20yo Sydney man ditches $300 a week rental to live in campervan

A young Aussie has revealed how he avoids paying rent while living in Sydney, as the country’s rental prices continue to spiral out of control.

In many ways, Jordan Dann is a typical young Aussie.

He has a full time job in Sydney, enjoys going out to bars with his mates and jetting off on weekend trips when he gets the time.

But the 20-year-old’s living arrangement is anything from typical, after he traded in his room in a share house to pack his whole life into a van.

Millions of Australians are struggling under the country’s worsening rental crisis, meaning people are being forced to consider different ways of living.

Jordan moved into his first motorhome at the start of 2022, having previously been paying $300 a week to live in an apartment in Rosebery with two other housemates.

“My lease in the share house I was in came to an end and there was nothing well priced in a location that I wanted to rent at the time,” he told news.com.au

“I opened Facebook Marketplace and there was this tiny motorhome built on the back of a HiLux ute. I always enjoyed when my parents rented an RV for holidays so thought I would have a go at living in one.”

Jordan Dann packed up his life and moved into a campervan at the start of 2022. Picture: Jordan Dann/Supplied

Jordan later upgraded to a larger truck before finally purchasing a 2000 Winnebago Alpine campervan for $70,000 at the start of the year.

While the initial cost of buying the vehicle was a big financial commitment, the 20-year-old says his weekly expenses are now nowhere near what they were when he was renting.

Waste disposal, buying fuel and storage are now his main expenses in terms of maintaining his living situation.

“I drive it about twice a week to travel somewhere nice for the weekend then back to my work area on Sunday. Diesel usage varies but I average about $40 a week,” he said.

“Emptying the waste water and toilet at a caravan park costs me $15 every fortnight.”

Jordan also rents a small garage for $70 a week where he stores his furniture and car. He is also able to fill the water supply for the campervan from a tap located at the garage.

“I have all facilities on board, such as a shower with hot water, flushing toilet, four burner gas stove, microwave, oven and fridge,” he said.

The 20-year-old said he day-to-day life really hasn’t changed that much since moving into a campervan, apart from a few new perks.

This was the first van the 20-year-old purchased after moving out of his Sydney rental property. Picture: Jordan Dann/Supplied

He has since upgraded to a much larger vehicle and said his day-to-day life hasn’t really changed from when he lived in an apartment. Picture: Jordan Dann/Supplied

“A day in the van life looks just the same as a regular apartment to be honest, that being said I do have a full size Winnebago,” he said.

“The only difference for me is I can park my house outside a bar and step straight into bed at the end of the night.”

For those who are thinking about trading in their rental for van life, Jordan says it is important to be respectful of the surrounding residents.

He also always ensures he obeys parking time restrictions in the areas he choses to park his campervan.

Jordan is far from the only Aussie who has chosen to embrace this “new way of living”, with a new wave of young people turning to van life in recent years.

For van lifer Blaze Lopes, 24, Covid and lockdowns were the tipping point for packing up her life and hitting the road.

Originally from Bondi Beach, Blaze set off on her first solo road trip in 2021 and has now been travelling full-time for over two years.

And, even just in her time on the road, she has noticed a massive increase in younger people taking up the nomadic lifestyle.

Blaze Lopes, 24, has been touring Australia since 2021. Picture: hurleyandagirly/Instagram

“You can see some of the young people who have taken it up recently are in two minds because the societal expectation within them is to go home, rent a house and work full-time, but they are moving towards this nomadic lifestyle because they are really struggling with that financial situation,” she told news.com.au earlier this year.

“The majority of the people that I meet are from coastal areas and they hit the road because they’re like, ‘We still want to live along the coast, but we can’t afford to rent in our home towns along the coastline anymore.’”

Caravan and motorhome sharing company, Camplify, has seen a marked increase in young Aussies using its service, with CEO Justin Hales saying the trend isn’t slowing down any time soon.

“The passion for road trips has been boosted in the last couple of years, due to Australians looking to enjoy the flexibility of travelling at their own leisure and providing an affordable way of holidaying, with the option for self-contained travel,” he told news.com.au.

“Demand for domestic travel in Australia continues its strong performance as the country recovers from Covid and with what we’re seeing on Camplify, it’s a trend that isn’t slowing down, especially for younger travellers.

“Camplify has seen double the amount of young people hiring campervans this summer compared to the summer of 2021.”