When Braedon Lowey moved to Victoria in the summer of 2022 to transfer to UVic, he looked at rental costs in the city and decided that van life made more sense.
Lowey spent roughly $13,000 to buy a brown 1990 Ford Econoline van and to outfit it with a mini fridge, a battery operated water faucet and water tank and solar panels on the roof. Lowey has been living in the van since August 2022. “With the money that I saved on the rent, it’s largely paid for itself,” he said.
“The parking lot here is just safe, right? Like it’s a quiet area. It’s patrolled by security. And I know that crime is not going to be an issue while I’m on campus,” he said. Lowey said he’s aware of other students on campus who are living in vans and he wants to appeal to the university to change their bylaws to allow people to sleep in their vehicles in campus parking lots.