Aisha Trent is a 31-year-old seasonal worker, minimalist, and car dweller who’s spent the past two and a half years living out of her Toyota 4Runner—and doesn’t see herself going back. (@norent_trent)
After losing both parents in a tragic car accident, Aisha decided life was too short to wait for permission. She downsized everything she owned, traded a Ford Fiesta for a 4Runner, and built a life centered on nature, healing, and independence. Now she sprays invasive weeds and algae from boats and shorelines each summer in Illinois, saving enough to take winters off for time with friends, or more recently, long solo road trips through Colorado, Oregon, and Arizona.
We talk about why she prefers waking up surrounded by windows instead of walls, and how she and her boyfriend make “driveway living” work. Aisha also reflects on growing up insecure, her time in eating disorder treatment, and how outdoor simplicity became her therapy.
She’s currently considering a short return to full-time work—just long enough to pay off her student loans and car debt and buy back even more freedom. But first she’ll be collecting her inaugural passport stamps in Austria and the Philippines.
Aisha’s favorite quote: “It’s all lies. Back to nature—the only truth.” (from the music producer Rick Rubin)
Full transcript: dirtbagrich.com/aisha
Recorded in October 2025.
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript. Typos and mistakes exist!
Blake Boles (00:01)
Aisha Trent, welcome to Dirtbag Rich.
Aisha Trent (00:04)
Hi Blake, thanks for having me.
Blake Boles (00:08)
Where did you wake up this morning?
Aisha Trent (00:11)
I woke up in my mobile home, which is an SUV 4Runner. ⁓ And I was in my boyfriend’s driveway. Parked in my boyfriend’s driveway.
Blake Boles (00:24)
As a former Toyota 4Runner owner, ⁓ I’m a big fan of sleeping in those cars. Is it a comfortable place to sleep? Is it roomy?
Aisha Trent (00:34)
Yes, very roomy, super comfortable. I mean, I prefer sleeping in my car usually, most of the time, so.
Blake Boles (00:43)
Yeah,that’s what caught my eye when you first reached out to me. You said that you prefer to sleep and wake up in your car rather than in a house. Like, why?
Aisha Trent (00:52)
I think it’s because my 4Runner, I mean, even though I do have window covers up when I go to sleep, depending where I’m at, of course, at a campsite, I’d like to keep them down. But ⁓ even if they’re all up, I like to pop my sunroof open a little bit. ⁓ But I think it’s because of how many windows are on the car. So like when I wake up, it feels like I’m waking up outside and a house can feel kind of just like blocked in, especially if there’s not a lot of windows. And just the feelings of being in a home, I feel like I’ve noticed over time can feel very restricting or just like you get caught up in staying in the home. So part of the reason I actually got the 4Runner versus a like transit, a Ford Transit van is because I was like, you know what?
Blake Boles (01:27)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Aisha Trent (01:53)
I probably, well, I don’t like to cook really. So I was like, I probably won’t need a kitchen. And then I was like, well, I don’t really want to have a bathroom either because I don’t want to deal with cleaning up after my own stuff and dumping my own shit and stuff. so.
Blake Boles (02:09)
I love your brutal honesty.
Aisha Trent (02:13)
So I didn’t wanna deal with that and then I was like, you know what, it’s probably best, I probably don’t need all this space and if anything, I’m getting this mobile home so that I can get myself outdoors more. And so even just the act of having to get outside to go use a bathroom is what gets me up and going. And it’s like in a house, you wake up and you have the bathroom there, you have the food there. So it’s like, you have everything you need for the most part in the home. And it makes it harder to go outdoors, in my experience, in my opinion at least. So yeah.
Blake Boles (02:50)
I think that’s absolutely true. It’s like waking up in a tent, you have only one choice. It’s like I’m going to go outdoors. Now, as out of necessity and out of desire, hopefully.
Aisha Trent (02:57)
Yes.
Blake Boles (03:03)
you also told me that buying the 4Runner was an impulsive and perhaps expensive decision that you partially regret. Tell me more.
Aisha Trent (03:12)
Yeah, I was just so urgent to get out there. So my rent or lease was up with my roommates that I was living with. It was a coworker actually and three of his guy friends. We were living in a house and it was up in November, I believe. And at the time I had a Ford Fiesta, a little, little tiny car. And.
I was like, well, once I’m done at this house, I’m going to downsize and make sure everything that I own can fit into my Ford Fiesta. And so that’s what I did. And I was actually out of there for maybe a couple of weeks. And then I was like, yeah, I really just, was like researching a bunch even before like my rent, my lease was up. And so.
