6 Years of Full Time Van Life for Travelling Digital Nomad Couple

Armando and Mel have been living in a camper van, full-time for over 6 years now. To fund their travels, they work online as digital nomads doing freelance writing and videography. They also maintain a beautiful blog – Westfalia Digital Nomads, and have created a stunning documentary about van life.

Westfalia Digital Nomads Blog:

VANLIFERS: Portrait of an Alternative Lifestyle:

Mel and Armando fell into van life before it was trendy and they're proud of the fact that they don't take semi nude selfies of themselves to keep people interested in their alternative lifestyle (which has become the norm when searching #vanlife).

They chose to live in a van because it was the perfect way to combine work, travel, and home. They have a portable WiFi device (they use a device from Huawei), and in each new country they buy a new SIM card with a data plan. This way they can do their work from almost anywhere in the world.

They are not adrenaline junkies, rather, they prefer to travel slowly, spending a few months, or more, in each country. They also enjoy peaceful places and don't spend too much time in big cities. They've travelled most of Europe, Canada, and parts of Turkey and Morocco.

It's interesting and inspiring for us to see a couple who've found a sustainable way to fun their travels, and who genuinely want to pursue a minimalist, alternative lifestyle over the long term.

We hope you'll follow their adventures along with us! Links below:

Westfalia Digital Nomads

Thanks for watching!

Mat & Danielle

PS thank you to all of our Patrons who support us so generously and a very special thank you to our backbone supporters: The Burgess Family!

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VIDEO CREDITS
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Music & Song Credits:
All music in this video was composed, performed, and recorded by Mat of Exploring Alternatives.

Editing Credits:
Mat and Danielle of Exploring Alternatives

Filming Credits:

[MZONED]

These guys are as real and as honest as you can get. They are non "instagram filter", non "perfect life" projecting, non gofundme, hard working, awesome people! They do awesome daily sunrise live streams, they make some of the best video footage (especially Aerial footage) that I have seen, in some of the best locations that are often seldom seen. You should check em out.

[ExoticFireGirl]

I am half Bulgarian. And I also have lived in different countries. It’s interesting to see other people having alternative lifestyles.

[bredlo]

"We've been lucky enough to not just discover really pretty places... but to meet people who give depth to the experience." Perfectly said, Mel. Off to learn more about your adventures!

[growinglife]

Incredibly refreshing to see another small family who's made van life sustainable, especially when social media is becoming so over-saturated with images that don't portray the full well-rounded reality of this sort of life. Thank you, Danielle and Mat, for always sharing such honest and down-to-earth content.

[katokushika]

I can't believe I finally found someone from the Czech republic, who's living this lifestyle!!
Love that, good luck!

[BernieYohan]

I grew up in a 69 Westphalia. 43 states all 9 provinces of Canada plus the Yukon Territory. Unforgettable.

[patriciagelenaw]

I like this couple. Smart. Inspirational.

[MOUNTYize]

Very much made my mind up due to this vlog. New start, new life, freedom, travel.

[MrBluoct]

The
Real
Deal

Less giggles
And clearly more talent...

Seemingly more common place overseas ... a thrifty, honest life

Plus a pup!

Nice change of pace..

Thanks

[WebbingtheSurf]

More power to the people that have what it takes to do what brings them such accomplishment, thanks for sharing this!

[JaimeLopez-uyhl]

I love these two, they seem like amazing smart good people. Love how they travel the globe. Super cool

[alexise.]

Wow, six years! It would be so hard to go back to "regular" life after living so freely. I love that you said you work harder because I'm sure that's true with the van, making money and also setup and take down. However, you are really living so it's still so interesting and fun. Happy travels!

[jennybanana]

Very cool! I am always impressed how you come across to so many interesting people! Thanks for sharing

[carbonazid]

I am stuck in a sailboat repair. I saw this video and it motivated me to work harder to get from repair to travel status.

[gjonesii]

Very practical and inspirational. That is the kind of van life my wife and I plan to have one day.

[tiinamaijaart]

They seem to have such a beautiful view on life.

[veronikobayerova]

Czech republic! Díky za inspiraci! :-)

[eliskakalcikova]

Absolutely fab ... Big hello from Czech Rep xxxx

[davidm]

Very interesting because you talk about the good things and the difficult ones, thank you very much !

[kodeywhitewolf]

Great set up with plenty of storage...Nice