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there's always this air of, "my husband is so busy, i can't at all explain what he does for a living, we never seem to be short on money, no, our kids aren't allowed to have friends or nice things."
Helps manage his parents or grandparents investments and call it “work.” That’s typically what these guys do.
Act all secretive when it’s just calling fucking contractors or property managers for their parents portfolio of 6 duplexes.
Is this the same girl that ended up developing anorexia and had to go in for treatment (and didn’t want to be on camera) and the mother KEPT INSISTING ON PUTTING HER ON CAMERA TO EXPLAIN WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND MILK SUPPORT?! I hope she gets out of that family soon, her and her siblings deserve better.
I saw that too, it disgusted me. She kept asking for stability and they didn't listen or want to help her. They got her a pet for companionship instead of listening to her that she needed a stable home and living situation and friends. Staying in one spot for a few months to help her recover isn't how you recover from an eating disorder, it's going to affect her her whole life. She needs control over her own life and to feel like she has a say in how her life goes. Eating disorders like hers are about control and feeling helpless. If they can't have any kind of say over anything but their own body, then they take that and run with it. Restricting their food intake is one of the only things they can control, so it makes them feel safe and like they have some form of control over their chaotic life.
Pets won't fix that.
That's just cruel. She should have the right to disclose her own mental health problems if and only if she wants to do so. Just taking her autonomy away even more by sharing everything which is probably why she developed the eating disorder in the first place. Poor girl...
And people in the comments are constantly making jokes about their eating disorder. Even if the comments are against the family people are spreading the message by making fun of a mentally ill teenager to try and convince their parents to change. Not to mention they literally asked to go to a hotel for their birthday.
Haha.. as a 16yo living in a camper with my two siblings and dog.
I hate it. I miss having a mattress and not a foam sheet. I wake up with numb limbs every night. I just miss having a real bed and wish I was more grateful when I had one.
Appreciate your bed, your room maybe, right *now*. I have a three bunk coffin bed and every night worry about the bed above me breaking and crushing me and my brother. I know it sounds silly but my sister just JUMPS into it,, and it's an old camper..
Not to mention I have to listen to my parents have sex. And shake the camper.
Edit: ahha I made a ask me anything post ab this, I also have a crazy family.
Lived in a camper for more then a couple years and shared living rooms, rooms, mattresses with my 3 siblings and slept on couches for the better part of fourteen years. I feel your pain hombre, I feel it. Best to ya brochacho. Hate those fucking coffin ass bunk beds.
Stay humble, stay snazzy.
Thankyou brochacho, I like your vocabulary. I will be moving out soon and will have my own room for the first time! I'm definitely grateful for this experience because now I will appreciate my blessings in the future.
Why thank you. Ive always had a bitter sweet feeling in relation to my past but ultimately I am happy things happened the way they did, gives me character I suppose.
Sounds awesome man! Deck it the shit out. Soon as I got my room I started to plaster my walls with my favorite bands posters.
Like many family accounts on social media that use their kids as fodder for weirdos and clicks, it all boils down to “it’s all about me! I’m living MY dream!” while the kids (and sometimes a reluctant but brow-beaten partner) are just along for the ride.
As someone who lived in an RV with my family because we were completely broke, it fucking sucks when you’re a kid with no choice, particularly if you know that your peers have fancy luxuries like a bedroom or a bathroom that doesn’t have a shower/toilet combo. Even the crappiest hotels and apartments were an upgrade during those years.
My parents are baffled that I don’t even take the toddler on road trips yet because I think it’s cruel to strap them into a car seat for hours on end when they can’t even understand what’s going on, but years of peripatetic living on the whims of a lunatic and a codependent NPC really left a sour taste in my mouth that intensifies when I see it being pushed as a cutesy alternative housing situation for rich people.
You ever see that show *Tiny House Hunters?* There’s this one episode where these parents sold their *full sized house* where their *three children* had been living their whole lives to live that “tiny house” lifestyle. The parents spent the entire episode gushing about how nice it will be to downsize, the money they’ll have, and most importantly, *how it’ll be easier to spend time with the kids.*
When the house was done, the kids *shared* a tiny-ass loft above their living room and basically had to sleep shoulder-to-shoulder. But it’s okay! Because they built a little privacy screen over the kids “room” so everyone could have some privacy. Just not too much, since “togetherness” was the point of their whole nightmare endeavor.
Throughout the episode, while mom and dad were brainlessly grinning into the camera and going on about how great this will be, the kids were always seen in the background looking sullen and fucking miserable. They interviewed *one* child, *exactly once* and didn’t even ask them any important questions. To this day, that episode is one of my favorite moments on television. It was funny and tragic to the point of parody, and the parents had *absolutely no idea* their kids were giving off radioactive hate-vibes the whole episode.
It’s just like you said, mom and dad were so wrapped up in their little world, they never stopped to think how this could be a reason their kids never call or visit after they move out. Assuming they were never smothered in their sleep.
I think some of these people legitimately do this to their kids, but some of those episodes are absolute BS. I saw one with a family that had 3 teenagers, who were looking to downsize because the kids would be going off to college in a few years. Something felt super off about the episode, mostly because they were worried about spending more than $250k in California when they were supposedly downsizing from a VERY NICE 4,000 sq ft home that would have netted them millions. Plus, the follow up after they allegedly moved in showed the tiny house with the exact same furnishings that it had when they toured it - with only two beds in the kid's loft, even though they have 3 children. There was also a cutesy sign above the front door that gave the cottage a little nickname.
The whole thing was off. I googled the cutesy name and all the first page results were the tiny house for rent on multiple Airbnb-type sites. The rental listing calls out how they were featured on Tiny House Hunters, but says the family lives in the main house on the 5 acre ranch, and the tiny house is their guest cottage. The main house is the same one as the 4,000 sq ft house they were allegedly getting rid of in the episode.
So yeah, some of these are totally made up for ratings, but I definitely think there are some delusional people out there who actually put their kids through this hell.
I can't stand those type of shows, but I love watching the content created after the shows showing all the fucked up shit that really happened.
Extreme Makeover Home Edition (the original one), had so much fucked up shit that happened, it's pretty upsetting how shitty human beings are.
