Margaret, one of the faces behind @curlyhaircamping, first experienced vanlife in New Zealand — which is where she met her now-partner and copilot, Ladi. Ladi, who is originally from Czechoslovakia, was living in a campervan and working after taking time off to explore Canada and the U.S.
Margaret immediately fell in love with the vanlife lifestyle and the freedom it gave her to spend more time outdoors. After a long stretch of long distance dating, the couple recently moved into the same van and have been slowly making their way around Europe.
They took a moment to share some common misconceptions about living in a van, and how they came to adopt their travel companion, Millie.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and where are you going?
Ladi: “Hello! We are Margaret (age 26, from Minnesota) and Ladi (age 32, from Olomouc, Czechoslovakia) and we’ve been on the road together for 3 years now. We’ve both traveled full-time for a couple years but only recently jump-started our vanlife together.”
Margaret: “I did the 9 to 5 desk job after university and quickly realized that wasn’t for me. Then I got a job working in Africa leading overland tours and Ladi would come out as a passenger. The tours were all camping trips throughout 10 countries, lasting about 3 months.”
Ladi: “After university, I explored both Canada and the U.S. for a couple years before heading to New Zealand. I was living and working there for 14 months and a year in Australia after that. When Margaret moved to Africa, I went back to Czechoslovakia and worked intermittently before flying over to join her trips. As of July 2018, we now live in the same country.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Mar 11, 2019 at 2:27pm PDT
What made you decide to buy a van and hit the road?
Ladi: “We actually met while I was living in a campervan in New Zealand! That was Margaret’s first exposure to vanlife.”
Margaret: “I immediately loved it. The freedom, flexibility and ability to really surround yourself with nature was something I always wanted but didn’t know how to achieve. I was hooked.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Mar 16, 2019 at 1:52pm PDT
Ladi: “Neither of us understand why there is this misconception that living in a van is somehow a step down on the social ladder; we are much happier to own a home that provides us with a new backyard every day.”
How long have you been on the go?
Margaret: “We bought the van in Aug. 2018 and have been on the road since Nov. 1, 2018, so only about 5 months in the van. It’s gone by really quickly and we have no plans to stop.”
Ladi: “It took us 2.5 years to transition from a long distance relationship and her desk job to now only owning what fits inside our van. We also needed to organize online income for sustainable living so we didn’t have to be using any savings.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on May 14, 2016 at 8:31am PDT
What kind of vehicle are you traveling in and why did you choose it?
Ladi: “We have a 2007 Citroen Jumper L2H2. We bought it very cheap (around $3,000) with 300,000km. The main reason behind the purchase was for the engine, which is an Iveco and one of the most trustworthy engines on the market.”
Margaret: “We’re both tall so we wanted to be able to stand. We didn’t want to look like a campervan at all, so we designed the whole thing around being stealth. It helps us with freedom camping and crime prevention, too!”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Apr 27, 2018 at 3:45am PDT
What renovations did you make to your van?
Margaret: “We did the entire design and build! Everything about this van was designed around our needs, hobbies and habits. We are both pretty particular in how we like to live, which always revolves around simplicity, minimalism, and thoughtful conveniences.”
Ladi: “I’m a cabinet maker by trade, so I was able to use my workshop and leftover materials to create what’s inside. We painted the van with rollers, installed cameras, a projector, shower, a bed lift, solars and multifunctional furniture. Because of my experience we were able to do it very cheap.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Dec 18, 2018 at 1:20pm PST
Where has your journey taken you so far?
Margaret: “We’ve been moving pretty slowly, actually! We started in Czech and drove through a number of countries to get to Croatia for the winter; chasing summer, if you will. We hit the entire Croatian coastline, Montenegro, Albania, and now Greece!”
Ladi: “We don’t have a plan to end van travel anytime soon, so every country in Europe is at risk of hosting us.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Feb 12, 2019 at 2:10pm PST
How do you balance work and travel?
Margaret: “I work about 20 hours a week online. For now that is enough to allow us to save more per month than when I was working at a desk job and paying rent. I’m able to hotspot from my phone to my computer, so we are pretty limitless.”
Ladi: “We both believe we should work to live, not live to work. If you don’t enjoy how you spend 40 hours a week, you’re doing something wrong and need to make a change. We are most productive when the sun goes down, so we try to enjoy being outside with the sun and be our most productive before bed.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Jan 31, 2019 at 1:40pm PST
What does a typical day on the road look like for you?
Ladi: “We usually wake up 7am with a big coffee and a homemade (van-made) smoothie from our blender. We fly our drone around to scope out hiking trails or interesting places. We also have 2 custom e-bikes I built that can do a radius of 100km per charge, so we can do a lot of in-depth exploring without having to move the van from our camping location.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Feb 8, 2019 at 12:51pm PST
Margaret: “We try to be outside as much as we can, which is getting much easier now that the weather in Europe is improving.”
What’s one misconception about living and traveling in a van?
Margaret: “I find it really irritating when people assume vanlifers are smelly hippies with no aspirations. We shower everyday, we’re educated and we are very healthy! Stop thinking we all smell and reject basic social norms.”
Ladi: “For some reason campervan travelers have gained the reputation of being broke and that’s why they live in a car. I don’t think many realize that this is an active choice for most, and it actually grants us more financial security and freedom.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Feb 20, 2019 at 2:40pm PST
Margaret: “I think it’s crazier to work at a desk and have the same routine for 30 years than to live and travel in a car. It feels like we hacked the system, really. There are so many benefits to this level of freedom.”
Tell us about your cat Millie. Does she change the way you travel at all?
Margaret: “It’s my favorite story! We were parked in Split, Croatia when she jumped into our van as a stray. She was very obviously curious and definitely a natural explorer. We spent a week with her before deciding it was too much of a risk to adopt a kitten while traveling full-time, especially with borders and unpredictable safety. We left her where we found her and kept driving south.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Mar 3, 2019 at 1:31pm PST
Ladi: “About 10 days later we were looking at the border of Montenegro and it just didn’t feel right. We turned around and drove over 5 hours north to find her again. We did, and she’s been with us ever since! She’s vaccinated and spayed, and doesn’t impact how we travel, which is what we were most nervous about before. We already prefer wild camping to cities, so it really was a perfect match.”
What’s surprised you most about life on the road?
Margaret: “Every couple should try living together in a small space at some point. Traveling together is also important, but when a “normal” vacation is over you can easily slump into the old routine again. This lifestyle has us cooking, sleeping, working, driving, eating, showering and traveling in the same 50 square feet. You learn a lot about the other person in a very short period of time, and it’s been an absolute blast.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Mar 15, 2019 at 1:24pm PDT
Rapid fire questions
Mountains or ocean?
“Preferably both at the same time.”
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A post shared by Margaret Miller • Van Dweller (@curlyhaircamping) on Mar 17, 2019 at 2:05pm PDT
Sunrise or sunset?
Ladi: “Sunrise”
Margaret: “Sunset”
Planned route or spontaneity?
“We usually have a destination goal and improvise the way there.”
Always on the go or stop and stay a while?
“Stop and stay for us is about a 3 day max.”
