Through her back door we saw that her van was set up with a hammock. She let them pee and smiled at us as she rushed them inside to get out of the rain. In the rain, our neighbor got out of her van with two dogs. The green space next to us became a dog park of sorts. He said he felt some affinity to the conclave when we saw a Black woman behind the wheel of her blue minivan. John was used to being one of the only people of color in any van community. We felt immediate relief at the sight of the other vehicles. We drove to a little inlet in the lot where a circle of vans had formed under the orange glow of the overhead lights. The first time we stayed in a Walmart parking lot, it was a rainy night in Kentucky. And sometimes, the crowdsourced vanlife apps we use to find overnight parking will show Walmart as the highest-rated option around. Sometimes, though, the only close-to-nature options available require payment or advance reservations. Parking lots are full of congestion, concrete, and mulch islands with patches of crabgrass. We prefered to stay in parks near trailheads so we could run with our dogs in the mornings. When we first moved into the van, John and I resisted staying in Walmart parking lots. The groups overlap, but they rarely frequent the same places-with the exception of the Walmart parking lot, a uniquely American commons. While vanlife is often neither as idyllic as some influencers may boast nor as tragic as Nomadland would attest, vanlifers generally fall into two groups: those who move into vans because they have very little choice (like Fern) and those who move into vans because they want to play in mountains (like John). A converted van parked in a Walmart parking lot. Most of them maintain more comforts in their vans than Fern because they have the means to do so. They want to explore lives off the grid and don’t want to be defined by their professions. While there are many people who travel like this, most of the vanlifers I socialize with are younger and more privileged-outdoorsy people who aren’t interested in normative career paths. Living in their vehicles has become a way to defy society’s expectations and live life on their own terms. Many of the van dwellers portrayed in the film have been dealt a bad hand of economic hardship and loss. Frances McDormand stars as Fern, a woman who sells her belongings and decides to live nomadically, traveling across the country for seasonal work. If you’ve seen the 2020 movie Nomadland, you might be familiar with people who live full-time out of their vans or RVs. Walmart’s offer of free overnight parking allows us to stop during our long distance drives. Like many other DIYers, he tends to be frugal. The build was complex: John wired his own electrical system powered by solar energy and a battery commonly used in houseboats. My partner John and I live in a van-a whole do-it-yourself remodel of a Ford Transit with a working oven, propane heater, sink, and propane shower. Sam Walton, the mega-chain’s founder, loved traveling in his RV, and made it company policy to allow free overnight parking to RV-type vehicles. Today, these “public spaces” have become increasingly privatized and corporate-and that’s where Walmart comes in. People held festivals, small markets, and even executions in these spaces. When settlers colonized the U.S., they designed towns around a commons, where-at least in theory-everyone was welcome to gather. In most places and times throughout history, human settlements have designated common spaces. We have spent the night in the modern capitalist commons: the Walmart parking lot. Several RVs are parked in the designated section for overnight parking. A couple jogs through the rows of cars in the early morning. We step down into the van’s standing space and slide the door open. When we wake up, we slide our clothes on while lying down, navigating beneath a low ceiling.
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