Myers said that although she and her husband, both in their 60s, looked forward to having less space in their new home — particularly because less space sounded like less work — the trade-offs weren't worth it in the long run.
"Both of us chafed at the limited space and were frustrated with the lack of privacy," she said. "Our second bedroom was set up as an office and den and we even started using headphones to watch TV separately to avoid the sound disturbing each other."
Marketing consultant Marsha Kelly and her husband, both around 60 years old, downsized from a 4,300-square-foot house (with a 1,200-square-foot attached apartment) to a vintage VW van of under 100-square-feet.
"My husband talked me into joining the van life movement by moving into our vintage VW to travel the country — and the van is about as large as two walk-in closets," Kelly told Business Insider in an email. "We find that we mostly live outside of the van and use it as a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen on wheels," Kelly said.
Aside from a lack of privacy in the van, Kelly said that to fund their mobile life, they're renting out their house, which she said also feels like an invasion of privacy.
"I regret this decision because now my beloved home is being filled with strangers — and I had to throw away 75% of all my stuff," she said.