Forestyforest | GTAMotorcycle.com

Forestyforest

bigpoppa

bigpoppa

Well-known member
www.youtube.com

Foresty Forest

ForestyForest's channel... Bicycle Touring! Van Dwelling! The Great Outdoors! Sorry, I'm not interested in doing paid reviews, sponsorships, advertising, par...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

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(@forestyforest) • Instagram photos and videos

21K Followers, 250 Following, 179 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from (@forestyforest)
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com


Anyone watch this guy?

This guy's my hero, he used to live/work in the city somewhere in ontario, at some point he decided it would be cheaper/easier/more fun to ditch whatever crappy situation he lived in, bought himself a van and started living in it, he worked and lived like that for a while, but winter came, he then modified/insulated his van, got a decent heating set up going, with ventilation, electricity, etc

basically an apartment on two wheels, and now dude spends his time travelling around, mountain climbing, hiking, riding his fat bike offroad

Lost track of how long he's been doing it now, and hes got a pretty good well thought out set up going, initially I think he just worked for a bit then travelled around till he needed to work again, but at this point hes got a pretty big following on youtube, and a bunch of patreon subs as well

Kinda jealous tbh, complete freedom, no bills, no mortgage, or job or boss to worry about...I've always felt in a buddihst zen kinda way that the things you own end up owning you...this guy's found his purpose in life...he can just be


Unlike a lot of the van lifers, there are no selfies at the beach, when it gets cold, he doesnt travel south

Not saying im considering it, but if **** ever hits the fan, I might do this
 
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Saw a news clip of a similar guy in the UK. He was depressed...went to the beach a few miles from his home and decided to walk back. He felt so much better he just decided to keep walking. Picked up a tent and a stray dog along the way and he’s been doing it for years I think now. He was asked how he gets along...he said “I just keep the sea on my left and walk”.
 
bigpoppa said:
www.youtube.com

Foresty Forest

ForestyForest's channel... Bicycle Touring! Van Dwelling! The Great Outdoors! Sorry, I'm not interested in doing paid reviews, sponsorships, advertising, par...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

www.instagram.com

(@forestyforest) • Instagram photos and videos

21K Followers, 250 Following, 179 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from (@forestyforest)
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com


Anyone watch this guy?

This guy's my hero, he used to live/work in the city somewhere in ontario, at some point he decided it would be cheaper/easier/more fun to ditch whatever crappy situation he lived in, bought himself a van and started living in it, he worked and lived like that for a while, but winter came, he then modified/insulated his van, got a decent heating set up going, with ventilation, electricity, etc

basically an apartment on two wheels, and now dude spends his time travelling around, mountain climbing, hiking, riding his fat bike offroad

Lost track of how long he's been doing it now, and hes got a pretty good well thought out set up going, initially I think he just worked for a bit then travelled around till he needed to work again, but at this point hes got a pretty big following on youtube, and a bunch of patreon subs as well

Kinda jealous tbh, complete freedom, no bills, no mortgage, or job or boss to worry about...I've always felt in a buddihst zen kinda way that the things you own end up owning you...this guy's found his purpose in life...he can just be


Unlike a lot of the van lifers, there are no selfies at the beach, when it gets cold, he doesnt travel south

Not saying im considering it, but if **** ever hits the fan, I might do this
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Sounds like a van hermit. While on a bad day it sounds good to not have any monkeys on your back but in general most people need people. I can relate. Right now I want to order two dumpsters for the driveway. One to fill with the collected useless crap of life and the other to live in.
 
bigpoppa said:
Kinda jealous tbh, complete freedom, no bills, no mortgage, or job or boss to worry about...I've always felt in a buddihst zen kinda way that the things you own end up owning you...this guy's found his purpose in life...he can just be
Click to expand...

Sometimes the grass just seems greener on the other side.

Last winter we hosted a couple who cut ties from everything and just bought a couple of bikes to roam the world. They told us they wanted to travel for 6-7 years, no bills, no house payments, no jobs, etc.

They lasted less than 4 months and missed everything about their old life. Back to work, back to a house and a roof over their head.

It takes a certain kind of personality to make this kind of lifestyle work.

Met another guy on the road who was making bank on a very popular blog. He had readers and subscribers who would regularly PayPal him money in return for him documenting his trip. He confided to me that each month, he made way more money than he could spend, but he hated the obligation of having to take pictures and do write-ups, but felt like since he accepted their money, he didn't want to just ditch the blog. He wished he could just stop.

The thing about sponsors and subscribers is that they don't want to hear about that kind of stuff. They are reading/viewing your blog/youtube channel to dream about and escape their own crap. Last thing they want to know is that crap of a different kind exists that you still have to escape from.

Just shows that you really don't know what goes on behind the scenes of stuff like this.
 
Lightcycle said:
Sometimes the grass just seems greener on the other side.

Last thing they want to know is that crap of a different kind exists that you still have to escape from.
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Know a few that have done similar, biggest difference I see is mind set, some had zero to start and the 45yr old Boler trailer is just fine, jeep to pull it, gas and some vegetables and life is good.
The other cats had surplus cash so when they packed it up they could buy toys along the way or switch gears and sit in a desert condo for a while, and afford to fix stuff that broke without taking a job.

Its great to read and 'imagine' , for every awesome pack up and go story, there is an equal amount of pack up and go home.
 
