What Is A Van Life Community?

That was how I met Frankie and Alex. @FNAvanlife TikTok friends.ok friends.k friends. friends.friends.lifefriends.riends.iends.ends.nds.ds.s. Frankie and Alex from FNAvanlife. I was pretty flattered because they are probably 30 ish and I am a baby boomer. One of their first questions was, "how do you like the vanlife community?

Huh? The what? I was pretty embarrassed but they fluffed over it and we kept on.

So there is a vanlife community? Interesting. I did a little research and discovered that there WAS a vanlife community. In fact, there were many of them.

Frankie and Alex invited me to a spot where would be a bunch of vanlifers. (It was someone's wedding in the desert that I crashed.) These were all 25-35 year old. Mostly couples. I was their grandmother.

What I expected were loud parties, drinking, drugs, and all the stuff. My bad. That is not at all what happened. They were a community that helped each other, played games, (Adults Only), or went for hikes.

Fast forward. I met up with some other vanlifers that were more my age. That is to say 40's, 50's, and maybe 60s. Besides me.

Single women. I wondered if we were going to sit around and talk about our grandchildren.

I couldn't have been more wrong!

This vanlife community was absolutely crazy. I might even say that in the literal sense. It made my previous vanlife community experience look like child's play.

We were rowdy and having a blast!

We sat around the campfire and told jokes and stories that would make some people blush. The happy face kept going around the fire followed by smores. They were the most delicious thing on the face of the earth. The top and bottom were gingersnaps (the good ones) and the middle was marshmallows and chocolate. I thought my taste buds were going to explode!!

Trust me when I say we each had our own quirks. Coco kept humping me. ?? We had a burper. Someone who wore shorts and flip-flops in 45-degree weather. We had a cooker (we loved her). She was quick with the one-liners too. We had a guy that had to leave early for a booty call, as he called it. Our youngest was 20-something and he was pretty calm. I expect he may have been shocked by us. But maybe not because his mother was there and she was the sweetest, loving, caring nutcase of us all (love you).

What I learned is that there are vanlife communities everywhere and no two are the same! What is great is if you end up in a community that doesn't suit you, you can just drive away!!

But how do you find them? Strike up a conversation with someone at a gas station. Meet like-minded people on TikTok. Get introduced to friends of friends. I did both of those things to find this community. I was introduced to one from another boondocker. We all met on TikTok. The rest of the group I met through this friend. The ways to find vanlife communities are endless. TikTok is a great source!

That was how I met Frankie and Alex. TikTok friends.

Never be afraid of being lonely on the road. There are plenty of us out there to keep you company!

Pam and Coco

Bookdock and Beyond

Off the Grid