Courtesy of Eli Young
While some children dream of living in castles, Eli Young dreamed of living in a car. Growing up, a toy orange Volkswagen bus was one of his most prized childhood possessions.
But when it was finally time to upgrade from the toy bus to a real one, the 25-year-old aspiring actor was priced out, he told Insider. The next best option to van-life? Living in a former ambulance.
"I found one on a government auction website," Young, whose video tour of his converted emergency bus recently went viral on TikTok, said. "When I first got it, there were still medical gowns and needles and fluids inside."
Over seven months of hard work, Young reconstructed the ambulance's interior to include a full-sized bed that folds out of the wall, a mini kitchen, a workspace, and a shower with running hot water.
Altogether, the renovations cost around $15,000, he told Insider — plus an additional $1,000 for taxes and registration on top of the $4,000 purchase price.
Courtesy of Eli Young
"I put a lot of thought into maximizing the space because I didn't want to cut a lot of corners," he said. "I wanted that full shower. I wanted a bed. I wanted everything my apartment had."
For three weeks in October, Young has parked his new mobile home in various parts of New York City while he works as an audio electrician on Broadway. He said he spends an average of $350 on gas and $100 on insurance each month — about 12% of the average rent for a one-bedroom in New York.
Courtesy of Eli Young
"I was renting an apartment on my own, throwing away a thousand dollars a month for something that was covered in mold, no air conditioning, no hot water, no security," he said. "I was really, really fed up."
Without the burden of rent, Young says he now has the freedom to pursue acting gigs around the country. This summer, he lived out of the ambulance while touring with a children's play across the Midwest.
Courtesy of Eli Young
"Gas is essentially my rent, and then I look at my insurance as my utilities," Young said, adding that even when he drove the 10 hours from the Midwest to New York, he spent less on gas that month than he previously did on rent.
"I've had the ability to just really get a different perspective on multiple cities in one year," he continued. "I feel very lucky because I just don't see myself packing up everything and paying rent in New York."
