Vanlife – Frihet på fyra hjul! : En studie om den mobila livsstilen vanlife

This study aims to generate increased understanding for, and to portray, the mobile lifestyle vanlife by examining motives, obstacles and potential consequences of this particular lifestyle. The study was conducted using qualitative method. The selection of study participants was aimed towards people who own or have owned a mobile home and lives or have lived in it periodically at the least. The selection was interviewed through semi structured interviews, and the empiric material was analyzed using thematic analysis. The results show that vanlife can be seen as a form of voluntary simplicity because it’s a minimalistic lifestyle both in terms of resource- and energy consumption and because of the simpler dwelling. Vanlife can also be seen as a form of lifestyle migration because of the great importance of the destination to people within vanlife, but also because they can move to these places whenever they feel due to the flexible mobility of their homes. The strongest motive is freedom in various aspects – such as freedom to travel but also financial freedom. Another strong motive is the feeling of belonging to a community. The opinions about the environmental impact of the lifestyle are divided among the participants, but some testify of negative impacts on local environments. Cold weather and safety concerns are some of the obstacles to vanlife, and a feeling of not belonging anywhere are one of the consequences. Additionally, vanlifers don’t want to be confused with people living at traditional camping grounds.