From Renters to Vanlifers: How We Built a New Life on Wheels

Hi, we’re Jordan and Lise, and this is the story of how we left behind the city grind, passed on the white-picket fence, and chose a life on the road instead...

We met in 2015 at a line dancing bar in Florida... one of those chance encounters that feels like it was meant to be. That same year, Jordan had moved from Memphis, Tennessee, to Florida, while I was born and raised in Miami. We dated for a couple of years and eventually moved to Nashville together, ready to start the next chapter of our lives.

Florida 2015 - 2018

Like many people, we followed the traditional post-grad path: full-time jobs, city living, and trying to build solid careers. I was working in architecture, and Jordan was doing architectural design as well. On paper, everything looked steady and promising. But something was missing.

The more time we spent sitting in offices under fluorescent lights, the more we began to question what we were really working toward. It was not that we disliked our jobs. We just did not feel fulfilled by the rhythm of our lives. Wake up, go to work, stare at a screen, come home drained, and do it all over again. The things we once dreamed about began to feel distant.

Nashville 2018 - 2022

Then in 2022, we took a trip to Hawaii... a place we had always wanted to visit. Instead of booking a hotel, we rented a converted shuttle bus and spent the week driving around the island of Maui with our little home on wheels. We loved the freedom of being able to take our space with us everywhere we went, waking up to ocean views and chasing sunsets with no set agenda. One morning, at sunrise on the summit of the Haleakalā volcano, Jordan got down on one knee and proposed. It was just the two of us, and it felt perfect. That trip was more than a vacation. It was a turning point, a reminder of how good life feels when you step outside the routine.

It also shifted Jordan’s perspective on vanlife. At six foot four, he had always been skeptical that living in a van could ever feel comfortable. But spending a week in that shuttle bus changed everything. He realized that if we found a van tall enough for him to stand up in, he would actually want to do it too. For the first time, vanlife felt like a shared dream... not just mine.

Maui, Hawaii

Not long after, our apartment complex in Nashville announced it was being converted into a hotel. Rent was rising quickly, and the housing market had become nearly impossible to enter. Each time we toured a home, it would sell within a day, often to a buyer offering cash well above the asking price. We had been saving for a house, but no matter how hard we tried, we could not keep up.

One night, after yet another frustrating Zillow scroll, we looked at each other and asked a question that changed everything... What if we used our house savings to buy a van instead?

The House Hunt

Living on the road had been a dream of mine since high school. Suddenly, it started to feel possible. We looked at our savings, ran the numbers, and realized that if we stayed frugal, we could make it work. It felt like the right moment to leap. Then something unexpected happened...

When I went to resign from my job at the architecture firm, they surprised me with an offer to stay on remotely as a contractor. It felt like the universe nudging us forward. Around the same time, Jordan mentioned our plans to an old friend from his former job in Florida. Without hesitation, his friend offered him a remote position at his land surveying company. Within weeks, the dream had financial support.

We moved in with Jordan’s mom in Memphis and spent the next year and a half working full-time while building out the van ourselves in the evenings and on weekends. It was far from glamorous. There were plenty of late nights, steep learning curves, and countless trips to the hardware store. But the process was rewarding, and it brought us closer to the life we wanted. And of course, our little co-pilot, Charles the chihuahua, was with us every step of the way.

The Process

The Van Build

In February 2024, before officially hitting the road, we got married in Guatemala, surrounded by close friends and family. It was an intimate wedding that felt incredibly special with a volcano in the distance, it was a full-circle moment after getting engaged on the summit of one in Hawaii. The day was warm, colorful, and filled with love. The perfect sendoff into this next season of life.

Our Wedding

Today, we have been living on the road for over four hundred days and have traveled through more than fifteen states, including a stretch through Canada.

We continue to work remotely... During the week, we set up camp in peaceful, scenic places and work from our tiny rolling home. On weekends, we explore. From national parks to quiet forest roads and small mountain towns, each week feels like a fresh chapter.

A Peek into our Travels

There is no perfect way to live, but for us, this lifestyle has brought a deeper sense of peace, freedom, and purpose than we ever felt in a city apartment or office cubicle.

We are not saying vanlife is for everyone. But if you have ever dreamed of living differently, of slowing down and designing a life on your own terms, it might be closer than you think.

Charles has taken to vanlife too. He loves sunny naps, new views, and curling up under the covers on chilly nights.

We hope you will follow along as we keep moving forward, one quiet morning, winding road, and wild adventure at a time!

Charles the Chihuahua

You can find more of our story, day-to-day life, and all the behind-the-scenes moments on our YouTube channel, where we share what it’s really like to live, work, and travel full-time in a van.

Subscribe @jordanandlise to come along for the ride.