A WOMAN who was tired of her office job has revealed how she quit her job to live in a school van – and now earns six figures freelancing.
Alice Everdeen, 32, lives full-time in a “skoolie” bus exploring different locations with her partner Jared and their dog.
Alice used to work at an Austin-based supplement company, but left a few years ago to live on the road.
She now rakes in $130,000 (£102,161) a year thanks to leaning into her “digital nomad” side hustle doing voiceovers, making user-generated content videos, doing virtual facilitating and speaking engagements.
Before, Alice was working 50 to 60 hour weeks and earned half of the money that she does now.
Not only has she doubled her income, but also only works two to three hours a day, and finds work on sites like Fiverr.
And thankfully living in a school bus doesn’t come with too hefty a price tag.
Alice and her partner’s expenses include fuel, food, parking, her mobile phone contract and insurance on the bus and their 2003 Chevrolet, which they pull in a trailer.
Typically her school bus needs around $1,000 (£780) of fuel if they are undertaking a long drive, so they often stay in the same place for weeks.
They also have to be savvy about where they stay, as campsites can cost between £23 and £50.
Often they’ll aim to park up for free with friends or family, or in a public car park or on public land – or Jared sometimes offers to do work at campsites in exchange for a place to park.
Since moving into the bus in September 2022, the couple have managed to renovate their bus into making their ideal home on wheels.
Speaking to Business Insider, Alice said: “I think embracing anything that comes your way — good and bad — is the best way to live and to get the most out of this adventure.”
While life on the road isn’t always easy, and can be lonely, Alice said she’s learned ot see the positives.
She added: “I think the biggest thing is how little we need in life to be comfortable and to be happy.
“My whole life I was always the person who was shopping at Marshalls and T.J. Maxx and finding the next best thing. I couldn’t do that anymore because I don’t even have any wall space to put things on.”
While her eventual goal is to live on a farm, she doesn’t plan on leaving her bus life in the near future.
Alice shares her adventures on her Life’s Too Short Bus Instagram page.