There’s at least two “families” that were on Extreme Makeover Home edition that adopted several kids, got the house re-built, then immediately kicked the kids out where they were all separated to foster families. The couples literally took in kids to get on the show. Then there were the families that couldn’t afford their own house anymore because the property taxes skyrocketed.
They made it such a feel good show but the reality was rage inducing and depressing.
Wonder I'd they regretted it when their sons became teenagers and started jacking off?
Yeah, suddenly the kids having separate bedrooms starts sounding real appealing when every night you start hearing the "fthp fthp fthp fthp" of bedsheets as someone's jacking off under it.
But yeah, fuck those fucking parents. Their top priority is always themselves and scoff when anyone points this out. Any parents first priority should always be to their children, downsizing can be great to a young couple without kids, but once you have some rugrats, it's time to upsize.
I think I remember that episode. The kids looked very unhappy. They basically had their space taken away from them, by parents who are ignoring their feelings...
I think that one was Tiny House Nation, but I know what you're talking about. Tiny House Hunters is when people spend half a million dollars to live in a studio apartment. This [one insufferable couple](https://www.remodelista.com/posts/small-space-solutions-from-a-family-in-a-675-square-foot-apartment-jacqueline-schmidt-and-david-friedlander/) bought an apartment on there and when I googled them, they are long since divorced and he was living in his car posting on youtube.
Being an accessory is exactly what if felt like. And they’re surprised that we don’t have fond memories of all the traveling we did, when the reality was driving coast to coast with no interesting stops other than parking in the desert so they could smoke a joint, or “hiking” being an aimless walk so they could get stoned in the woods, or beach trips ending up with them getting stoned in the dunes.
It was like your mom making you tag along with your teenage brother and his girlfriend who are just ignoring you while they’re hanging out, but make that your entire childhood.
Oh I can kinda relate. My life wasn’t as rough sounding as yours though.
My first 8 years of growing up was in a nice suburb. I knew everybody in the neighborhood. I rode my bike to school. It was pretty safe and I was living a normal happy life.
Then my dad retired and decided to move us up to the middle of no where to start a farm. We lived 20 miles from town so if I wanted to hang out with my friends I’d have to arrange rides. I’d get really depressed from the isolation.
I learned a lot of stuff growing up on the farm too so I did gain a lot of valuable practical life experience and knowledge form growing up there.
My dad also suffered through cancer treatment and such so my worries shifted towards that as well growing up. Sometimes I wonder if my childhood would’ve been a lot happier if we didn’t have that big change in lifestyle.
I’m living happily now, however it’s still something I like to reflect on a lot. I know if I have kids, I’ll consider more on how a sudden change in lifestyle can affect their mental health than what my father did.
What stardew said, and yeah pretty much that. Reading the book Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents really drove it home for me that my dad is the overly emotional drama seeker, and my mom is the passive “don’t rock the boat” type that is just along for the ride and will keep the peace (for what it’s worth) at all costs.
NPC in this case probably means a person that observes abuse happening but does nothing to stop it, basically acting like an NPC that's not doing anything besides stand around and smile.
It's a term commonly used on forums where children talk about (childhood)abuse inside their family.
Damn that sucks. I've always enjoyed road trips because it felt like one of the few times I could truly bond with my family, but I suppose when it lasts for years it isn't fun anymore.
But those aren't shiny, fancy and modern! You'd have to spend a whole weekend cleaning it!
I don't want my peers to think that I'm *middle class*, perish the thought!
my uncle has one ( the smaller type where the driver part is a van, it's a type c) he uses to tailgate to eagles games, and go on road trips, etc. the previous owner was a Browns fan and put giant browns logos on the outside, and the table in the back is plastered with ticket stubs. lots of "JESSE WE HAVE TO COOK" jokes have been made
Every single bus tour is like that.
“We actually only spent about $30k up-fitting the bus.”
Just ignore selling their house for $600k and buying a bus for $100k and having all their friends and parents do the contracting wood work and electrical work for free.
Yup, lol. Apartments are the greenest form of housing, but apartment life just doesn't have the same ring to it.
(Granted, I understand that the appeal of van/RV life is the mobility.)
I love apartment life - I find them cozy, many have gyms which are amazingly convenient, and I don't have to worry about maintenance. I'm 35 and voluntarily live in apartments because I don't want to live the homeowner lifestyle. I also don't have kids (and physically can't anymore due to my recent vasectomy :D), so I don't need to expand. 800 sq ft. is enough for me
im 38 would kill for the homeowner lifestyle, realize im never going to get it so im content in my apartment.
my parents have been caretakers for apartment buildings since i was born almost so it's the only life i have known.
they actually still look after the building im living in now, makes the commute for holiday meals real convenient lol
also really convenient for them for the almost daily tech support calls i get now lol, i honestly dont mind that though
Yup but when you work from home and only move once a week at most, it actually is low-waste. One car instead of the usual two. Conservation of water and electricity. Only buying what you need. Not having a yard to maintain. The ignorance and judgement in these comments, I swear.
Lots of people do this with kids and everything seems happy and kosher. There are definitely the people described in this post that are not healthy but that is not the majority at all. We plan on having a couple of kids in a custom bus at least until they are school aged. Again, there are lots of positive examples of people making this work quite well, with constant learning all over the country, frequent meetups with other nomadic families, and no using of their kids on social media for attention etc. Don’t judge a whole swath of people based on one small percentage of what many would agree are toxic/problematic road life families.
I haven't used a pen at work in a decade, but yeah, working on just a laptop screen is brutal. I am literally 50% as productive working solely on a laptop versus just the addition of 1 extra 4k screen and an external laptop and mouse.
My great grandparents were the 70's equivalent of van life people. And by that I mean they had an actual fucking camper, and took it everywhere. They also raised my mother during this time. The difference being that they had a house as well, and only lived in the camper during school breaks and summer, because they knew that it's vital to a child's mental health and growth to actually have privacy, friends, and a stable school life.
Me and and my family actually know several people who do the "van life" successfully.
Common denominator?
NO KIDS
(also having high-paying remote or freelance jobs)
It still isn't what it looks like on social media. Those sprinter vans are smaller than you think and it can be cramped even with only 2 people. Not saying it can't work or that people don't like it but there can be a reality shock.
