I didn't want to pay rent anymore, so I bought a $9,000 ambulance. I've converted it into a mobile home that I use to travel the country.

Wed, 09/06/2023 - 13:38

A man standing on a mountain and giving a thumbs up alongside an image of a decommissioned ambulance. — Kaden Smith (left) purchased a decommissioned ambulance (right) for $9,000 and spent $8,000 turning it into a home on wheels.
Courtesy of Kaden Smith

Kaden Smith, 23, wanted to live close to nature but couldn't afford rent in Colorado or Arizona.
To escape high rents, he moved into an ambulance he bought off of Facebook Marketplace for $9,000.
Smith spent $8,000 converting the ambulance into a mobile home and vlogs about traveling in it.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kaden Smith, 23, who lives in a retired ambulance that he purchased for $9,000 and spent $8,000 converting into a livable space to avoid paying high rents in the US. The following has been edited for length and clarity.