Nearly a year after moving into her Subaru, Bella Roams says she knows she "was meant to be nomadic"
Credit: thealchemists_garden/TikTok; Bella Roams
NEED TO KNOW
- Bella Roams began living in her car in 2025 due to the high cost of living in Washington state
- Her TikTok documenting nomadic life has gained 43,000 followers and connected her with a unique community
- Bella plans to save for a van, travel through the Americas, and eventually create a space for fellow nomads
Bella Roams was at a crossroads.
After relocating from San Diego to Washington state last year to be closer to family and friends, the 39-year-old temporarily moved in with her parents. But when it was time to find an apartment for herself, she just couldn't do it.
She hadn't lost her job or suffered a personal tragedy, she just couldn't stomach the high cost of living. So in July 2025, she packed up her things, put them in storage, and moved into her Subaru.
"It was kind of a decision that was made under duress, but it ended up being a gift in a lot of ways," Bella tells PEOPLE. She didn't tell anyone about her decision, mostly because she didn't want anyone to talk her out of it.
She took to TikTok instead, posting an impromptu video about the choice. That clip has now amassed more than 250,000 views, and Bella's TikTok account boasts 43,000 followers who keep up with her posts chronicling life in her car.
@thealchemists_garden
#carliving #vanlife #nomadic #nomadicliving #digitalnomadlife
♬ original sound – Bella Roams ✨
Bella's parents, who live on a houseboat and travel through the Pacific Northwest's San Juan Islands year-round, were concerned for her safety at first, despite their own unconventional living situation.
"I said to my dad, 'Why are you so concerned for me? You live on a boat, how safe is it out on the water?" Bella recalls. “They eventually agreed that this might be a good life for me.”
Bella, who works remotely for a business development nonprofit, says living in her car hasn't affected her job at all. “As long as I've got a strong cell signal, I can work from anywhere.”
Prior to making the leap, she had some experience with car living. Around three years ago, she rented a van for a week and traveled throughout the Pacific Northwest to celebrate her birthday. “I said, you know what, I love this, like I feel like I could do this full time, and so that had always stuck in my mind,” she says.
After nearly a year in her car, Bella has settled into her new life.
“I know that this is the life that was meant for me. I was meant to be nomadic, I was meant to live a more free and autonomous life,” says Bella.
The experience has taught her a lot about herself too, and has "changed her as a person," she says.
“No matter where you are, whether you're in a home, a car, or a billionaire living on an island, happiness is cultivated within you, and there is no amount of changing the scenery that's going to change that situation. But having to dive really deep into myself while I'm out on this journey has showed me that there's no better place to do it than out in nature, out at a beach, out in the forest," says Bella.
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Though she can get in her car and go anywhere, Bella mostly hops around several counties in Northwestern Washington, staying close to family, friends, and reliable amenities.
“I've got different places where there are free showers or low-cost showers that you can do coin operated. There are different places that I do my laundry, so I've got kind of a set routine within these few counties,” says Bella. “It's nice to know that I have a very comfortable routine within where I live, so that I know that I can get my basic needs met where I'm at.”
@thealchemists_garden
The dream ✨ #carliving #nomad #vanlife #solofemaletraveler #thirdspaces
♬ Our Love Was Beautiful – Instrumental Version – Straight White Teeth
But eventually, she'd like to branch out much further. Living in her car is allowing her to save up money to buy a van, which she plans to take on trips through the Western United States, and all the way down to Central and South America.
"I've always had an adventurous spirit, and the more cultures that I can experience, the more life experiences that I can collect, the greater value for me."
In the future, Bella hopes to buy a property where she has space to host other travelers.
"I would love to have an additional space, a third space for people that live this life, people within the nomadic community to have a space that they can come and go," says Bella. "A place for people to spend a night overnight as they're traveling through, a space for women that want to stay more longterm. Having that separate property is a dream of mine, next to a property where I can have a small cabin and a garden to retire in."
But life on the road isn't without it's challenges. One of her biggest is simply keeping her car clean, and keeping her dog, a 5-year-old goldendoodle named Lyla, on a consistent schedule.
“Every morning around the same time, we get up, she goes out for her potty, we come in, we snuggle, we cuddle for a little bit. I get ready for work, and then we go and I make coffee for myself."
Credit: Bella Roams
“We have a schedule that we keep that allows her to know what's happening each day, and I think that's really important for dogs. I also give her a lot of time outside the car, so if I have to be in the car working because of the weather, then as soon as I get off work, we are out in the forest, we are walking on the beach.”
"She's a really happy dog," Bella says. "Outside, even if I'm cooking, I try to bring her outside of the car. I hook her up to either a pavilion, picnic table, or to my vehicle with a long extended chain that allows her to wander around, sniff around, and have some exercise."
Though Bella lives on her own, she says safety isn't a major concern for her.
“I have a kind of hyper vigilance about me,” she explains. “I use a website that is called iOverlander, and it shows you safe parking in your area, places where people have slept overnight that have been safe, and so that is a really good resource.”
@thealchemists_garden
Better views while living in my car than any apartment I ever had 🤷🏻♀️ #carliving #nomad #solofemaletraveler #carcamping #vanlife
♬ original sound – dragonladyterri
Posting on TikTok has also introduced her to a community of fellow nomads, like her friend Josephine, who owns a property in Washington that she opens up to female travelers that need to stop by and stay a short period of time.
"It allows them space to rest and decompress while they're on their journey," says Bella. "She has been such a light in my life, and I wouldn't have met her if not for my TikTok account."
"I don't feel as lonely on the road, because I always feel like I have this community behind me that has been so supportive of this journey, and I know they love to see whatever I'm going through," she adds.
As for her online audience, Bella says she receives support from people of all backgrounds who relate to her openness about frustration with the cost of living.
“I have people from all across the spectrum, I have left-leaning people, I have right-leaning people, I have people that are centrists, I have people that don't participate in politics as a whole," says Bella.
“There's this wide range of people that identify with my content, and I think that people are exhausted. They work hard, they're responsible, they have careers and homes and obligations, and I think they feel so disconnected from freedom and adventure and spontaneity.”
“When they watch my content, I don't think that they just see someone living in their car, I think that they see someone who maybe stepped outside of the script for a little bit and asked what life could look like if they lived outside of the norm,” she continues.
Though she knows nomadic living is not for everyone, she believes her content strikes a chord with people who are questioning traditional life paths.
“I am not suggesting that everyone should move into a vehicle, but I do think that the response to my content says something important about the moment that we're living in in this cost of living crisis,” says Bella. “A lot of people are questioning whether the traditional path is actually delivering the quality of life that they're promised, and I think that that's something to be examined.”
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