A guy I used to work with did something similar in 2013. He was divorced, his son had started college and he had a really high pressure sales job so he basically just packed up his R1200GS and took off.

I still get the odd email from him whenever he has connectivity. He's been mobile for 8 years and hasn't regretted a day of it. Last email I got from him he was in Mumbai.
 
My instructor/friend from school did something similar, he had a rough divorce, and lived full time (even in the winter) on the boat parked in a marina or harbor somewhere in Toronto

He has his G1 and several decades of experience under his belt, plus a well paying teaching gig on the side, a boat and a new truck, so it probably wasnt a money issue, after the divorce he bought a house, but it was far away from Toronto and he hated commuting, tried the condo thing in Toronto but didn't like that either

I felt a bit bad initially but he seems happy, so good for him

I bet in the summer he probably sails around

Sent from my SM-G986W using Tapatalk
 
If your ever near the east end of Queens Key there is a pretty ugly 70ft ex commercial fishing boat tied to the seawall, inside its a luxury condo, nicer than most houses, buddy rents a 70ft spot on the seawall from Toronto Harbor commision for about the price of 1 months rent on a 2,000sqft waterfront condo, in summer drives it over and parks it on Toronto Island. He has a pretty nice life, paid 90,000. for the 70ft boat from a guy that did what he's doing for 8yrs then moved home to Australia.
 
crankcall said:
If your ever near the east end of Queens Key there is a pretty ugly 70ft ex commercial fishing boat tied to the seawall, inside its a luxury condo, nicer than most houses, buddy rents a 70ft spot on the seawall from Toronto Harbor commision for about the price of 1 months rent on a 2,000sqft waterfront condo, in summer drives it over and parks it on Toronto Island. He has a pretty nice life, paid 90,000. for the 70ft boat from a guy that did what he's doing for 8yrs then moved home to Australia.
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I know a couple that wintered in Port Credit on a 35 footer. Condensation from cooking and breathing, mildew and long hikes to take a shower wasn't a turn on for me.
 
nobbie48 said:
I know a couple that wintered in Port Credit on a 35 footer. Condensation from cooking and breathing, mildew and long hikes to take a shower wasn't a turn on for me.
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I seriously considered bubbling in a boat as an very affordable place to live in the GTA. I found conventional housing closer to work for a decent price so I never followed through.
 
I think the key to living that kind of scaled-back lifestyle is to know yourself well. Know exactly what you're prepared to give up and be sure you are able to live without it.

I read about a guy who came up with a genius idea to give up his apartment, eat, sleep and live in his car, and sh*t & shower at Planet Fitness. Based on his estimates, the money he saved on rent and utilities meant he could afford a decent down payment for a house within a year.

He lasted 40 days and was back in his apartment the next month. Got tired of peeing in a Gatorade bottle in the night, waking up with a crick in his neck, never a good night's sleep always worrying that cops would bust him for sleeping in his car.
 
I think a demo run in the summer in a rented vehicle would be a good idea

Also if you really like it, it would be a good idea to get a work vehicle/van and go stealth
 
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Lightcycle said:
I think the key to living that kind of scaled-back lifestyle is to know yourself well. Know exactly what you're prepared to give up and be sure you are able to live without it.

I read about a guy who came up with a genius idea to give up his apartment, eat, sleep and live in his car, and sh*t & shower at Planet Fitness. Based on his estimates, the money he saved on rent and utilities meant he could afford a decent down payment for a house within a year.

He lasted 40 days and was back in his apartment the next month. Got tired of peeing in a Gatorade bottle in the night, waking up with a crick in his neck, never a good night's sleep always worrying that cops would bust him for sleeping in his car.
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I was waiting for a property manager to get off the phone and overheard him telling an owner that he couldn't rent his parking spot to someone who didn't live in the building. Then he said, "Besides, there's someone living in the van."
 
In my opinion, these types of schemes focus too much on the "saving money" part of the equation, perhaps to the detriment on the "making money" aspect.

Especially if your quest to save *cents* means ultimately losing out on earned *dollars*:

You sleep in your car and wake up tired every morning and can't concentrate on work, so you get passed up for promotions, or worse, get fired for not doing your job properly.

You live on a boat but customers and co-workers are always complaining that your clothes reek of fish and marine stink.

It's one step forwards, two steps back.

I think a proper living environment should be looked at as an investment that sets you up for success, not a corner to be cut.

Obviously what is "proper" is going to vary from person to person. I personally know a #vanlifer who seems to be doing perfectly fine. My buddy works at Whistler every winter, but the pay is awful and rent is super-expensive up there. So he parks in various spots around the resort, saves a bundle on rent and is able to ski for free (the real reason anyone works at a ski resort). We let him park in our driveway, and he always arrives after dark and is gone before the sun is up. If he didn't tell us, we wouldn't even know. It's no big deal. He rotates between different friends, construction sites, etc. so it's not like he's overly taking advantage of anyone.
 
I was a live aboard for years, if you stink of fish and 'marine' stink your doing it wrong. Its the same as living in a motorhome, except the motorhome is constantly rocking in the breeze.
I still use my boat as a 'remote' office all summer, high speed internet, great view and the dog likes it.
 
This might be my dream, bonus points for hi viz vest, hard hat, yellow work lights to make it stealth

I would have thrown in a big white binder full of empty paper on the dash to make it invisible

and big enough to bring the bike with me!

 
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