I don’t know, was just like after finally being out the house and in my car for a couple weeks and staying at friends and family as well. I was just like, I really just wanna get this going and pick a car, get it and start living this way and having that much more room compared to the Ford Fiesta. And so yeah, I kinda just found one, the exact one I was looking for and.
Yeah, I just traded my car in and I’m like, whatever the price is, I’m just gonna go for it. you know, I was just very, you know, antsy about just finally living this lifestyle since it was like right there from downsizing and everything and being out of a house.
Blake Boles (04:54)
We’ll circle back to talking about your car loans a bit later. You told me that you feel like you’re a rookie dirt bag because you’ve only been living out of your car for two and a half years. But that’s actually a really long time, Aisha. And I think many people who dream about this life, whether they have a fancy van or they have a smaller car or an SUV like you, I think it can be glorious for a few weeks or few months.
Aisha Trent (05:02)
Mm.
Yes.
Blake Boles (05:23)
When the weather is nice, but a lot of people quickly grow out of this because they, want and need those creature comforts of living in a house. So you’ve actually been doing this for, I think, quite a long time. I would not label you rookie. And, ⁓ and I’m curious, like, where did this, this dream, it sounds like you knew you wanted to do this for quite a while. So where did this, this dream of living out of a sweet vehicle begin for you?
Aisha Trent (05:23)
Mm-hmm.
It’s kind of, I was reflecting a lot on this too. I don’t feel like there is really a set point, but ⁓ I will say what catapulted me into doing it was my parents’ death. But starting from, ⁓ 2017, no 2016 is when I stumbled across a picture on Instagram, I think it was, of someone that had a van build in an Astro van.
and it had like a bed and like a little kitchen area. I was like, that’s pretty sweet. And so I feel like since then, I don’t know, it’s hard to kind of answer that, but in 2017 is also the first time I took like my spontaneous, impulsive, sporadic nature solo trip, which was to the Smoky Mountains. ⁓ And I was just finishing my work.
as a seasonal worker, as an aquatics applicator. so the season was over and I remember I just had time and I didn’t really want to work at the time either. I mean, I didn’t have much bills at the time. I was with my parents. so ⁓ I, yeah, I remember I hiked at Starved Rock one weekend and then I was like, hmm, I want to go somewhere else. And I was like, I’ve always wanted to go to the Smoky Mountains.
And one morning, thought that to myself and I was like, well, if I can find a cheap hotel, I think I’m gonna make the 10 hour drive to Tennessee and do this thing. And so I did and I left and didn’t really say anything until later on when my mom asked where I was. And so, yeah, I went to the Smoky Mountains and then on my way back I stopped at Nashville. ⁓
And I think that was the first moment where it really showed me that I was kind of the one and my fears and my thoughts were the ones that was what was in the way of me from doing something. And so I was like, wow, this is something I wanted to do. I thought about it. I planned it and I went and did it. And so it was just like that first taste of like, wow, freedom and like actually doing something I wanted to do.
Blake Boles (08:08)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, like real agency, real autonomy.
Aisha Trent (08:14)
Yes, so I think that was the start of it. And I remember coming back from that trip that I started going to open mics ⁓ too. And so I started to really notice that feeling I would get of nerves. Because even while I was there, I was nervous to go out and hike by myself, nervous to go out in the town of Nashville by myself and get food and go to a coffee shop. ⁓ And so I remembered that feeling. And so when I came back,
I started going to open mics a bunch and had that same feeling and would just tell myself or analyze and be like, is this something you want? What kind of fear is this? Is it like danger fear or just like fear of being judged and putting yourself out there? And so it’s like when it was that type of fear, I would try to push myself to go do the things that scared me, but like in a good way. And so I would go to a bunch of open mics a lot and just started like adventuring out. a little more I would say. Yeah.
Blake Boles (09:13)
How old were you at that point and where were you based in the US?
Aisha Trent (09:18)
I was in the suburbs of Chicago and so I was, how old was I? Gosh, I have to do some math. It was 2017. So that was almost 10 years ago. I don’t know, are you faster at math than me? Eight years ago, so yeah, early
Blake Boles (09:36)
early 20s.
Aisha Trent (09:39)
So yeah, 23 is when I started my seasonal job.
Blake Boles (09:43)
And let’s keep going back down the timeline here. ⁓ Tell me a bit more about what it was like growing up for you and whether you had any models in your life of people who did outdoor adventure, who went ⁓ on big travel trips, the kind of stuff that you have come to embrace or working in the outdoors, ⁓ seasonal work. Did you have models in your life for that? Where did these seeds become planted?
