The Key To This Happy Marriage? Live In A Van

认识马特和莎拉。他们结婚了，幸福快乐，一年 365 天都住在一辆货车里。

越来越多的年轻人放弃“正常”生活， 转而享受改装车辆的机动性和自由生活。无忧无虑的精神、时髦人士和垃圾人士体现了这种所谓的#VanLife 存在。

我遇到了一对夫妇，他们的“货车生活”是他们婚姻生活的秘密。马特和莎拉·帕克已经三十多岁了，他们已经在一辆改装的雪佛兰 Express 里生活了两年。

与两人一起旅行了几天后，我发现他们的合作伙伴关系在 24/7 生活在货车中的挑战中蓬勃发展。事实上，他们独特的生活方式可能会暗示婚姻的繁荣需要什么。

一起工作，一起玩耍

我第一次见到马特和莎拉是在科罗拉多州卡本代尔五点电影节期间的一次集会上。他们的雪佛兰赢得了“最佳展示奖”，这辆车如此美丽迷人，你永远不会猜到它是一辆旧工作车。

公园自己进行了所有翻新工作，包括油漆工作。虽然这种设置非常适合公路旅行，但他们的生活不仅仅是旅行。

这对夫妇大部分时间都在犹他州中部的一家齿轮店工作或做导游。其余时间他们会去攀岩、滑雪或在瓦萨奇山脉及周边地区玩耍。

“有了这辆货车，我们可以出去做更多我们喜欢的事情，而不仅仅是住在货车里，”莎拉告诉我。

Last winter, they worked a few days a week in an outdoors shop in Salt Lake City. During the summer, the couple works as canyoneering and climbing guides around Zion National Park.

They take jobs that keep them mobile and free. The point of the van is to help them live better and to keep them from cluttering their lives with things (and expenses) that take away from what they want out of life.

Focus On Each Other

When not working, Matt and Sarah wake up at their leisure, making coffee in an AeroPress and cooking breakfast on a Coleman stove that’s built into the countertop.

At night, Sarah usually cooks dinner while Matt reads aloud to her (there’s an impressive library in the van). After dinner, they pull out a platform, turning their couch into a bed, and then read some more before falling asleep.

Matt and Sarah smiled the whole time I asked them questions about being married and living in such a small space. They endured some trials, for sure. But they came out of the other side with wisdom.

“You get to go to sleep with your best friend in your grown up fort,” Sarah said with a laugh.

She continued, “You’re never going to be closer to someone than if you decide to live in a van with them. That’s one of the biggest pros — incidentally, that’s also the biggest drawback.”

Communication Is Key

Being married and living in a van poses quite a few challenges. Space, obviously, is extremely limited. When arguments arise and tempers flare, there are not a lot of options.

“You can’t just go sit in the next room to cool off,” Matt said. “It’s a pretty unique experience that most couples don’t go through.”

“Learning how to communicate and work together is a big part of living in a van with your spouse,” Sarah added.

Less Is More

It’s easier to understand how a single person could fare with this kind of lifestyle. But it isn’t easy to live in a space so small with a significant other. So why do it?

Matt described when they were first married and living in an apartment: “We spent most of our time just working to pay for our apartment and all those expenses that go with a permanent place to live.”

He said the apartment was essentially an anchor they didn’t need. He lived in a ’78 Volkswagen Westfalia when the two first met. On their second wedding anniversary, they ditched the apartment and opted for the VW.

“That first year in the bus was tough,” Matt said. “It didn’t have a heater and it wasn’t insulated very well. We’d drive wearing our ski pants, puffy jackets, and gloves just to stay warm!”

If they were going to keep the lifestyle, a different vehicle-home was needed. The old VW had to go.

They bought the current van. Then reconstruction began.

与此同时，帕克夫妇对他们的东西进行了分类，并确定了要保留的最基本的必需品。更少的财产和一辆新货车给他们年轻的婚姻带来了新的活力。

“我认为我们永远不可能回到原来的生活，”莎拉说。“我们总会回到更简单的生活。”

想从货车里看到更多婚姻生活吗？查看 Instagram 上的 The Bus Life，了解 Sarah 和 Matt 的帖子和更新。