History Main / LivesInAVan

* The eponymous "[[OlyInFlorida Florida Man]]" by Ross Childs lives in a van.

* Eric of WebOriginal/PrettyMuchIt lives in a van by choice, traveling around the country to record commentaries with friends. He details his lifestyle choice, appropriately enough, in a commentary for ''Film/{{Nomadland}}''.

* ''Film/{{Nomadland}}}'' TheMovie! The film depicts the various challenges and rewards of the lifestyle choice of living in a van with great accuracy and attention to detail.

* In the late 2010's, living in a van became somewhat trendy. The hastag [=#vanlife=] trended on Instagram and [[https://gnomadhome.com/vanlife-how-to/ lifestyle magazines extolled the freedom involved]], portraying it as a fun and carefree beachy lifestyle. While often portrayed positively in media, this coincided with record low homeownership and skyrocketing housing prices in places like California.

* Annie from ''Literature/EyeOfAFly'' used to live in a car after she ran away from her abusive foster home.

* On ''Series/TrapperJohnMD'' Dr. "Gonzo" Gates lived in an RV in the hospital parking lot.

* On ''Series/TrapperJohnMD'' Dr. "Gonzo" Gates lived on a boat in the hospital parking lot.

* ''[[http://www.npr.org/2015/12/12/459212329/for-15-years-the-real-lady-in-the-van-lived-in-this-playwrights-driveway The Lady in the Van]]'' is a 2015 dramatization of the real-life case where Mary Shepherd parked her van in playwright Alan Bennett's driveway and proceeded to live there for the next 15 years until her death.

--->'''Greg:''' You grew up with actual freedom.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Greg Universe lives in his van even though he owns a fairly successful business (a car wash, whose parking lot he keeps his van in) and he built the house that Steven lives in[[note]]One episode explicitly states that he doesn't live there simply because he and the Gems don't get along, as by that point, they still hold him responsible for Rose's DeathByChildbirth.[[/note]]. [[spoiler:Even after becoming a ''[[RagsToRiches millionaire]]'', [[AffluentAscetic he still lives there]].]] Greg only moves into an actual house at the very end of the series, [[spoiler:after Steven moves out of it [[WalkingTheEarth to travel around the country]]]].

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' and the rest of Mystery Inc. live mainly in the Mystery Machine.
** In ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', Fred, after finding out that [[spoiler: his father isn't really his father, and that his real parents are no better]], ends up living in the Mystery Machine parked by a lake.

* ''Series/ColdCase'': In "A Dollar, A Dream", a car is found at the bottom of a lake with the remains of a woman missing since 1999 inside. The detectives learn the woman had endured dire financial straights after her husband's death and was forced to live in the car with her two young daughters.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Greg Universe lives in his van even though he owns a fairly successful business (a car wash, whose parking lot he keeps his van in) and he built the house that Steven lives in[[note]]One episode explicitly states that he doesn't live there simply because he and the Gems don't get along, as by that point, they still hold him responsible for Rose's DeathByChildbirth.[[/note]]. [[spoiler:Even after becoming a ''[[RagsToRiches millionaire]]'', [[AffluentAscetic he still lives there]].]] Greg only moves into an actual house at the very end of the series, [[spoiler:after Steven moves out of it]].

* Finnick in ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'' appears to live in the van he and Nick use for their scams. Given that Judy finds him in there parked in an alley and he answers her knocking waving a bat.
* Fagan from Disney's ''Disney/OliverAndCompany'' lives in a beached and derelict trawler underneath a pier beside the Hudson River. The boat has no plumbing, no heat, and gets electricity by mooching from a dockside light pole. Fagan and his canine cohorts scrounge for a living.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Greg Universe lives in his van even though he owns a fairly successful business (a car wash, whose parking lot he keeps his van in) and he built the house that Steven lives in[[note]]One episode explicitly states that he doesn't live there simply because he and the Gems don't get along, as by that point, they still hold him responsible for Rose's DeathByChildbirth.[[/note]]. [[spoiler:Even after becoming a ''[[RagsToRiches millionaire]]'', [[AffluentAscetic he still lives there]].]]

* ''Film/TreeMan'': Francois, as well as several other Christmas Tree sellers, live in their vans on the streets of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity until Christmas.

* In ''Film/CorvetteSummer'', aspiring prostitute Vanessa lives in a van with her name painted on the side and a waterbed in the back.

->''I am 35 years old, I am thrice divorced, and I live in a VAN down by the RIVER!''
-->--Motivation Speaker [[Creator/ChrisFarley Matt Foley]], ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''

* In the ''Literature/DiogenesClub'' story "Cold Snap", Jamie Chambers is living the back of his van when Vanessa tracks him down. This is contrasted with his famous ancestor, Jonathan Chambers aka Dr Shade, who was a successful vigilante with a [[LandmarkingTheHiddenBase secret base in a major London landmark]].