AN off-grid couple has traveled from Canada to Mexico and back in their converted 39-foot school bus.
Tanya Nestoruk and Arya Touserkani previously lived in a van to save money.
The Canada-based couple, who’ve been together for four years, have garnered over 141,000 followers on Instagram from sharing their life on the road.
Speaking to The U.S. Sun, Nestoruk, 31, revealed she met her boyfriend, 38, while volunteering at a beach clean up.
They renovated an old house to live in together before swapping it for a van to embrace off-grid living.
“We wanted to live as minimally as possible and save up,” she said.
“No mortgage, just living on the road and trying to use apps to find free campsites.”
Touserkani, who works as a photographer, previously had a background in building — but they also used YouTube to learn how to make their vehicle liveable.
They bought a school bus after deciding that they needed more space.
“When we first bought it, it had literally driven off its last school run and we got a temporary permit to take it with us,” she said.
“We didn’t even have a place to park it at first. We called a friend and asked if we could park it in their field.
“And everything kind of just came together.
“We started doing the demo and taking all the seats apart, taking the interior apart, the old insulation … just stripping it down.
Stripping the school bus was a “tedious process” but also fun because they got to see it as a blank canvas.
“We made a list of the things that we wanted and used photos of other houses to inspire us before settling on a design that we liked.
“It was all about maximizing space and finding creative storage solutions.”
They enlisted the help of friends with a “sanding party” to prep the bus for paint, taking it from bright yellow to a “relaxing seafoam green.”
The couple had help from professionals to install electricals and plumbing before getting the vehicle certified as an RV.
“We have a fridge-freezer that pulls out from under the counter,” Nestoruk said.
“Faux concrete in the shower and on the countertops and a used washer and dryer combo.
“Everything we purchased was from a Facebook marketplace.”
The couple bought the school bus for $72,000 and spent a further $40,000 on materials.
They welded on a four-foot deck to store their motorcycles.
Nestoruk admits it wasn’t easy living in their van while they were working on renovating the school bus.
“We were living in our van in winter slash spring in Canada and it was pretty intense for a while,” she said.
“We didn’t have showers and we’re just going to the community center or visiting our friends’ houses trying to make it work.
“When we were living in our van, we had a cooktop and a sink and it was a mini version of the bus in a sense.
“We tried to make it have the comforts of home in the style that we like but just in a smaller space.
“Then we got a short-term rental because I thought it would be better for our mental health.
“We ended up moving into the bus before it was finished and did the finishing touches on the road.”
Nestoruk said sleeping in the school bus is “luxurious” compared to sleeping in their van, as they have a king-size bed.
Other home comforts include an L-shaped sofa, wood stove, and a shower — however, they have more chores than living in a house.
“Making sure you have water, emptying your waste, and having your solars working,” she said.
“There’s a lot of different systems as we’re 100% off the grid.
“Just making sure we have all of our basic needs met takes a little more work than just living in a house.
“But then you have the option of living wherever you want and parking by the beach or in the mountains or wherever as well, which is really nice.”
Nestoruk said parking the bus is an “adventure,” and though it drives smoothly, it feels like a “boat.”
The couple uses the iOverland Free app to find places to stay for up to three weeks or park at friends’ and family’s houses.
“Cruising down the highway is hilarious,” she said.
“It takes a group effort to figure out where you want to park, one of us will go on Google Maps and look on a satellite view for parking lots and try to find the best way.
“If we get stuck, we have a backup camera to help us out and there’s so many windows that you don’t have blind spots.
“We have driven it by ourselves, but it’s just more fun when we’re doing that together.
This life isn’t just about the open road, it’s about a more sustainable way of travel and living.
“When we’re driving through Mexico, the roads were quite narrow so that was a bit tedious.
“But in the States and Canada, it’s generally been pretty fun.
“We get a lot of people that want to share their school bus stories or bring memories back from them of their family members or friends that have lived in school buses so that’s kind of fun to hear.”
She said living in a school bus isn’t as bad for the environment as people think, citing some diesel pickup trucks that get worse mileage than their bus’s 12-15mpg.
“We also reduce our footprint a lot by conserving water, powering from solar, composting toilet, etc.,” she said.
“This life isn’t just about the open road, it’s about a more sustainable way of travel and living.”
“We’ve been trying to take the time to research the best natural earth-friendly products that we can live as lightly as possible,” she continued.
“I’ve always been that person in high school and stuff, trying to find the most eco-friendly deodorants, toothpaste.
“When you’re traveling there are ways to do it leaving less trace and being more aware of how you can give back to the area such as doing cleanups.”
Nestoruk advises people considering living in a vehicle to try it before investing in a pricey conversion.
“See if you even like it, then see what do I need?” she said.
“Do I need a little toilet or cooking thing?
“Do I want a fridge or just a cooler, build it towards your lifestyle.”
Nestoruk and Touserkani have been traveling around Canada in recent months.
They plan to sell their bus after saving enough money to open their B&B.
“We have been testing a pop-up camper for weekend trips and to figure out a way where we can keep traveling and have that nomadic lifestyle on the weekends even if we have a house or have that project next,” she said.
“But for now we’re living in the bus full-time.”
