I did it! I bought myself a tiny home in the form of a truck camper. This is NOT generally something I imagine people just do on a whim, so, here’s my story…
Why a truck camper?
Seven months ago I moved out of the home I loved and lived in for 3.5 years, not by choice, but because my landlords decided to turn it into an Airbnb. Since then I’ve had extended stays at more houses than I can count on one hand, and all of my belongings have either been sold or moved into storage.
I’ve been here before, lots of times, I’m no stranger to being houseless with nothing but a storage unit and a truck to my name. It’s what I have done since I was 18.
But, one of the things I struggled with the most about moving out this time was that it wasn’t MY choice. I LOVED where I lived, and I was not ready to let it go. That place meant SO much to me. It was the first place Stateside that I called my own since my departure in 2015, it was the place that held me through Covid, it was my cozy home. I felt safe there. I never imagined being asked to leave.
When I moved out, I felt more than homeless; I felt kicked out, rejected, unwanted, whether it was true or not, and there was nothing I could do about it. I wanted control over my living situation, but no matter where I went to try to live for months and months after that, to friends, family, even other rentals, nothing worked out for long.
I felt like I was being pushed out of everywhere.
Um, hello, Universe, I hear you. I’m a Sagittarius and an entrepreneur. I am not afraid of change, but even Traveling Jackie needs a literal push out the door sometimes.
To me, all of these signs pointed to one very intriguing idea: the time had come to reach into the back-burner and pull out a dream I’ve had for years – getting a slide-in camper for my truck – a place to sleep and cook in that I own, that (as long as I have a legal place to park it) no one else can kick me out of.
It had always felt like a far away dream, like all the right things would have to line up for me to really make it happen…
Well, all the “right” things were happening.
It took several months and tons of research and prep (an understatement which I’ll unpack later) to make this dream a reality, but… here I am.
Now it’s real, it’s mine, I’m in it right now as I write, in the middle of the woods with no service, but everything I need, and more inspiration than I’ve had in years. And I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been “forced” to leave my home last December. Yes, I can definitely get used to this new home, this new life. It suits me SO very well.
Sometimes, the universe works in mysterious ways. And sometimes, we simply can’t understand parts of the journey until we can see the destination, and the possibilities beyond…
