Lessons from Female Solo Skoolie Travel

Laurén Ettinger

Aug 9, 20212 min read

Updated: Aug 16, 2021

What’s in Today’s Episode:

Gillian left her life in NYC to live and travel in a skoolie by herself. She and Chris discuss how she tackled the bus conversion, coping with anxiety on the road, how the bus has fueled personal growth, and so much more.

What Gillian and Chris Chat About:

How Gillian discovered #vanlife while scrolling through YouTube
Deciding on a bus conversion for more space
How she found a bus to buy and convert
Getting help from people she works with for the bus build
Having anxiety about the bus, coping with that
Advice she would give herself when she moved into the bus
Fears she had when she first got on the road as a solo female traveler
Living in a bus while working in LA
Moving into her bus right as the COVID-19 pandemic started
Using the bus to grow personally
Guessing Chris’ zodiac sign
Travel FOMO and finding balance between moving and staying still
Real life versus Instagram presented road life
Finding community on the road and beginning to travel with others
How Gillian makes money on the road
Dating on the road; having kids

“Vans are cool but that’s not my wave, I need something bigger, I need something with more character…I am not a minimalist, I am a maximalist. I like my things, I like my knick-knacks, so a bus was the move.”

“Take your moment, do your little pity party and then just go with it and figure it out…At the end of the day, I’m a solo skoolie traveler, it’s just me. Nobody is here to bail me out financially or help me do something, unless I find people along the way and ask for help…it’s a really good growth experience.”