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People are ditching their apartments to live the 'van life

• http://circa.com/whoa/the-bizarre/people-are-ditch

People 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

Comment by Ed Martin
Entered on:

Must be nice to never have to go #1 or #2.



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