Hi, This is Katie! (My Story)

Hi. My name is Katie, and I live in a car.

Yes, on purpose.

Let me explain.

I grew up on Long Island, which is basically the very busy suburbs of New York City. Five minutes from the beach, an hour from the city, surrounded by millions of people… and yet I spent most of my free time as a teenager lying in bed, watching the Home Shopping Network, and eating brownie batter straight from the bowl with my bare hands.

I was not adventurous. I was not ambitious. I was not an out of the box thinker. I went to school, I came home, I watched tv, and I went to sleep. I got decent grades, had a good group of friends, and went out every weekend to get a slice of pizza or a Frappuccino from Starbucks. Sure, some exciting and stand-out things happened but, all in all, I had a pretty basic, typical, normal upbringing.

Fast forward to 2010, I was miserable. During college a few years earlier, I had developed some very intense anxiety and depression. Every single day was a struggle. But one day that summer, I prayed before bed. Praying was not new to me, but what happened this time was new. I prayed so deeply for God to help me and show me what to do with me life. And I woke up the next morning with a physical feeling of weight being lifted off of my shoulder, and the idea to move to Nashville, Tennessee in my head.

And to answer your questions… No, I had never visited there, I didn’t know anyone who lived there, and I had no connection to that town.

But, I truly, undeniably felt that God was telling me to go there. So, I listened. And three months later, I had an apartment in Nashville.

I loved living in Nashville in my early/mid-20s. I had a new job, new friends, and whole new experiences. But, while I was living there, I had another one of those undeniable feelings. I had an idea to live in my car and drive around the country for a month. I had very little experience traveling (besides a few local places, and the trip from New York to Nashville) or living/sleeping in a car (besides a few times on those Nashville to New York drives), and I had no idea where this desire came from. But it was there, and it was strong. I had this feeling for almost a year until I actually decided to follow through.

So, in the fall of 2012, I went on my first proper “living in a car” road trip. A friend and I left Nashville, drove up through Yellowstone to the northwest corner of the country, then drove down the coast and back east to Nashville. And yes, we slept in my car most nights. We were gone for 28 days. And that…that is when I became obsessed with the lifestyle of living and sleeping in a car and going on road trips. Seeing the country, sleeping in my little Toyota Yaris, meeting incredible people…. I couldn’t get enough! So, at that point, at the age of 26, I decided to turn “living in a car and traveling the country” into a personal lifestyle.

Since then, I have been living in my car, sleeping in my car, driving around exploring the country, and learning a LOT (I have been doing this “part-time.” Sometimes I live in my car, and sometimes I live in apartments all around the country). Sometimes it is so much fun, sometimes it is wild, and sometimes it is insanely difficult. It has been an adventure to say the least. But I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything.

I hope you check out other blog posts on my site about living in a car, snack hacks while on the road, budgeting your travels, going on road trips, mental health, inspiration, and even how to “travel” in your own town.

Thank you so much for reading. I love you, and Jesus loves you!