He owned a house before, so that's a moot point, he could have used his own house before selling it.
But of course his lifestyle is enabled by his environment. It is easier to do that in the US than in Europe, easier in the Western World than in the third world, easier if you started off as a developer rather than a min wage employee with the burden of student debts, easier single than couple with kids, easier as a man than woman, ...
If you are one of the richest man in the world (not the 1%, just above average in one of the richest country in the world), which is pretty much the majority of HN, this is an interesting alternative lifestyle.
Note that it is oddly reminiscent from the 7/80's hippies. I just wonder if just like them, some of those people will settle down one day and make a 180 turn on everything they valued when they were younger.
> Note that it is oddly reminiscent from the 7/80's hippies.
I found his reasoning very solid. To me it seemed like a nice way to save money, enjoy the time and invest it to into his game creating business. What made him a hippie to me was not the van part but the part where he created his own programming language before getting to work.
Can you elaborate on why you think this would be more difficult in Europe?
I can imagine Europe wide fitness chains not being so common. http://www.basic-fit.com and friends seem to be building something like it. But then again, public swimming pools, and even public showers are more common and often highly subsidised.
- Language will be a problem. Speaking more than 1 language will help.
- Access to public bathroom is going to be another - like even public bathroom in place like Walmart-equivalent cannot be assumed to be generally available.
- Legality and Cultural acceptance is going to vary country by country. In my home country, a single man living in his van will be reported to the police the second nights he stays in the same place, and he will be asked to move somewhere else at the very least.
- You pointed out to a gym being available across Europe, but the replacement, swimming pools are not anywhere as available as gyms. There is no public toilet at the public library that is next to my place. Public shower are often restricted to professional drivers and I haven't seen one outside of the highway or trucking road.
- Insuring your car requires to have a physical residence in a country, and you generally can't legally be more than a few months in a country with foreign registration. Similarly depending on the age of your car, your country may require a yearly car check which mean you need to be around there at that time.
- Internet access - you will need to prepare that a bit more carefully.
- What about taxes ? That's another thing you have to know when crossing several countries.
- Stupid little things like currencies.
So going across Europe is going to be more adventurous than in a country that has road-trip in its DNA, and depending on the country, even staying in a single one is going to be more adventurous. Of course it's all relative, that is harder than in the US, but nowhere as hard as for Syrian refugee in Turkey.
Well actually that one is pretty easy. If you are European you can ask for your European Health Insurance Card (free, valid for several years) which will cover you in the whole EEA as if you were a resident yourself.
The problem though is that if you have a chronic or permanent disease that requires continuous medication. Hospital will likely sort you out in a pinch, but if you need to stock up some pills you will need to go through the whole doctor chain (GP / Specialist / Various treatment trials ...) in each country (prescription do not cross borders). I have known people going back to their country on a regular basis just because that´s just a pain in the ass to go back to square one and start a several months ordeal only to end up with the medication you know is working.
But of course his lifestyle is enabled by his environment. It is easier to do that in the US than in Europe, easier in the Western World than in the third world, easier if you started off as a developer rather than a min wage employee with the burden of student debts, easier single than couple with kids, easier as a man than woman, ...
If you are one of the richest man in the world (not the 1%, just above average in one of the richest country in the world), which is pretty much the majority of HN, this is an interesting alternative lifestyle.
Note that it is oddly reminiscent from the 7/80's hippies. I just wonder if just like them, some of those people will settle down one day and make a 180 turn on everything they valued when they were younger.