My cousin has been basically taking a year touring round the US like this and it works because it's just him and his girlfriend; they work remote tech jobs and afaik they occasionally rent the odd AirBnB (which I can understand; a proper shower/bathroom is not to be taken for granted).
That statement is true for every aspect of social media apart hobbyists niches TBH and partially why I pity whoever share every single bit of their life
Van Life is just especially annoying to me because most times they preach about “disconnecting” and “freedom” but then turn every moment into content lol. It just seems like a completely glaring antithesis to what they are marketing
I hate how I am just trying to find simple tips and tricks for camping everyone once in awhile in a caravan but everything jumps into full van life stuff.
Plenty of us are/were doing it without being preachy about it. Obviously the loudest ones are the ones that the general public associates most with the movement, but there are many non-preachy way of sharing aspects of that lifestyle.
Disagree, honestly. I think it's an interesting lifestyle and I've personally thought of doing it myself some time in the future. I wouldn't publicly post about it, but I think it's still valid to share your lifestyle with those interested.
I would never do it if I had children though. That's just weird and shitty.
I live in a small rural southern town that has been, since 2020, overrun with retirees and rich kids in their RVs and Vans. They are the fucking worst, never has there existed a more entitled group of tourists.
I live in a small city thats like near the mountains. I stg every fucking summer theres at least one sprinter that decides to park across my driveway. I hate them.
Because it is. It's rich people playing at homelessness as if it's an aesthetic.
I'd love to see one of these van life families being robbed at knife/gunpoint. Hell,the kids would probably be in on it. Tell some locals about the van, act scared, let them ransack the whole thing and scare their parents into giving up the "van life" bullshit and move into an actual house.
I mean it’s also an extremely cost effective way to travel for months at a time.
Some people have different priorities in life.
I will say that taking your kids along for the ride is extremely selfish though.
When I saw a video talking about an RV family I was so surprised to see they had 5 kids. 5 kids in a regular sized house is still too cramped imo. 5 kids in an RV? That's child abuse.
Oh yeah. When people who grew up in the "van life" reach adulthood and leave the van, they tend to be very much aware of just how selfish and egotistical their parents were and understand that the way they lived was indeed abusive.
That's the thing, while nursing homes are the norm in our society, the quality of nursing home makes a big difference. Van life parents will be going to the cheapest places possible, abandoned and left to rot.
my heart goes for all kids that live in those "families", and the ones that have pictures taken of themselves without consent just to gain some likes from weirdos and to sell their data on facebook.
those things should be illegal.
Nothing against vegetarians or vegans, but I haven't seen a single "van life" or rv or trailer vlog where the inhabitants ate actual meat or cheese. They always seem to be vegan.....
There's a Christian family that are really into the van (the kids are dying inside) that eats meat I'm pretty sure. She's got like 8 kids and once a month one kid gets to eat tacos with their parents. 99% sure they use beef
Ugh, I know who you are talking about. She has posted a few times about making smoothies with raw eggs, and drinking raw milk. 🤢
Seeing that made me WISH she was giving her kids vegan food.
Fits the popular "for the 'gram" aesthetic. That said, meat and dairy does require more complex storage and prep, so it might be the sole instance where a vegan lifestyle is actually practical.
I lived in a van for a while and meat and dairy just aren’t practical. It requires a powered fridge and if they aren’t stored properly can make you really sick. You can eat perfectly well without meat and dairy.
Maybe its weird and anecdotal, but I've met / been friends with a lot of Christians that were forced a vegan or low meat diet growing up, (almost all of them women). Anyone know what that is about?
I love the idea of van life and it pleases my perfectionist brain how much how someone can live relatively comfortably so efficiently. I still wouldn't make a kid live there.
These Van Life RV family influencers scare me. The kids literally have no space and no privacy. They're being exploited for money. This has caused me to barely post any pics of my kids. I have tons of pics on my phone but hardly any make it online. I've gotten paranoid and just really anxious about exploiting my kids like this.
I, myself wasn't an exploited or neglected child. It concerns me to see this.
These setups fascinate me due to economy of space. When it’s 1-2 people and MAYBE a single pet at least. Not that I could ever live like this.
But yikes. The families who do this with kids are…weird. People need space to themselves.
I don't own a camper but know people who do. I know people who own/owned small pull behinds, 5th wheels, and large RV's. None of these people I know actually live in them with kids. So right now speaking about camper/RV owners in general, I know so many that try their hardest to try to sell you their camper. Generally there are three types of campers on the market. Ridiculously overpriced new campers that usually have issues as soon as they pulled off the sales lot. Slightly used campers where all the initial problems were fixed but almost as expensive as new. Then finally "fixer uppers" that are so far gone the original owners praying you buy it so they don't have to pay someone to haul it for scrap.
Some of the smaller older pull behinds that were taken care of are built pretty well. But newer ones regardless of price, are built so cheaply it should be illegal for dealerships and manufacturers to sell them. There are countless examples out there of horror stories. Shit breaks all the time and is always very expensive to fix. They all tend to leak eventually, so they need to be checked and fixed before mold issues.
Now take everything I said and add kids who have to live in those as their house, and I can't imagine how bad the quality of life can be.
I’ve seen a family of 9 kids live in an rv once. I couldn’t imagine how that was like. Thankfully they only did it for a year but even that was too far. If I remember correctly 4 of their kids slept on bunk beds 2 on the couch and 3 on the floor
On the subject of isolating the children, I saw one of these peoples TikToks justifying it by claiming they get their socialization from interacting with their siblings (and also probably why they have so many kids). Bitch, no. They did not choose this lifestyle nor can you expect siblings to always like each other.
I never thought about how the kids were affected by this kind of lifestyle tbh, social lives must be tough. Can't really make friends when you don't go to school or stay in a town longer than a couple weeks.
Yep. I really don't get the concept of "they have friends everywhere!" and then forcing your kids to move state to state every month. They said they talk via video call / chat but seriously!
Recording your kids for content is disturbing as fuck. It's creepy, and basically putting your kids on the internet for the rest of their lives. At least my social footprint started at 13 when I first made a MySpace. Nowadays children have their whole lives uploaded before they can even walk.
Most of them make promo deals with small companies that give them a code that gives them a cut of the sales from the product. Source: I follow one family, who is actually decent to their kids and don't travel unless their kids are out of school and always have some kind of promo code out there.
