This young family lived full time in their Airstream – and loved it
When Heather and Austin Holmes met in San Diego in Feb. 2018, it didn’t take long before they knew they were in it for the long haul. They decided to make a life plan together and, like many young couples, needed to pick where to live.
After over a year of research, they decided they would find the answer by embarking on a road trip exploring the United States via an Airstream attached to their pickup truck. While they were excited to see the country, they were really looking for the right place to plant roots. Starting in December 2019, they drove across the country, hitting 33 states, including Tennessee, Ohio and Florida, spending a day or two in a new town to see how they liked it. As the pandemic halted most travel, the couple was able to continue going by way of their Airstream, affectionately named Freya.
“When you’re living in an Airstream, I think you have more space and time to worry about what matters most,” Heather, formally known as Heather DeSantis, said about the experience.
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In the past three years, the couple experienced milestones living full time in the 23-foot-long Airstream, from dating to marriage, then pregnancy, and the birth of their daughter, Rose. They also made stops at Zion National Park, Key West and Mount Rushmore, to name a few.
Although the couple is now looking at building a home in Morganton, North Carolina, they know the Airstream will continue to play an integral role in their family.
The couple spoke to USA TODAY about how they fit their life in a van, what it was like to be pregnant in such a small space, and more about the Airstream lifestyle. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did Freya enter the plan?
Austin: When I was going on deployment in Nov. 2018, we went through all of our options, like are we going to Airbnb hop? Are we going to build out a van because that was the thing to do at that point? … I had some friends that were getting surf vans and adventure vans. Then we kind of fell in love with Airstream and the culture behind it, and just having a little more space, like having your home and all your comforts with you as you travel. We wanted the travel piece, and we also wanted to figure out where we wanted to live.
Heather: We would go to the different visitor centers to see what there is to do in each city. A lot of it was seeing what it’s like for young people. What’s it like to have a family? If you’re creative? Or, if you’re an entrepreneur, what is it like? We looked at how much sunshine, how much snow, and we literally had a spreadsheet. From that came a formula to end up where we are now: we chose North Carolina in the mountains between Charlotte and Asheville.
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What was the biggest surprise when it came to living in the Airstream?
Austin: The actual driving does eat up a little bit of time, but I’d spend a third of my time doing that organizational piece of figuring…
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