Adventure. Flexibility. And the open road.
These are the blissful things that come to mind when we hear the phrase “van life.” It calls to mind stunning scenes of mountains and deserts and a thrilling sense of freedom. It requires one to live a life outside the bounds of what’s considered “normal.” Of course, this can be intimidating.
Alyssa Bean is a full-time van lifer and content creator known as “Regretlyss.” Through her channels, she makes the nomadic lifestyle feel a bit more attainable. Bean has been traveling the United States since 2019, documenting countless epic (and equally those less-than-ideal) experiences living out of a converted school bus. She’s become known for her deep, honest videos about life on the road — the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Van life is “both everything and nothing like I expected,” she said. “Some of the physical experiences are what I expect, like the awe of having nature and my fingertips. But the internal experience — the personal growth, self-reliance, and realizations — are not what I expected. Living on the road forces you to sit with yourself. It can be a grueling process, but it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”
As careers increasingly go remote, many creators are now considering life on the road either full-time or temporarily. To help you with that path, we chatted with Bean about all things van and creator life. She shares how she got here, and some tips for those who want to pave their path via the open road.
The Journey Begins
While many people dream and plan for years before packing up and heading out for a life on the road, Bean originally came to this lifestyle more out of necessity. A series of tough life events left Bean depressed and living out of her car, unable to afford housing prices in her area. It was a period of immense loss and grief for Bean. Although, over time, she realized it was an opportunity to pursue a dream.
Bean came across an old school bus for sale. She was able to sell her car for just about the same price as the bus, resulting in a practically even swap. At that moment, her bus life adventure began — but it wasn’t all smooth-sailing.
It was an almost two-year journey from when she purchased the bus in 2017 to officially setting off full-time on the road in 2019. She started documenting the experience of rebuilding the bus to turn it into a proper tiny home on wheels on Instagram. She began to gain a following from people interested in her story.
During this time, she also launched her own online business as a marketing and social media consultant for small businesses as a way to support herself from anywhere. She had a degree in public relations and entrepreneurship, and used those skills to help local businesses build their presence online.
“It was very rewarding to work with passionate people pursuing their dreams. I could share their story in a meaningful way that helped the business thrive,” said Bean.
From Consultant to Creator
The onset of the pandemic caused Bean’s consulting business to dry up, but it proved to be an opportune moment for her to pivot. As she was figuring out her next steps, she used her free time to shift her focus to a YouTube channel as a way to document her experiences. She intended to use the channel as an online diary to help make sense of her journey.
With such a low cost of living, I was able to live off very little money and follow my creative ideas.
“Storytelling is a passion of mine and I’ve always been drawn to video. I decided to start [on] YouTube to channel my creative energy and make sense of my life,” she said.
While she initially started the channel for introspection, her success was rapid — and she’s a great case study on why you should start where you are versus waiting to be “perfect.”
Check out 10 Tips for Starting a YouTube Channel for advice on starting a channel of your own.
Before creating YouTube videos, Bean had no professional video or photography experience, equipment, or editing knowledge. Yet, she persisted and — given the high-quality content and consistency — the channel took off. In fact, it only took a year for Bean to able to fully support herself based on YouTube earnings alone.
“I never in a million years would have believed you if you told me I would be a YouTube — let alone make all my money from YouTube,” she said.
Viewers resonated with her honest and inspiring portrayal of the realities of life on the road. They started tuning in regularly to watch her adventures with her dog Rio and the #LuckyBus, as she coined it, which became its own character in her vlogs and posts. Her audience has continued to grow over the course of her three-year journey. She now has 35,000 followers on Instagram and 83,700 subscribers on YouTube.
In addition to producing regular videos, she also partners with sponsors such as Athletic Greens and Skillshare to provide sponsored content and affiliate links on her channel. Bean credits the flexibility of van life for being able to successfully pursue her career in content creation.
“With such a low cost of living, I was able to live off very little money and follow my creative ideas,” she said. “I never would have been able to dedicate so much time to my passions if my cost of living was that of a traditional lifestyle. I don’t think I would have had this opportunity or the courage to dive in completely if I wasn’t living in my bus.”
A New Challenge
The Lucky Bus served as Bean’s home base for the first few years of her journey. In October 2021, she decided it was time to undertake a new challenge.
She sold the original Lucky Bus and purchased a new (well, new to her!) retired school bus ready for a rebuild. This bus appeared to her as a fresh start and an opportunity to continue to grow and challenge herself.
For her first build, she had relied on the help of a contractor to get the bus live-in ready. For this new project, Bean did a lot of the work herself with the guidance of friends with build experience.
“I had never picked up a power tool in my life before building my second bus,” she said. “I was able to get my hands dirty and learn skills that I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
Dodging Creator Burnout
While van life has its perks and has allowed Bean to build a dream career that lets her travel, it’s not without drawbacks. She shared that the “always-on” nature of content creation can lead to anxiety and stress. There is some pressure to document every moment of your life. She mentioned the importance of making sure some experiences stay sacred and off camera to maintain balance.
Van life can also be a dangerous undertaking — especially for women traveling alone. It’s essential to remain aware of your surroundings and other people to protect your safety. You need to always have the resources needed to survive and handle unexpected challenges, such as the van breaking down in an unfamiliar location.
“There’s no such thing as [living in] auto-pilot in van life,” said Bean.
Because of the always-on nature, she said it’s essential to take the time to rest and take care of yourself to avoid burning out or getting into an unsafe situation. “That could mean slowing down, getting a hotel room for a couple nights, or creating the mental space to not do much.”
Start Your Van Life Journey
For anyone considering diving into van life, Bean leaves us with this advice…
“The golden rule of the road is: slow down. Taking time to rest is critical. That could mean slowing down, getting a hotel for a couple nights, or creating mental space to not do much.”
“Van life has very little to do with the view out the back door. It’s an experience that is vastly different for every person who tries it. It’ll be way harder and way better than you imagine. Be gentle on yourself—and have a blast.”
Equipment Essentials
Although Bean now makes her living as a full-time creator, she still views herself as a novice. She uses her innate curiosity and hunger to learn to continually improve her skills.
Bean keeps her gear simple. For her, it’s all about the Sony Alpha ZV-E10 Vlog Camera.
The camera is lightweight and allows her to capture the stunning scenery of the locations she explores in crisp detail. It’s also compact enough to avoid taking up too much precious space in the bus. She also often uses her phone to capture content on the fly.
“It’s a simple but quality set-up, which is very important. I can capture the moment easily as it happens,” said Bean. “Your story and art come first. The gear is a supporting role. Don’t let the tech get in the way of or complicate creating.”
Check out 5 Ways to Use Your Smartphone to Make Creative Content for some inspiration to get you started.
