Living in a van is inexpensive and, somehow, fulfilling

9 December 2009

Ken Ilgunas lived in a van which he parked in his university’s car park while he studied for a degree, something he classed as an act of “creative civil disobedience”.

Living in a van was my grand social experiment. I wanted to see if I could — in an age of rampant consumerism and fiscal irresponsibility — afford the unaffordable: an education. I pledged that I wouldn’t take out loans. Nor would I accept money from anybody, especially my mother, who, appalled by my experiment, offered to rent me an apartment each time I called home. My heat would be a sleeping bag; my air conditioning, an open window. I’d shower at the gym, eat the bare minimum and find a job to pay tuition. And — for fear of being caught — I wouldn’t tell anybody.

Incredibly no one, not even university security, or other car park users, realised what he was doing.

Originally published Wednesday 9 December 2009, with subsequent revisions, updates to lapsed URLs, etc.