Aisha Trent (10:15)
You know, I don’t really feel like I had models for that growing up. I think after like seeing that one picture on Instagram and then going out and going to the Smoky Mountains, ⁓ I think maybe at that time when I was 23, I would like follow more accounts like that, but I don’t specifically remember doing that at that time really. ⁓
Yeah, I’m like the only one in my family or the people I grew up around Well, my friend loves the outdoors too. I have a couple friends and one of my girlfriends she Would always go biking outside and love to walk or go on runs and so I would do those things with her too and we enjoyed that ⁓ but for the most part Yeah, I don’t really think there was any models for that growing up. And it just kind of happened. And honestly, I also think that part of there’s some connection with this lifestyle and the outdoors that I think relates heavily to me wanting to heal and work through traumas and like do therapy as well. I don’t know if that sounds weird, but I feel like.
Blake Boles (11:43)
Hmm, like nature as therapy.
Aisha Trent (11:48)
Yes, nature is therapy and just in a way it seems like going through that journey of working on myself, the more I feel like I overcame struggles, know, personal struggles and other struggles is the more I found myself wanting to be outside more and just living more simply.
Blake Boles (12:17)
Well, let’s talk about your time in college, because I know that that’s like a big part of your story too. Maybe just tell us what you studied, what you thought you wanted to do with your degree. And then, and then there was this kind of pivotal moment close to the end of your, program. I’d love to hear about.
Aisha Trent (12:17)
Yeah, of course. So yeah, in 2017 is when I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in exercise science. just the reason I even got that degree was because growing up and going to school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. And I didn’t really know much of what was out there either. Like when I think back, when I was trying to decide what to do, all I thought of was like, there’s a business degree, or I can be an accountant, or I knew that there was exercise science or nursing. And so, out of similar degrees like that, or more of the, I don’t know if they’re necessarily the major degrees, but more common ones, I guess. Yes. Be a doctor. Yeah, yeah, so.
Blake Boles (13:21)
Like, yeah, the safe ones, you know you can always get a job in them. Maybe they’re not that sexy or interesting, but yeah, secure.
Aisha Trent (13:32)
And so I was like, I don’t know what to do. I tried, I did try accounting because I was good at math. I feel like that’s kind of gone away. But I was like, this is very time consuming. This is not fun. I didn’t want to do that. And then I went into athletic training and I was like, I can’t handle blood. If I have a bloody nose, I’ll I almost pass out. I was like, so I can’t do that. And I was like, well, I’ll just do exercise science and be a trainer. And I thought of being a strength and conditioning coach as well, but I hated the programming. It’s very long and intensive. And so, yeah, that’s why I picked that degree because growing up, I worked out a bunch and just dealt with a lot of body image issues and bad eating habits and just being extremely insecure. And so by the time I graduated, I was in therapy at the college doing counseling. And it just got really, really bad where it was giving me lot of anxiety because my degree, and I was interning as a strength and conditioning coach at my school. So I was around a bunch of athletes. And I was just extremely insecure at the time as well. And so was always, it was just like in my mind constantly and comparing myself to everyone. And I would talk about it with my counselor there.
And she basically, two months before I graduated, she suggested, she’s like, you know, this is getting in the way of your day to day life. And I think you probably should check yourself in to like some treatment facility for eating disorders. And I took that advice and figured out that I was still able to graduate while going to that program. My professors were very supportive during that, thankfully, and even my job at the time. I was a personal trainer at a community college. And so, yeah, I went to get treatment for two months for an eating disorder and it was started off Monday through Friday for I think six or eight hours a day and then trickled off to like less hours I think and then like every other day towards the last month. And yeah, that kind of was, Yeah, I don’t know, that was a lot. And yeah, and so I graduated and didn’t feel like I deserved the degree because of the two months I wasn’t there. I was very, probably, I don’t know if more insecure, because that program definitely did help me, but I wouldn’t say it healed me. I still had a lot of work to do the next years to come, even up until now.
Blake Boles (15:57)
Yeah, it sounds like it.
Aisha Trent (16:23)
But, you know, I graduated with that degree in exercise science and I was like, I don’t want to work in this degree. I don’t know what I’m going to do. And so at the time, my friend, my outdoor friend, she was working at this company that she worked seasonally at and she would do bike crew, which is basically it was a mosquito company. So you would just go around and bike through neighborhoods and drop like these pellets into the catch basins and I was like, you know what, maybe I’ll do this after I graduated for the season and while I figure out what I’m gonna do next. ⁓ And so that’s what I did and I was like, and it has a timeline, so like, it’ll give me time to have a job and some income before I figure out what I’m gonna do next. And basically, I’ve been working there ever since.