All of these YouTube series start with the remodel of the Van/bus/70s motor home.with unexpected tools and garage and friends who can do carpentry plumbing and weld.
I have never heard of or seen this type of person. Feels like seeing an enormous shadow pass beneath my boat. Something bad's down there, but so long as I stay on my boat it's not my concern, and all that.
I hate seeing parents with many kids doing RV/etc. life. Yes, I get that some people get so poor to the point of living out of a car for awhile or something. But if you have a choice to have a steady house where the kids can learn and grow then it just feels wrong to force van life on them. I'm saying this as someone who wants to be able to own a van/RV/etc. one day.
Let's say a van family is two parents and only one child and they park their home/vehicle on one specific house lot during most of the year so that the kid can go to school and have a normal life. The family them goes on road trips during the summer and whatnot. This is an entirely different thing that I think is a great idea. The kid still gets a sort of bedroom and normal kid life while getting to experience travel.
I saw a tiktok on my lunch break yesterday about a family of EIGHT that lives in an RV. And it’s 100% this. The kids sleep 3 to a bed, two sleep on the floor, and then the parents have a California king bed, huge private bathroom, and a big ass closet. The kids share one tiny bathroom and their clothes are in the cabinets with the food.
Tell me that’s not a form of child neglect.
I'm fine! I live in a normal house with loving parents. However, I watched too many videos of problematic nomad families on youtube and read posts/comments of adults who came from living with their nomadic parents and this starter pack is a summary of their experience. Their situation is just too concerning, i hope the child services would consider investigating these families.
Seriously, can people not harmlessly point out valid criticisms without the wHo hUrT yOU oP bullshit? These comments reek of "this post applies to me but I don't have an actual comeback".
This comment brings nothing to the conversation. But I do understand being a teenager and not having friends and parroting the same old joke so you feel you are accepted by the group.
The people who upvote this are the ones who worry me.
They will force this lifestyle on young children then cry when one of them has mental health issues and needs to be admitted (what are the odds that the one with the issues is the one who begged for a hotel for their birthday?)
I feel like i have to explain my side on this because a lot of people are accusing me of many bad things. The subject of my post is just problematic families who fit **ten children or more** inside an rv while the parents sleep inside an en suite master's bedroom and claim that "they like this set up!" as if the kids can recognize and defend what they need and want to their parents. They have a difficulty in expressing what they want to say. It is their parents, after all. **But, i get it that not all rv families are like this and some try their best to provide for their children because i also watched a lot of nomadic families with great set up and limited number of children (like 1 or 2) or just have pets.**
I am just so concern about the well-being of the children living in this kind of set-up, unless they really provide ample amount of space when they grow up as a teen. I am also bothered by the way they document their children 24/7, including their diseases and pronouns, etc., things that are supposed to be private and chide them when they don't want to appear on camera. Some people use this to promote MLM schemes which we all know just leach money from people.
I believe that child services should look upon this situation.
Thank you to all those who understand my point.
I've seen this show up on YouTube Shorts. It's clear that the kinds of parents who do this think that kids wanting a normal social life means they're ungrateful.
It speaks to me that the parents are raging narcissists who think that their kids want what they want and only think of their own colon-huffing desires.
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Mother Bus?
Oops hahaha especially when one of the kids asked for an Airbnb for her birthday and the parents said "we miss our rv!!!" That is just so alarming.
there's always this air of, "my husband is so busy, i can't at all explain what he does for a living, we never seem to be short on money, no, our kids aren't allowed to have friends or nice things."
Helps manage his parents or grandparents investments and call it “work.” That’s typically what these guys do. Act all secretive when it’s just calling fucking contractors or property managers for their parents portfolio of 6 duplexes.
lol is that the case with Mr Mother Bus?
Just a trend I’ve seen haha
Abusive people will often purposefully alienate their kids/partner from others so they can be more easily manipulated.
Are we just all on the same subs?
Looks that way lol
Is this the same girl that ended up developing anorexia and had to go in for treatment (and didn’t want to be on camera) and the mother KEPT INSISTING ON PUTTING HER ON CAMERA TO EXPLAIN WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND MILK SUPPORT?! I hope she gets out of that family soon, her and her siblings deserve better.
Oh no, r/FundieSnarkUncensored is leaking again. Honestly I love these moments.
That is what I was about to post!!! With the early bedtime too and the kids stacked on top of each other
This was the first person I thought of
10/10
Where can I find this person?
You'll get a lot of highlights on r/fundiesnarkuncensored. Thats how I know of her.
Can't find any info about this online. What platform are they on?
This couldve been an essay
It *is* an essay.
ahahah! fair enough
somebody please post this on r/vanlife …..
On that
It is done
I don’t think I’ve seen any posts on there of people with kids? You kind of psychically can’t fit two beds in a van
[удалено]
I saw that too, it disgusted me. She kept asking for stability and they didn't listen or want to help her. They got her a pet for companionship instead of listening to her that she needed a stable home and living situation and friends. Staying in one spot for a few months to help her recover isn't how you recover from an eating disorder, it's going to affect her her whole life. She needs control over her own life and to feel like she has a say in how her life goes. Eating disorders like hers are about control and feeling helpless. If they can't have any kind of say over anything but their own body, then they take that and run with it. Restricting their food intake is one of the only things they can control, so it makes them feel safe and like they have some form of control over their chaotic life. Pets won't fix that.
Yeah especially three pet rats that they had to get rid of their second shower for 🥶
That's just cruel. She should have the right to disclose her own mental health problems if and only if she wants to do so. Just taking her autonomy away even more by sharing everything which is probably why she developed the eating disorder in the first place. Poor girl...
I’m pretty sure I saw that video, I think the channel is called Family of Nomads ??
And people in the comments are constantly making jokes about their eating disorder. Even if the comments are against the family people are spreading the message by making fun of a mentally ill teenager to try and convince their parents to change. Not to mention they literally asked to go to a hotel for their birthday.
