Alternative Lifestyles Growing in Popularity Among America’s Youth

The rise of van life and homesteading in a post-pandemic world

Van LifePhoto byjp / Adobe Stock

As the world settles into a post-pandemic reality, younger generations are challenging the facade of the “American Dream,” building lives for themselves outside the 9-to-5 workforce.

This shift comes after a staggering increase in the cost of living in the United States, inflation causing 69% of Americans to say homeownership is no longer part of the American Dream in asurveydone by Truehold.

Prices of groceries, gas, housing and other essentials are rising, but the national minimum wage and salaries nationwide are remaining stagnant.

The solution to living in this economy, according to Millennials and Gen-Zindividuals and families who have taken to sharing their lives on social media, is tonot live in it at all.

Below we take a look at two examples of alternative lifestyles growing in popularity among younger American citizens as they aim to create a system for themselves rather than settle for a system broken by generations before them.

One of the most well-known (and possibly one of the most controversial)alternative lifestyles gaining traction is“Van Life”— the partial or complete abandonment of having a home in the traditional sense.

Individuals embracing this adventurous trend buy or create their ownmobile housing using buses, vans, or other large vehicles, and they live out of these vehicles while traveling the country.

Of course, fueling a vehicle of this size and acquiring the resources needed for a livingrequire money,but members of this lifestyle tend to find remote opportunities or fully embrace influencer status tofund their adventures.

USA Today interviewed van-lifers and explored the reasons for their chosen lifestyle, and above all else, van life seems to force people to shift their priorities.

Minimalist living combined with a maximalist experience of the natural world can make for an absolutely breathtaking life, full of opportunities which never would have been achievable behind a desk.

Of course,living this way is not accessible for everyone,and influencers with children, in particular, have been criticized for prioritizing adventure over the well-being of their families.

Jenny McDonald grew up on the road with her family, andshe explained to Business Insider how the constant danger, uncertainty, and lack of socialization impacted her development.

Still, families such as TikTok’s Kat Elizabeth say Van Life provides enrichment and freedom her children would never have experienced otherwise.

Although it may not suit every family, van living can be an extremely fulfilling alternative lifestyle, making it clear why it’s been growing in popularity in this shifting economy.

Another lifestyle alternative appealing to younger generations is homesteading, or living self-sufficiently by growing their own food, producing their own energy, and living on their own land.

In a poll done by Business Insider in 2023 of nearly 4,000 homesteaders, almost half of all respondents were39 years old or younger.

Sowhy are these younger families and individuals opting to live off-the-grid when technology is rapidly advancing, and connectivity has never been more accessible?

Several reasons can lead to this change, and while van living is all about adventure and freedom,homesteading is all about stability and building a relationship with the land.

Becoming self-sufficient is a way of having more control over what food goes into your body, understanding and deepening how you interact with the natural world, and having more freedom over the type of life you can build for yourself and your familywithout having to worry about government or technological interference.

In 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture found that 12.8% of households in America were food insecureat some point during the year, a drastic increase from the 10.2% recorded in 2021.

As these numbers continue to increase, homesteaders are able to turn to their own land to provide for their families rather than on the American economy, and in the process, are able to learn importantlife skills such as gardeningand more.

Although homesteading is very different from van living, both rely heavily on self-sustainability, and both provide more flexibility than the tight economic reality plaguing the nation.

As alternative lifestyles become more prevalent, it’s important to consider how these trends came to be. In many ways, the advancement of technology combined with the COVID-19 pandemic have shifted the priorities of modern youth, and van living and homesteading are both a way to turn back to traditional core values in a 21st-century reality.

Despite differing opinions on these particular ways of living, the idea ofchallenging the “American Dream” as it was once known to be is appealing more and more to America’s youth.

It will be interesting to see what the “American Dream” entails decades from now!