Blake Boles (17:19)
Getting to be outdoors, sending nuclear bombs at unwanted insects.
Aisha Trent (17:26)
Yes, that’s hilarious. That was the, actually what I went, applied for the job to do, but I didn’t end up doing that, because that crew got fulled really quickly, because that was the more popular crew. And so they were like, well, this is full, and we have these other crews where you spray mosquitoes and have chances of getting stung by bees, or do you want to make an extra dollar and be on a boat? And I was like, that sounds awesome, like yes, I’ll take the boat an extra dollar, please. So that’s what I did. yeah, and I ended up really loving that job. It’s outdoors every day. It’s very independent. You get to be on a boat or you’re spraying off of a backpack along the pond. It’s not micromanaged. But the part that I hate the most about it is the chemicals, it’s like the pros, I don’t know, it’s kind of like, it almost outweighs, I mean it obviously does, because I’m still doing it. That pearl of being outdoors and getting to be on water and in nature every season, it outweighs the chemical spray. Yeah.
Blake Boles (18:47)
And just to, before we move on to your work right now and your free time, it sounds like your experience in college, doing the exercise science degree, ending up going to the therapeutic program for eating disorders. This all happened kind of just before your like nature Renaissance moment around age 23.
Aisha Trent (18:51)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Blake Boles (19:12)
And so I actually want to dwell on this for a moment because this is something that I don’t think gets talked about publicly too much, which is the relationship between people who are super into the outdoors, which includes a lot of the people who I interview and myself included. ⁓ And then yeah, body image issues, ⁓ eating disorders, ⁓ this desire to appear fit to be like a super fit person and how that relates to like how we choose to spend our free time, especially when you get into the world of like ultra running or Iron Man’s, all the hardcore endurance stuff. And what have you observed in this realm among your own friends, among other people who are into the outdoors? How much like healthy obsession do you see or experience and how much perhaps borders on unhealthy?
Aisha Trent (20:14)
Honestly, I feel like it is something the majority, almost everyone probably deals with and some people are just maybe better at hiding it than others. ⁓ Yeah, I just see it in many ways, in little different ways. ⁓ Even just like hanging out with friends and they’ll just say, I look like shit today. Like I don’t have makeup and my hair’s not done kind of thing or like with appearance in that way. Or even with people that are like, my God, I ate so much, like, I need to not eat so much the next day, or I need to go run this off kind of thing. ⁓ So just, don’t, I feel like I see it constantly, kind of, ⁓ and it’s.
Blake Boles (21:15)
And are you talking about your friends in general or your more outdoorsy friends?
Aisha Trent (21:19)
I guess like friends and like even with family or just, you know, coworkers, just like anybody I kind of come across and you say outdoor friends and I do, I mean, yeah, my girlfriend and then my boyfriend and another girlfriend. I don’t have many outdoor friends, but I would say the closer ones to me do enjoy the outdoors, but maybe not to the extent that I do. I don’t know, but go ahead, sorry.
Blake Boles (21:55)
Yeah, maybe it’s not, maybe I’m even painting this in the wrong light, you know, based on what you’re saying, you’re like, actually kind of everyone has body image issues and struggles with self worth in this department. And then some of us have figured out how to like channel this into a healthy obsession with being outdoors. And then other people channel it in much less healthy ways. Maybe I shouldn’t be picking on outdoors people. Maybe we’re doing something right by.
Aisha Trent (21:59)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Blake Boles (22:23)
you know, going out into nature and getting fresh air and getting, you know, all these happy chemicals pumped into our brain while also nurturing our body image issues.
Aisha Trent (22:28)
Yes. Yeah.
Mm-hmm. mean, yeah, I mean, I think it’s kind of weird because it’s like, I don’t know how to say it, because I don’t want to influence anything either, but it’s like being outdoors and active is beneficial, right? So it’s like, that’s where it gets like sticky and weird is because it’s like, it’s good for you. But then some people become, I guess what matters most is the intent behind it. Am I doing this because I had a big meal yesterday and I think I’m fat and need to lose some weight for some event? Or my pants are getting a little tighter or whatever. And so it’s like, am I doing it because of that? Or am I doing this because this is what I enjoy and like to do and it makes me feel good and I love and care for my body and I wanna take care of it and give back to it.
Blake Boles (23:13)
Mm-hmm.
Aisha Trent (23:31)
Rather than hate it into looking a certain way or like, you know, trying to fit some standard or from comparison and whatnot. So it’s like, I think the intent behind why we are physically active and why even just like appearance too.