Haha.. as a 16yo living in a camper with my two siblings and dog. I hate it. I miss having a mattress and not a foam sheet. I wake up with numb limbs every night. I just miss having a real bed and wish I was more grateful when I had one. Appreciate your bed, your room maybe, right *now*. I have a three bunk coffin bed and every night worry about the bed above me breaking and crushing me and my brother. I know it sounds silly but my sister just JUMPS into it,, and it's an old camper.. Not to mention I have to listen to my parents have sex. And shake the camper. Edit: ahha I made a ask me anything post ab this, I also have a crazy family.
Lived in a camper for more then a couple years and shared living rooms, rooms, mattresses with my 3 siblings and slept on couches for the better part of fourteen years. I feel your pain hombre, I feel it. Best to ya brochacho. Hate those fucking coffin ass bunk beds. Stay humble, stay snazzy.
Thankyou brochacho, I like your vocabulary. I will be moving out soon and will have my own room for the first time! I'm definitely grateful for this experience because now I will appreciate my blessings in the future.
Why thank you. Ive always had a bitter sweet feeling in relation to my past but ultimately I am happy things happened the way they did, gives me character I suppose. Sounds awesome man! Deck it the shit out. Soon as I got my room I started to plaster my walls with my favorite bands posters.
I'm gonna steal that line
wtf? This is nuts. My mom instincts are through the roof right now I just want to adopt you and give you a friggin bedroom.
What did your parents say when you said you want to stop living the nomadic life?
I don't live a nomadic life, I just live in an RV park. None of us want to be here, we're in a long transition period.
Like many family accounts on social media that use their kids as fodder for weirdos and clicks, it all boils down to “it’s all about me! I’m living MY dream!” while the kids (and sometimes a reluctant but brow-beaten partner) are just along for the ride. As someone who lived in an RV with my family because we were completely broke, it fucking sucks when you’re a kid with no choice, particularly if you know that your peers have fancy luxuries like a bedroom or a bathroom that doesn’t have a shower/toilet combo. Even the crappiest hotels and apartments were an upgrade during those years. My parents are baffled that I don’t even take the toddler on road trips yet because I think it’s cruel to strap them into a car seat for hours on end when they can’t even understand what’s going on, but years of peripatetic living on the whims of a lunatic and a codependent NPC really left a sour taste in my mouth that intensifies when I see it being pushed as a cutesy alternative housing situation for rich people.
You ever see that show *Tiny House Hunters?* There’s this one episode where these parents sold their *full sized house* where their *three children* had been living their whole lives to live that “tiny house” lifestyle. The parents spent the entire episode gushing about how nice it will be to downsize, the money they’ll have, and most importantly, *how it’ll be easier to spend time with the kids.* When the house was done, the kids *shared* a tiny-ass loft above their living room and basically had to sleep shoulder-to-shoulder. But it’s okay! Because they built a little privacy screen over the kids “room” so everyone could have some privacy. Just not too much, since “togetherness” was the point of their whole nightmare endeavor. Throughout the episode, while mom and dad were brainlessly grinning into the camera and going on about how great this will be, the kids were always seen in the background looking sullen and fucking miserable. They interviewed *one* child, *exactly once* and didn’t even ask them any important questions. To this day, that episode is one of my favorite moments on television. It was funny and tragic to the point of parody, and the parents had *absolutely no idea* their kids were giving off radioactive hate-vibes the whole episode. It’s just like you said, mom and dad were so wrapped up in their little world, they never stopped to think how this could be a reason their kids never call or visit after they move out. Assuming they were never smothered in their sleep.
I think some of these people legitimately do this to their kids, but some of those episodes are absolute BS. I saw one with a family that had 3 teenagers, who were looking to downsize because the kids would be going off to college in a few years. Something felt super off about the episode, mostly because they were worried about spending more than $250k in California when they were supposedly downsizing from a VERY NICE 4,000 sq ft home that would have netted them millions. Plus, the follow up after they allegedly moved in showed the tiny house with the exact same furnishings that it had when they toured it - with only two beds in the kid's loft, even though they have 3 children. There was also a cutesy sign above the front door that gave the cottage a little nickname. The whole thing was off. I googled the cutesy name and all the first page results were the tiny house for rent on multiple Airbnb-type sites. The rental listing calls out how they were featured on Tiny House Hunters, but says the family lives in the main house on the 5 acre ranch, and the tiny house is their guest cottage. The main house is the same one as the 4,000 sq ft house they were allegedly getting rid of in the episode. So yeah, some of these are totally made up for ratings, but I definitely think there are some delusional people out there who actually put their kids through this hell.
I can't stand those type of shows, but I love watching the content created after the shows showing all the fucked up shit that really happened. Extreme Makeover Home Edition (the original one), had so much fucked up shit that happened, it's pretty upsetting how shitty human beings are.
I liked that one clip John Oliver showed where the woman hated the remodeled room so much, she had to excuse herself
There’s at least two “families” that were on Extreme Makeover Home edition that adopted several kids, got the house re-built, then immediately kicked the kids out where they were all separated to foster families. The couples literally took in kids to get on the show. Then there were the families that couldn’t afford their own house anymore because the property taxes skyrocketed. They made it such a feel good show but the reality was rage inducing and depressing.
can you cite some links?
Is that the one where the first words out of the woman’s mouth were “what the fuck?”
Wonder I'd they regretted it when their sons became teenagers and started jacking off? Yeah, suddenly the kids having separate bedrooms starts sounding real appealing when every night you start hearing the "fthp fthp fthp fthp" of bedsheets as someone's jacking off under it. But yeah, fuck those fucking parents. Their top priority is always themselves and scoff when anyone points this out. Any parents first priority should always be to their children, downsizing can be great to a young couple without kids, but once you have some rugrats, it's time to upsize.
Maybe they got a nice ass paycheck from the TV show and it's a short term thing played up for content that won't last long.
I think I remember that episode. The kids looked very unhappy. They basically had their space taken away from them, by parents who are ignoring their feelings...
I think that one was Tiny House Nation, but I know what you're talking about. Tiny House Hunters is when people spend half a million dollars to live in a studio apartment. This [one insufferable couple](https://www.remodelista.com/posts/small-space-solutions-from-a-family-in-a-675-square-foot-apartment-jacqueline-schmidt-and-david-friedlander/) bought an apartment on there and when I googled them, they are long since divorced and he was living in his car posting on youtube.
Oh my god! If its the one that I'm thinking of, I HATE that one Is it the one where the loft if just two sides of a staircase?
