Laurén Ettinger
- Feb 28, 2022
- 2 min read

Reflecting on Six Months of Living and Traveling in a Mini-Skoolie

What’s in Today’s Episode:

We catch up with Alex Tinkham to see how six months living and traveling in a mini-skoolie has changed her life. She looks back on how her worldview has shifted, what the expectations versus reality of living full time on the road, and gives advice for people looking to try this lifestyle.

“Whatever you look at and say ‘oh, this is what I need,’ cut it in half, and then if you can, half again…because you don’t need that much.”

What Alex and Laurén Chat About:

What it was like not having a job for the first time since she was 15
The pros and cons of having a career versus a job; what Alex might want to do professionally in the future
Setting up a strong work-life balance while working on the road
How Alex adjusted to living in under 100 square feet
What she packed too much of into the bus
Keeping the bus clean with a dog
Adopting a puppy while living on the road
How the reality of being a solo female traveler compared to what she expected
Having her bike stolen off the back of the bus (and finding it!)
Things she assumed would be difficult, but weren’t
Things she assumed would be easy, but were more challenging than anticipated
What it was like driving the bus
How Alex made friends on the road; attending her first gathering
The types of people she met while living and traveling in the bus
How her worldview has shifted from living tiny and traveling full time
Clothing and materialism while living tiny
Advice for people considering this lifestyle
What is next for her

“In my head, I imagined that electricity would be this huge scarcity and that I would be constantly monitoring my electrical usage and output for the solar panels and things like that…but really I never had to worry about it.”