​Nomad traveling​ – cities – van-life​

Traveling as a Vanlife nomad within cities seems to be scary at first, but it is way less complicated than it seems. The first experiences I’ve made were quite positive so far regarding people not giving a flying f**k about it. But let’s talk this whole thing through from the beginning.

Thoughts and fears of sleeping in a van over night within city borders seem to be a little bit edgy at first. Within Austria, it is absolutely fine concerning the law. However, the Austrians tend to artificially expand things they don’t agree with. I can also tell you as a fact, that there will be people acting in self-justice, whining on social media and/or calling the cops for each and every thing they see.

 

The three basic rules of not getting into trouble:

So it is entirely fine by law to sleep in your car (for instance when drunk and unable to drive) but camping is a different matter. Here’s the first rule to avoid trouble: Move around from time to time and don’t occupy a spot for too long. That should not be too hard for every traveler since the sense of traveling is to move around and see stuff.

The second rule is quite simple as well, it is in fact, an absolute no-brainer. Vanlife is traveling on a small budget, so you want to avoid paid parking spaces. What you should try to avoid too is company property like supermarket parking spaces with gates or barriers if you haven’t talked to the store manager.

For the third basic rule switch the side for a while. That shouldn’t be too hard to perform since I think everybody has lived in a house or apartment at least once. What would let’s say “motivate” you to start trouble with someone sleeping/living in a car outside of your residence? Exactly! Being loud, disturbing people and making a mess out of your environment. So the third rule is not too hard either. Keep your space clean and throw your garbage into a bin, not on the streets. A top-tip in this regard is also stunningly simple: Get yourself a piss-bottle. The waking up, getting a coffee and spending some time on a toilet-routine will still be there but just for emergencies get a bottle, so you don’t risk a penalty since “fertilizing city trees” is forbidden.

 

My first-hand experiences on this topic are quite basic but fundamental. I did sleep within cities multiple times, and I had absolutely no issues whatsoever. I chose my spots within side streets of living areas where parking is free, and locals park their cars.

Having everything closed down and the rear windows covered so no one will catch a glimpse of sleeping people in the van when car lights would illuminate the van. 

Simple but very useful as a solution. The rear windows have a black foil on it so you should not be able to look inside. As mentioned earlier: Flashlights, cars and such will give someone walking outside quite a view.

The big surprise this morning came when I removed the insulation sheets from the back and noticed that someone parked extremely close to the van while I was asleep.

Everything A-OK it’s time to get moving again.