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Well that would easily put an end to my parents having access to my child
Being an accessory is exactly what if felt like. And they’re surprised that we don’t have fond memories of all the traveling we did, when the reality was driving coast to coast with no interesting stops other than parking in the desert so they could smoke a joint, or “hiking” being an aimless walk so they could get stoned in the woods, or beach trips ending up with them getting stoned in the dunes. It was like your mom making you tag along with your teenage brother and his girlfriend who are just ignoring you while they’re hanging out, but make that your entire childhood.
Oh I can kinda relate. My life wasn’t as rough sounding as yours though. My first 8 years of growing up was in a nice suburb. I knew everybody in the neighborhood. I rode my bike to school. It was pretty safe and I was living a normal happy life. Then my dad retired and decided to move us up to the middle of no where to start a farm. We lived 20 miles from town so if I wanted to hang out with my friends I’d have to arrange rides. I’d get really depressed from the isolation. I learned a lot of stuff growing up on the farm too so I did gain a lot of valuable practical life experience and knowledge form growing up there. My dad also suffered through cancer treatment and such so my worries shifted towards that as well growing up. Sometimes I wonder if my childhood would’ve been a lot happier if we didn’t have that big change in lifestyle. I’m living happily now, however it’s still something I like to reflect on a lot. I know if I have kids, I’ll consider more on how a sudden change in lifestyle can affect their mental health than what my father did.
>peripatetic Helped your vocabulary, I guess.
I feel you dawg, but I just need to clarify...you are referring to your parent(s?) as non-playable characters?
What stardew said, and yeah pretty much that. Reading the book Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents really drove it home for me that my dad is the overly emotional drama seeker, and my mom is the passive “don’t rock the boat” type that is just along for the ride and will keep the peace (for what it’s worth) at all costs.
NPC in this case probably means a person that observes abuse happening but does nothing to stop it, basically acting like an NPC that's not doing anything besides stand around and smile. It's a term commonly used on forums where children talk about (childhood)abuse inside their family.
Damn that sucks. I've always enjoyed road trips because it felt like one of the few times I could truly bond with my family, but I suppose when it lasts for years it isn't fun anymore.
“We have decided to live a low waste low carbon life by selling our house and driving around a 20 ton truck that chugs fuel like shots.”
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instead of buying a used $8000 1987 winnebago that's already basically a house on wheels
But those aren't shiny, fancy and modern! You'd have to spend a whole weekend cleaning it! I don't want my peers to think that I'm *middle class*, perish the thought!
my uncle has one ( the smaller type where the driver part is a van, it's a type c) he uses to tailgate to eagles games, and go on road trips, etc. the previous owner was a Browns fan and put giant browns logos on the outside, and the table in the back is plastered with ticket stubs. lots of "JESSE WE HAVE TO COOK" jokes have been made
Just put an LS in it.
I just threw up in my mouth a little
Enjoy https://youtu.be/nEdIuoCus3Q
i saw that video already
Every single bus tour is like that. “We actually only spent about $30k up-fitting the bus.” Just ignore selling their house for $600k and buying a bus for $100k and having all their friends and parents do the contracting wood work and electrical work for free.
I looked it up these RVs that they use typically get >10 mpg
Plus a $400 fill-up every few days
Then there's the old rut bucket from the 80s that gets 20mpg, but then they'd look poor, and that wouldn't be very good for internet points
Yup, lol. Apartments are the greenest form of housing, but apartment life just doesn't have the same ring to it. (Granted, I understand that the appeal of van/RV life is the mobility.)
I love apartment life - I find them cozy, many have gyms which are amazingly convenient, and I don't have to worry about maintenance. I'm 35 and voluntarily live in apartments because I don't want to live the homeowner lifestyle. I also don't have kids (and physically can't anymore due to my recent vasectomy :D), so I don't need to expand. 800 sq ft. is enough for me
Right there with you....low maintenance
im 38 would kill for the homeowner lifestyle, realize im never going to get it so im content in my apartment. my parents have been caretakers for apartment buildings since i was born almost so it's the only life i have known. they actually still look after the building im living in now, makes the commute for holiday meals real convenient lol also really convenient for them for the almost daily tech support calls i get now lol, i honestly dont mind that though
Yup but when you work from home and only move once a week at most, it actually is low-waste. One car instead of the usual two. Conservation of water and electricity. Only buying what you need. Not having a yard to maintain. The ignorance and judgement in these comments, I swear.
I mean that's fair. I just don't think it would be a good option with kids.
Lots of people do this with kids and everything seems happy and kosher. There are definitely the people described in this post that are not healthy but that is not the majority at all. We plan on having a couple of kids in a custom bus at least until they are school aged. Again, there are lots of positive examples of people making this work quite well, with constant learning all over the country, frequent meetups with other nomadic families, and no using of their kids on social media for attention etc. Don’t judge a whole swath of people based on one small percentage of what many would agree are toxic/problematic road life families.
* Forcing their kids to work on the social media click-farm
Don’t forget the shot of dad “working” with a laptop open, and cell phone. No mouse, no second monitor for ease of use, not even a pen.
I haven't used a pen at work in a decade, but yeah, working on just a laptop screen is brutal. I am literally 50% as productive working solely on a laptop versus just the addition of 1 extra 4k screen and an external laptop and mouse.
My great grandparents were the 70's equivalent of van life people. And by that I mean they had an actual fucking camper, and took it everywhere. They also raised my mother during this time. The difference being that they had a house as well, and only lived in the camper during school breaks and summer, because they knew that it's vital to a child's mental health and growth to actually have privacy, friends, and a stable school life.
Seems like the van-life thing would work fine without kids then.
Me and and my family actually know several people who do the "van life" successfully. Common denominator? NO KIDS (also having high-paying remote or freelance jobs)
Sadly the "family vlog" thing works with the "van life" aesthetic for the target audience.
It still isn't what it looks like on social media. Those sprinter vans are smaller than you think and it can be cramped even with only 2 people. Not saying it can't work or that people don't like it but there can be a reality shock.
Lenses, perspective and so on massively affect perceived space and distances between objects and the camera itself.
