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People are ditching their apartments to live the 'van life
• http://circa.com/whoa/the-bizarre/people-are-ditchPeople are ditching their apartments to live the 'van life'by Fernando Hurtado
September 21, 2016#vanlife
WATCH | One guy decided to live in a van to save money and another decided to live and work inside a school bus to maximize profits
The 'van life'
Imagine paying $120 to live in a studio in Los Angeles, California, where the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is about $2,300.
Sounds nice, huh?
Stephen Hutchins, 22, a freelance animation artist and rapper by the name of Lateral , does just that, except he doesn't live in an apartment -- or a studio, really. He lives in a van.
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A recent graduate of the University of Southern California, Stephen Hutchins is living in a van while he builds his portfolio as a freelance animator.
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A few miles away in Santa Monica, Zander Kingsley, owner and founder of Kowasa Clothing Co., is living in a school bus that he's fixing up.
He's not alone. Last year, 4,600 cars and RVs were used as homes, according to The Los Angeles Times.
L.A., like many cities, has a housing shortage. This, coupled with a 3.1 percent vacancy rate, makes affordable living in L.A. an oxymoron.
"The main expenses are insurance for the van, which is like $60 a month," said Hutchins. "Then, I have a storage unit for like $60."
That puts his monthly rent at $120. The van cost him just $125 at an auction.
1 Comments in Response to People are ditching their apartments to live the 'van life
Must be nice to never have to go #1 or #2.