A Couple Living in 50 Square Feet

That’s right, our home is 50 square feet. That’s a little larger than the size of a California King mattress. We haven’t always lived in this sized environment. Far from it actually. We previously lived in an adorable 1,200 sq. ft. house in Denver. Before our transition to a “truck life” we were looking to purchase a home nearly 3,000 sq. ft.. More square footage allows for more space for activities, right?

Above Image – Nairn Falls Campground, British Columbia, Canada

Within our 50 sq. ft. home we have a bedroom, living room, kitchen, movie theatre, outside patio, and an abundant yard. We get to wake up to a new view each day, in some of the most breathtaking areas of the world.

Initially, we were uncertain if we would like this phase of our travels. We were uncertain if we would like living out of a truck. We were uncertain if we could endure one another’s “company” 24/7 for such a long-period of time in such a small amount of space. Our mindset was to try this trip for three-ish months and if we were burnt out on the road, the truck, or each other we’d head to Asia to keep it fresh.

Above Image – Hatcher Pass, Alaska

We (still) love everything about this road trip including one another. We have been on the road for over 75 days and covered nearly 10,000 miles. We’re happy, proud, and somewhat surprised of our upbeat attitude. We not only enjoy this trip more than we expected but we are plotting out ways to integrate our truck into travel plans overseas (Europe, New Zealand, Australia, etc).

We could say it’s because we love the abundant living space, the fuel economy of the Ford F-150, or the luxurious craftsmanship of our homemade-plywood-truck bed platform, but it’s surprisingly more than that. We love our time together, the unique daily activities we get to constantly experience, the flexibility we get with our traveling home, the in-depth conversation we have, and the perpetual outdoor beauty we pursue.

Above Image – Top of Thunder Knob trail in the North Cascades National Park, Washington

We have been a couple for 9.5 years and travel ultimately brought us together. Travel is a fundamental ingredient to the success of our relationship because we both love it and need it. Truly. Travel embraces our need for regular physical activity and new challenges.

We started this article outlining our living space. Although true, our current home is no more than 50 sq. ft. we are outside the majority of the day, exploring. This road trip allows us to see new places and also challenge ourselves and our bodies along the way. We are hiking and mountain biking more than we ever have before. We have even tested our skills at rock climbing and bouldering which is super fun but we are total amateurs.

Above Image – Swiftcurrent Pass Trail in Glacier National Park, Montana

Day after day we see new places, we try physically demanding activities and it allows our relationship to grow even further. We get to celebrate the “highs” and overcome the “lows” together, daily. It’s powerful, exciting, inspiring, and motivating to realize that after 9.5 years you are still able to develop new dimensions in your relationship.

Our conversation on long drives has also been a highlight. We “podcast” a lot (i.e. This American Life, TED Talks, Revisionist History, Modern Love, etc). For example, in 4 days we drove 44 hours and listened to at least 20 podcasts. This always leads to engaging conversation where you can dig into your own critical thought and hear your partner’s.

During our previous working life it could be a struggle to find engaging topics of conversation which was frustrating because we are both opinionated people that like to talk. The same can be said about our use of the outdoors. We would limit our outdoor exploration to the weekends because traffic and distance prohibited us during the weekdays (kind of an excuse and kind of true).

Above Image – The Enchantments, Colchuck Lake, Washington

We have heard from many solo travelers that traveling solo forces you to meet new people in situations that you previously wouldn’t. Solo travelers have to put themselves out there if they want company. As a couple we do always have each other but we are mindful to put ourselves out there, to meet and engage with others as much as a possible. The time we have spent hanging with new friends on the road are some of our fondest moments.

Things aren’t always perfect and we do have disagreements. The stuff like, “Why aren’t you able to time the apex of my jump kicks for the photo?” This was an actual topic of discussion. On a more serious note the biggest cause for a disagreement is generally over money and how to budget it. We travel off of our savings and the faster it goes the sooner our trip ends. We have had plenty of discussions prioritizing our spendings. In the end we are lucky to have a similar mindset on what we value – experiences and good food!

Above Image – Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington

So far we’ve stayed happy, we’ve stayed hungry for more, and we continue to dream about all our future travels because we are pursuing what we love in travel and in life. There is no official blueprint to prolonged travel or even a vacation. You need to identify what you and your significant other love or want to accomplish while traveling. Strategize plans around that and always be flexible.

A huge thank you to Katy and Michael for being guest travel writers for us on our site. We were introduced to them via Skype by a mutual friend before they took off on their adventure. And we have been inspired and thrilled to see the wonderful travels they are enjoying. It will be great to see where else they go and we hope you get to know them better too!