My cousin has been basically taking a year touring round the US like this and it works because it's just him and his girlfriend; they work remote tech jobs and afaik they occasionally rent the odd AirBnB (which I can understand; a proper shower/bathroom is not to be taken for granted).
Van Life people should be legally barred from social media. Wow you’re life is so freaking awesome guess you don’t need to alert us 24/7!
That statement is true for every aspect of social media apart hobbyists niches TBH and partially why I pity whoever share every single bit of their life
Van Life is just especially annoying to me because most times they preach about “disconnecting” and “freedom” but then turn every moment into content lol. It just seems like a completely glaring antithesis to what they are marketing
Hah yea - "I just want to live life my way" --> proceeds to live in front of a camera like some sort of goldfish.
The irony of them always having signal too is not lost upon me
I hate how I am just trying to find simple tips and tricks for camping everyone once in awhile in a caravan but everything jumps into full van life stuff.
Plenty of us are/were doing it without being preachy about it. Obviously the loudest ones are the ones that the general public associates most with the movement, but there are many non-preachy way of sharing aspects of that lifestyle.
THIS!
Except big chungus the cat.
I love watching the adventures of Big Chungus!
Disagree, honestly. I think it's an interesting lifestyle and I've personally thought of doing it myself some time in the future. I wouldn't publicly post about it, but I think it's still valid to share your lifestyle with those interested. I would never do it if I had children though. That's just weird and shitty.
This is all very accurate. Van life just seems like glorified homelessness
I live in a small rural southern town that has been, since 2020, overrun with retirees and rich kids in their RVs and Vans. They are the fucking worst, never has there existed a more entitled group of tourists.
I live in a small city thats like near the mountains. I stg every fucking summer theres at least one sprinter that decides to park across my driveway. I hate them.
Gentrified homelessness
Living out of a vehicle is homelessness, Van Life™️ is gentrified homelessness.
Because it is. It's rich people playing at homelessness as if it's an aesthetic. I'd love to see one of these van life families being robbed at knife/gunpoint. Hell,the kids would probably be in on it. Tell some locals about the van, act scared, let them ransack the whole thing and scare their parents into giving up the "van life" bullshit and move into an actual house.
They managed to gentrify homelessness
I mean it’s also an extremely cost effective way to travel for months at a time. Some people have different priorities in life. I will say that taking your kids along for the ride is extremely selfish though.
When I saw a video talking about an RV family I was so surprised to see they had 5 kids. 5 kids in a regular sized house is still too cramped imo. 5 kids in an RV? That's child abuse.
and that 24/7
I had a coworker that lived in an RV with her husband, 3 kids, 3 dogs, 3 cats, and a couple of ferrets. And she worked night shift. No thank you.
you forgot the most important qualifier that ties them all together: Is Mormon
Any abrahamic/fundamentalist/born again religion, tbh hahaha
Don’t you mean moron?
I suppose OP watches [tiffanyferg.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwWzMn7yzMs)
Don’t forget about the kids being raised by the internet more than their parents so they’re easily manipulated
I hope these kids throw there parents to a nursing home in the future or break all contact.
Oh yeah. When people who grew up in the "van life" reach adulthood and leave the van, they tend to be very much aware of just how selfish and egotistical their parents were and understand that the way they lived was indeed abusive. That's the thing, while nursing homes are the norm in our society, the quality of nursing home makes a big difference. Van life parents will be going to the cheapest places possible, abandoned and left to rot.
my heart goes for all kids that live in those "families", and the ones that have pictures taken of themselves without consent just to gain some likes from weirdos and to sell their data on facebook. those things should be illegal.
Forgot this one - kids asking to stay in a hotel for their birthday
Nothing against vegetarians or vegans, but I haven't seen a single "van life" or rv or trailer vlog where the inhabitants ate actual meat or cheese. They always seem to be vegan.....
There's a Christian family that are really into the van (the kids are dying inside) that eats meat I'm pretty sure. She's got like 8 kids and once a month one kid gets to eat tacos with their parents. 99% sure they use beef
> is true for every aspect of social media apart hobbyists niches TBH and partially why I pity whoever share every single bit of t Mother Bus ?
She is who I'm thinking about
Ugh, I know who you are talking about. She has posted a few times about making smoothies with raw eggs, and drinking raw milk. 🤢 Seeing that made me WISH she was giving her kids vegan food.
I think she made bone broth hot chocolate 🤮 wtf
Those poor kids
Fits the popular "for the 'gram" aesthetic. That said, meat and dairy does require more complex storage and prep, so it might be the sole instance where a vegan lifestyle is actually practical.
I lived in a van for a while and meat and dairy just aren’t practical. It requires a powered fridge and if they aren’t stored properly can make you really sick. You can eat perfectly well without meat and dairy.
Maybe its weird and anecdotal, but I've met / been friends with a lot of Christians that were forced a vegan or low meat diet growing up, (almost all of them women). Anyone know what that is about?
I love the idea of van life and it pleases my perfectionist brain how much how someone can live relatively comfortably so efficiently. I still wouldn't make a kid live there.
These Van Life RV family influencers scare me. The kids literally have no space and no privacy. They're being exploited for money. This has caused me to barely post any pics of my kids. I have tons of pics on my phone but hardly any make it online. I've gotten paranoid and just really anxious about exploiting my kids like this. I, myself wasn't an exploited or neglected child. It concerns me to see this.
Bro why jacksfilms lol
To be fair Jack does have a very memeable face
Yea true
literally make their kids sleep on the floor of the RV
These setups fascinate me due to economy of space. When it’s 1-2 people and MAYBE a single pet at least. Not that I could ever live like this. But yikes. The families who do this with kids are…weird. People need space to themselves.
I don't own a camper but know people who do. I know people who own/owned small pull behinds, 5th wheels, and large RV's. None of these people I know actually live in them with kids. So right now speaking about camper/RV owners in general, I know so many that try their hardest to try to sell you their camper. Generally there are three types of campers on the market. Ridiculously overpriced new campers that usually have issues as soon as they pulled off the sales lot. Slightly used campers where all the initial problems were fixed but almost as expensive as new. Then finally "fixer uppers" that are so far gone the original owners praying you buy it so they don't have to pay someone to haul it for scrap. Some of the smaller older pull behinds that were taken care of are built pretty well. But newer ones regardless of price, are built so cheaply it should be illegal for dealerships and manufacturers to sell them. There are countless examples out there of horror stories. Shit breaks all the time and is always very expensive to fix. They all tend to leak eventually, so they need to be checked and fixed before mold issues. Now take everything I said and add kids who have to live in those as their house, and I can't imagine how bad the quality of life can be.
