Six Things to Consider Before Moving into a Converted School Bus, Part 1: Ethics

Why do you want a converted school bus? To travel America? School buses are not fuel efficient. Ours gets 4 miles to the gallon. If you want to travel, get a fuel efficient car and throw a tent in the back or try biking or hiking. We have driven our bus maybe 5 miles in the last four years. It is our home, not our RV. That's not to say don't ever drive your bus, of course moving to different living locations is part of the point of having a moveable home.

Have you considered the fact that people live in vehicles because they have no other choice? If you move into a bus because it looks fun, you may be making light of a serious situation that impoverished people all over the world experience: homelessness. Instead, consider how moving into a school bus will help people in desperate situations. You can give more money to charitable causes, save resources for future generations, and inspire your friends and family to be satisfied with less.

But don't become prideful about your eco-friendly, save the world lifestyle. There are many world saving tasks that are difficult to do when you live in a bus. For example, it is more difficult to invite in people who need a place to stay or to be a foster parent or to adopt children. 

Remember that you may only live in a bus for a season of your life. Later, you may live in a bigger space. You don't have to feel guilty about that, just look back on your time in a bus and think, "I didn't need x then. Do I really need it now?"