia as we’re told it is.
It’s all propaganda to keep US citizens enslaved by the belief that we’re free — when we’re not.
The Russian people are nice.
The Russian weather is nice.
The Russian cities are very clean.
The Russian food is delicious and extremely affordable (20 cents for a loaf of bread; $1.50 for a lunch).
The utilities are reasonable ($50 a month for electric, water, gas, and internet all together).
And there’s no homelessness!
Southern Russian cities, like the coastal city of Sochi (where the 2014 Winter Olympics were held) have a mild climate year-round.
I’m not about to move there right this minute, but I definitely have my sights set on Europe in the future — and it wouldn’t be difficult to get to Russia from there.
Then maybe I’d… stay there a while.
It’s my goal to remain as unattached as possible, as free as possible, so that I can weave the tapestry of my life as intricately and as interestingly as I can.
Aside from love, my highest value is freedom.
The US now offers an illusion of freedom. It wasn’t always that way, but with skyrocketing prices on everything and the fact that most people don’t get more than 10 days of paid vacation a year… people are literally forced to work to survive.
That’s not freedom.
That’s slavery in disguise. And it’s gross.
My mission on this planet is to help people have more freedom. I did it with my former brand, Proofread Anywhere, and I’m doing it with SelfTransformation.com too.
It’s why I write about these things… it’s why I share what I’m thinking, doing, and planning with others. Freedom matters to me.
Especially freedom from fear.
The way the American government has hidden the truth and instilled in us a fear of Russia is ridiculous. Russia has so much to offer, and it seems like the Russian government refuses to be bullied by the US government.
More and more people are seeing the truth and using platforms like TikTok and Substack to share that truth with others. And I’m here for all of it.
I know the world has its scary spots, but truth be told, so many of those scary spots are right here in the States. Just the idea of spending time in Russia, expanding myself even more through new experiences and shattering old beliefs from past experiences (and propaganda) is an absolute thrill to me.
When I discovered that I love kayaking, I realized that those moments of conscious expansion would keep happening… that I would keep living in the Now and following what feels exciting to me — not in an adrenaline junkie way but an intuitive, peaceful, expansive way.
And that’s how you become inspired by your own life. You step outside what you know — or what you’ve been told — and allow yourself to “soak” in something new. Someplace new.
It’s why vanlife is my favorite way to travel… I’m always home, but my backyard can be just about anywhere.
And yes… I have thought about shipping my van overseas. I want to feel complete with my experience on this side of the pond first before I put Vanastasia through that kind of stress :)
Being happy now is possible. But it’s only possible if you’re present for it — not caught up in the past or worried about the future. I’m excited about the inevitability of the big new adventures coming, I’m also excited about the smaller things… like the lunch I’m about to eat and the kayak that’s just arrived on my [cousin’s!] doorstep.
Your Turn!
What are you enjoying about the present? What adventures are you looking forward to next?