I don't know exactly when I had the idea to live in a van, or where I first read about people who had done it. What I do remember, distinctly, is finding out how outrageously expensive it was to live in the Bay area.

Let me set the stage: It's 2014, and I've just found out that I'm going to be interning at Google in the summer. I start looking at the corporate housing options, and find out that the cheapest options are nearly $100 a night. Having enough on my plate at the moment, I bite the bullet and find some roommates for the four person, two bedroom option. The summer starts, and I'm having an amazing time, but as I start to settle into a routine, I notice something fairly tragic: for all the money I'm spending on this apartment, I'm hardly ever there! I wake up, catch the first GBus to Google, work out, eat breakfast, work, eat lunch, work, eat dinner, hang out at Google, and eventually take a bus home, pack my gym bag for the next day, and go to sleep.

Once I realized I was only ever at my stupidly expensive apartment to sleep, I started hatching my plan.