MOTOR HOME

---

After decades of urbanization, Americans are beginning to flee the noise and hustle of

big cities to return to the quiet and sustainability of the land. 277 New Yorkers, 201

Angelenos, and 161 Chicagoans move out of their cities each day, which is more than

double the last year’s rate. 

Younger generations are leading the exodus, citing the near-

impossibility of home ownership under a skyrocketing cost of living. Despite its history

as the traditional mark of success in this country, owning property no longer holds

appeal in millennial eyes. 

Many of these younger Americans trade in the conventional

brick-and-mortar house for motorhomes, favoring their sustainability and mobility. Our

documentary seeks to explore this new American homestead and the modern nomads living it.

This documentary will follow a few of the one million Americans that have left their stationary

homes on the traditional suburban block in favor of motor homes equipped with

kitchens, baths, and bedrooms. 

Over the course of a year, Anna will travel across the

country in an Airstream trailer to live with and explore three types of unorthodox

communities: Harvest Host Locations, which have RV camping at 1321+ wineries,

breweries, farms and attractions across America; WWOOF (willing workers on organic

farms) host farms, which is a cultural and educational program offering free room and

board to members in exchange for their participation in farm work, and BLM land.

Although there’s no official term for this lifestyle, most refer to themselves as digital

nomads, workampers, and/or full-time RVers.

Understanding the need to replace old ideals of material ownership, these

contemporary pioneers measure success not through excess, but instead strip down

their possessions to the essentials, living a “near-the-grid” lifestyle. 

We want to focus on

a select few of the most important moments and people participating in this movement

to highlight the wide range of reasons for their nomadism, including the freedom to

travel, a return to nature, and living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Most of these people need jobs to fund their travels, opting for novel modes of work to

support their novel lifestyle. Some work remotely by logging in from their motor home.

Others pick up “gig work” from sites like Workamper or from Workamper Facebook

groups, some which have over 40k members. Big companies, like Amazon and J.C.

Penney, have programs that specifically recruit RVers to help at warehouses during

holiday seasons. 

We would like to delve into the different types of people living and

working out of their trailer and also get to know the people and companies that make it

possible: including retailers and renovation projects, people using the trailers as hotels,

families who have gone “off the grid,” and creatives using the mobility and space of

trailers as a traveling office.