Why did we buy a school bus?

Well, in order for you to really understand why, we have to dip back into the past and talk about when and why we had to suddenly leave our Southeast Asia adventure. We got on a flight and came back to New York where we would quarantine for the next 6 months. There was nothing about ending our journey two whole months early that made us feel fulfilled. Coming home was the best option, yes, but we definitely were sad to say goodbye to that side of the world. So, how did we handle our sadness? We started to brain storm ideas that would make our traveling lifestyle continue but stay safe while the Global Pandemic continued to rule everyone’s lives. About two weeks into quarantine, Devin said “hey lets buy a bus to make into a tiny home” and like most things, I (Jade) said “well, okay” and the rest was history.

We talked about why a school bus would be a good fit for us and our goals and realized it was probably the perfect home for us to build. Wanting to travel world, but also loving when we had a home base while we are somewhere else in the world was a huge bonus when deciding that buying a school bus and joining the Skoolie community was for us. Then the research, planning and scouting began.

We began to look on eBay, Facebook marketplace and every other outlet that we could search “school bus for sale.” Neither of us had any idea what we were doing or getting ourselves into so YouTube videos began to rule our nights. Devin was focused on floor plans and physical interior designs and Jade was focused on the build skills and process. It wasn’t until the end of June that we stumbled upon what would become our beloved school bus, Atlas.

Devin stumbled upon Atlas while scrolling on Instagram and in the matter of an hour, we had a down payment sent and a date set to drive to Michigan and bring Atlas home. Atlas is a 1992 International 3800 with a Ward body, Diesel engine and a standard transmission. With only 31 thousand miles and stored inside for most of her life, buying Atlas was a no brainer.

So I guess the best way to answer, “why did we buy a school bus” is, it was a way to make the dreams of traveling full-time come true and motivate us be successful in the most non-traditional way. As we continue to step out of our comfort zone and follow our own Atlas, we hope our journey motivates you too, to follow your own Atlas.

BonBon Voyage my friends and be sure to #FollowtheAtlas!