If, after over a year at home, you're thinking that the best salve for your sanity this summer is to pack up, get out of your house or apartment, and hit the road in a van to explore America's great outdoors, this episode is for you. With advice on what to pack, how to route your trip, and how to avoid the mistakes they made, our guests—van lifers Erin McGrady, an Asheville-based writer and photographer, and Noami Grevemberg, founder of Diversify Vanlife and one half of the @IrietoAurora Instagram account—can help you get started. But while this episode is in part a van life for dummies guide, it also gets at the no-filter realities of living in your van, the privilege that comes with choosing a voluntary nomadic lifestyle, and the responsibility travelers have to respect and understand the public lands they visit. It truly hits all the bases.

Listen to "Why We Should Consider Whose Land We're On When We're Outdoors" with Jaylyn Gough: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/why-we-should-consider-whose-land-were-on-when-were-outdoors-women-who-travel-podcast

Find a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/what-it-actually-takes-to-become-a-van-lifer-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Erin: @e.mcgrady

Follow Noami: @IrietoAurora

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

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What It Actually Takes to Become a Van Lifer