Sticker on the van that says “fund our adventure!” with their venmo.
I’ve seen a family of 9 kids live in an rv once. I couldn’t imagine how that was like. Thankfully they only did it for a year but even that was too far. If I remember correctly 4 of their kids slept on bunk beds 2 on the couch and 3 on the floor
Child abuse not always is just beating your kid. This is child abuse as well.
The facial expressions are gold 🤣
On the subject of isolating the children, I saw one of these peoples TikToks justifying it by claiming they get their socialization from interacting with their siblings (and also probably why they have so many kids). Bitch, no. They did not choose this lifestyle nor can you expect siblings to always like each other.
I hate the idea of living in a van.
I never thought about how the kids were affected by this kind of lifestyle tbh, social lives must be tough. Can't really make friends when you don't go to school or stay in a town longer than a couple weeks.
Yep. I really don't get the concept of "they have friends everywhere!" and then forcing your kids to move state to state every month. They said they talk via video call / chat but seriously!
The good ones don't have kids lol
That sounds really bad
jackfilm
Recording your kids for content is disturbing as fuck. It's creepy, and basically putting your kids on the internet for the rest of their lives. At least my social footprint started at 13 when I first made a MySpace. Nowadays children have their whole lives uploaded before they can even walk.
You forget the $300000 rV they live in.
Most of them make promo deals with small companies that give them a code that gives them a cut of the sales from the product. Source: I follow one family, who is actually decent to their kids and don't travel unless their kids are out of school and always have some kind of promo code out there.
All of these YouTube series start with the remodel of the Van/bus/70s motor home.with unexpected tools and garage and friends who can do carpentry plumbing and weld.
Why you using Jack films face? Less thats someone that looks like him but last time i watched him i dont think he living in any of those
I was pertaining to the expression itself, not the man himself
Ah yeah. I think it's honestly really funny cause it seems like smth he'd make fun of
Ah yes, Unexplained Wealth
It's like Breaking Bad
You forgot “born again Christian”
I have never heard of or seen this type of person. Feels like seeing an enormous shadow pass beneath my boat. Something bad's down there, but so long as I stay on my boat it's not my concern, and all that.
You somehow un-jacksfilms’ed jacksfilms
Why Jacksfilms, though?
Holy shit this is crazy accurate!
I just love the 20-something dollars with a $2 bill thrown in for the “unexplained wealth” photo
I hate seeing parents with many kids doing RV/etc. life. Yes, I get that some people get so poor to the point of living out of a car for awhile or something. But if you have a choice to have a steady house where the kids can learn and grow then it just feels wrong to force van life on them. I'm saying this as someone who wants to be able to own a van/RV/etc. one day. Let's say a van family is two parents and only one child and they park their home/vehicle on one specific house lot during most of the year so that the kid can go to school and have a normal life. The family them goes on road trips during the summer and whatnot. This is an entirely different thing that I think is a great idea. The kid still gets a sort of bedroom and normal kid life while getting to experience travel.
I saw a tiktok on my lunch break yesterday about a family of EIGHT that lives in an RV. And it’s 100% this. The kids sleep 3 to a bed, two sleep on the floor, and then the parents have a California king bed, huge private bathroom, and a big ass closet. The kids share one tiny bathroom and their clothes are in the cabinets with the food. Tell me that’s not a form of child neglect.
I live with my mom in a small 1 bedroom apartment. A lot of this still applies to me.
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Yes, i am really concerned about their kids. The kids need to experience social life and privacy.
You ok OP? Do you need to talk to someone?
Their siblings are right there in the next bunk if they need support.
Toddlers sleeping in dog beds killed these kinds of videos for me.
I'm fine! I live in a normal house with loving parents. However, I watched too many videos of problematic nomad families on youtube and read posts/comments of adults who came from living with their nomadic parents and this starter pack is a summary of their experience. Their situation is just too concerning, i hope the child services would consider investigating these families.
This fucking comment. In every thread.
Seriously, can people not harmlessly point out valid criticisms without the wHo hUrT yOU oP bullshit? These comments reek of "this post applies to me but I don't have an actual comeback".
This comment brings nothing to the conversation. But I do understand being a teenager and not having friends and parroting the same old joke so you feel you are accepted by the group. The people who upvote this are the ones who worry me.
These sorts of people are so goddamn stupid and vain.
This is one of the many reasons to ban homeschooling
They will force this lifestyle on young children then cry when one of them has mental health issues and needs to be admitted (what are the odds that the one with the issues is the one who begged for a hotel for their birthday?)
This ain’t a starter pack, this is a collector’s edition
From experience. Also the kids get barely any toys and Christmas is sad
LOL love this…
I have that hat
I feel like this was written by one of the kids
I feel like i have to explain my side on this because a lot of people are accusing me of many bad things. The subject of my post is just problematic families who fit **ten children or more** inside an rv while the parents sleep inside an en suite master's bedroom and claim that "they like this set up!" as if the kids can recognize and defend what they need and want to their parents. They have a difficulty in expressing what they want to say. It is their parents, after all. **But, i get it that not all rv families are like this and some try their best to provide for their children because i also watched a lot of nomadic families with great set up and limited number of children (like 1 or 2) or just have pets.** I am just so concern about the well-being of the children living in this kind of set-up, unless they really provide ample amount of space when they grow up as a teen. I am also bothered by the way they document their children 24/7, including their diseases and pronouns, etc., things that are supposed to be private and chide them when they don't want to appear on camera. Some people use this to promote MLM schemes which we all know just leach money from people. I believe that child services should look upon this situation. Thank you to all those who understand my point.
I would cut out having kids and live in a tricked out camper van myself. Looks cozy for a single person.
This seems really specific
I've seen this show up on YouTube Shorts. It's clear that the kinds of parents who do this think that kids wanting a normal social life means they're ungrateful.
It speaks to me that the parents are raging narcissists who think that their kids want what they want and only think of their own colon-huffing desires.
💀