If you have a fully remote job (or no job), access to a van, and a bit of grit, I highly recommend living in a van near campus to save a bit of money. It can be a great way to reconnect with nature, once you get over how scary it is to be without a house. It also gets you out of the PG bowl, with less noise and air pollution. I don’t sleep well in other people’s houses/beds, so after travelling all over BC for the summer, I decided to settle down near the university to visit friends for a while.
Sleeping Spots (The Most Important)
The main challenge is finding places to sleep where you won’t get kicked out. Below is a table, with more green colors being a better spot (closer to the university and more private/quiet).
The winner here for sleeping is the Forest for the World – above the Bio-Energy Plant. It’s a short walk to campus and less people go there to hike and walk their dogs. The only issue arises during the weekends, when people use the lot to do some off-roading, or to party. Also, when fireworks are going off at the Rotary Lookout, this has an almost direct sightline and is quite loud. In the winter, this lot is also much harder to access, as it’s not plowed.
I ended up mainly choosing the main Forest for the World parking lot near campus, as it is completely empty at night (unlike the one near Shane Lake). Sometimes I wondered if the presence of a creepy van is what kept it empty.
If you pay for parking for 24 hours, you may be able to sleep in the UNBC parking lot, but only if you’re very stealthy. I didn’t try, as I had a diesel furnace running and it was very obvious I was living inside. If you get permission to use someone’s parking spot in the residence lot, that may be better as I knew someone who lived there for a while in a big sprinter van.
Staying Stealthy
This may come from living in a big city with lots of rules for too long, but I would recommend not staying in one spot for a long time. I don’t think people in Prince George really care that much, but constantly moving your van to new spots and a normal spot for the daytime is a good way to keep attention off yourself. Teach yourself to get up early and leave before many people even know you were sleeping there.
Once you get to the university early, it’s very empty and there’s a shower with great water pressure in Building 8 on the first floor near the elevator.
Leave No Trace
I found that being able to sleep in your
van and not being kicked out or having the police show up is a strange privilege. Remember to leave no trace other than tire tracks, and don’t leave garbage anywhere. Don’t be loud and don’t take up a parking spot for too long and annoy people.
To Sum It Up
Van life on and near UNBC campus isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being practical. It can be a bit sad at times, as you feel a bit rejected by society and people give you weird looks. You got to learn to be a bit shameless (but not too shameless that you freak people out). It kinda feels like being in a low-budget horror movie and you might feel like a creep at times. Just remember: there’s always another van out there, and it looks creepier than yours.
