She’s in the drivers seat — and she loves it.
Melissa Hungerford, 36, was exhausted and “burnt out” after eight years of working as a nurse. So, she decided to make a massive life change — buying a van and choosing to travel around the country.
Hungerford, who ditched her day job for a life on the road, has now visited 38 of the 50 U.S. states and plans to tick them all off by the new year.
“I’ve always loved the outdoors and I wanted the freedom to go to places I’ve never been before,” the Montana resident told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
“Life as a nurse in the hospital involved long hours and I worked nights so my sleep schedule was a little wacky,” she continued. “So I definitely had days where I was exhausted.”
However the former nurse, who loves her new life on the road, admits it has its downsides — one being she only sees her husband Todd, who works in the music industry, every four to six weeks.
“I miss him so much,” she admitted. “He wishes he could travel with me but his job doesn’t allow it.”
Hungerford said she didn’t want to give up working as a nurse completely, so decided to work as a travel nurse, taking shifts in various children’s units.
It’s something she’d always dreamed of doing but was “too scared” to take the leap
“I worked with adults for four years before switching over and working with infants,” she explained. “It is very scary to go somewhere you’ve never been, where you know no one and basically take a chance.”
Hungerford was initially nervous at the prospect of living out of a van, so she deciding to purchase a fully renovated one for $75,000.
She then spent around $10,000 customizing it to make it even more comfortable.
“I lowered the bed, added cabinets, countertops and a skylight,” she explained. “I also upgraded the toilet to a composting loo and changed the fridge [then] ripped out the shower that I never used and created a couch, like a bench.”
The nurse loves her new digs, though some aspects have taken some adjusting.
“You have to worry about water usage, human waste disposal, trash disposal, smaller space and downsizing,” she said. sometimes miss having a bigger space of a traditional home but not enough to make me go back.
Hungerford encourages anyone who wants to give the van life a try to go for it, and be prepared for things to go wrong — and know how to fix it.
“I absolutely recommend my lifestyle! Just make sure you’re ready for it,” she warned, reminding everyone what you see on social media doesn’t reflect the truth.
“You are going to hit your head on things or break your toe,” she said. “But the key is to not let that deter you from why you chose to live this lifestyle.”