For as long as anyone can remember, it has been the norm to live a conventional lifestyle. We’re taught from an early age that being “normal” is by going to college, getting a job, getting married, and having a family. In that order. Luckily, people are beginning to break out of the societal mold and are doing things a bit differently than before. This family is a perfect example of people who want to live their lives as they choose, and not how they’re told is the “right” way.The couple met while they were in high school, but have been married for eight years. They lived in the suburbs and had a great life with their son, Kalon, but their hearts were calling for something a bit different.
So they decided to move to a larger piece of land and start their homestead. It was a house they needed to fix up, but they were more than willing to put in the work. That was until one day when JT got home from work.
His work was over an hour away, and that was without traffic! Not only was he driving for two hours each day, he was working for nine hours a day, six days a week!
That was when JT came up with an idea. “JT came home from work and said, ‘We should just sell everything and move into a bus and travel,'” explained Tamra.
“There was just something in his voice and his face that convinced me at that moment,” said Tamra. And that was when The School Of Life Bus was born!
“We knew we were not going to be fulfilled in the direction that our life was going. We felt the urge of wanderlust, as they say. We wanted to see more and experience more out of life and not just work away our best years,” Tamra said.
“It has allowed us to spend every day together as a family and really nourish those relationships that mean the most,” said Tamra. “Our stress levels have severely decreased since we are able to work jobs that are not as hectic and pressuring on us.”
“Of course, living in a small space with two grown adults, a toddler, and two dogs can get a little crowded at times,” she explained. “That is the perfect excuse to get outside which was one of the reasons we wanted to go tiny anyways.”
“The transition of downsizing was a process, but the longer we live in our bus the more we want to continue to simplify our lives even more,” said Tamra. This was one of the reasons they decided to move into the bus in the first place.
It makes sense, though, right? So what advice does the couple have for others that might be thinking about the bus/van life?
“The best advice I could give anyone considering this lifestyle is to sit down, write down your needs, draw and redraw,” she began. “I think if you spend the time and really think about what you need out of the space and optimize the functionality to the best of your knowledge that anyone can have a successful venture to bus life,” said Tamra.