Yeah, growing up I worked out a lot, like I said, and I was obsessed with working out and I would even not eat or overeat. there was a point where I’d work out so much and only eat a protein bar a day because I wanted to be thin. this was honestly, I struggled with this since the third grade. That early on, I remember seeing a taken of me or not, it was like a printed picture, like those old.
Blake Boles (24:19)
Whoa.
Aisha Trent (24:27)
Film codec cameras and I remember seeing one in my classroom and I was wearing these jeans and a shirt that was kind of tight and my stomach was like hanging over my jeans a little and I remember that bothered me and I would compare myself to everyone in my class and most of them were a lot, you know, pretty slim. Like, I was definitely a chubby kid. mean, and so, yeah, I mean in middle school some people called me King Kong.
And I just dealt with a lot and hated myself from unfortunately a very young age. And actually, don’t, sorry if I’m rambling too much, but I actually have a, I found an old journal a couple years ago and it’s, I think it was maybe like fifth or middle school. And it’s actually super sad.
Blake Boles (25:10)
Go for it.
Aisha Trent (25:26)
And it was something I wrote about being bullied and it says, I share this? Okay.
So it said, I’ll share, there’s actually two ones, but it says, hate it when my friends always make fun of me. I don’t even do anything. They always make fun of what I am and they don’t even know how they act. Do they ever think of how horrible they make me feel? They always make fun of me because of my big meals. Well, I’m sorry I’m not who you want me to be and I’m sorry I was born with an ugly body.
Sometimes they’re nice, but then they always gotta make fun of me. Sorry I don’t care so much about my body and that I don’t care how I look. You are too vain and if somebody would ever say you’re fat, I bet that you would complain. Why do you always care about yourself? Why don’t you care about someone else? Well, whatever, be who you want to be. Then soon you will see why, say why doesn’t anyone like me?
And if that does happen one day, let me tell you why. It’s because you always make people cry. I think I was talking about a bully. I may be wrong in that you only make fun of me. And if this makes you cry, then I’m sorry. It’s just I’m trying to show how you act to me. I don’t know why my friends make fun of me. I guess they don’t like who I want to be. Do I belong here because people make me break down in tears? I don’t know what to do to make them stop. I think I like it better.
at home with my mom because my mom has been acting nice around me and all I know it’s better than my friends making fun of me. I’m not trying to make my friends mad. It’s just I wonder why you guys make me sad.
Blake Boles (27:20)
How old were you?
Aisha Trent (27:21)
I feel like with that writing, I was probably like middle school maybe I would say, sixth grade or something. It’s very deep. The other one is even more sad. It was like a little poem of like not, yeah. Yeah, it’s depressing. Yeah, sorry. I probably got away from the question too.
Blake Boles (27:27)
Yeah. That’s some pretty profound stuff right there.
All right. I think that’s enough sadness for me on this recording. That’s okay.
I mean, the question here is, is how much, like you said, what are the intentions behind people like us who like to spend intensive time moving our bodies in the outdoors? And you mentioned that Instagram, when you were in Chicago was this.
Aisha Trent (27:55)
Mm-hmm.
Blake Boles (28:08)
This thing that like introduced you to van life. And you’re like, Whoa, that’s cool. It kind of opened up this door to this other world that you live in. I know that social media does that in general for all sorts of outdoor sports, climbing, hiking, et cetera. and at the same time, there’s just a lot of beautiful people, on these accounts that we get drawn toward and, and how much of that and how much of, of wanting to, to have their bodies drives this desire to be a super outdoors person. These are open questions for me and I’m glad that we get a chance to talk about this because it hasn’t come up in these interviews yet.
Aisha Trent (28:51)
Mm Yeah, I remember. think what I was leading to say, too, is that growing up, I. ⁓ You know, with all these insecurities and eating issues and body image issues, I literally would wear makeup every day, straighten my hair and always had to have a nice outfit. And I wouldn’t leave the house unless all those things were checked off. And I actually recently in twenty twenty two of November decided to go on this like no makeup journey. And so ever since then, I’ve really stopped wearing makeup. I wear my natural hair all the time, even before then too. And I am such a minimalist too, which is what van life taught me as well, transitioning and moving into my 4Runner. So I really try, like I got rid of a lot of clothes. I feel like I still want to get rid of more. But yeah, I really don’t care much about appearance at all and it feels great and freeing to just be myself wherever I go and that’s what I want for everyone honestly.
Blake Boles (29:57)
Yeah. That’s a big version of liberation. Okay, let’s talk a bit more about your work and time and how you manage your money. And so if I got this correctly, you get paid to be outdoors largely on the water, spraying some unwanted insects, but also doing water samples. It sounds like the kind of stuff that like a biologist or a chemist would be prepared to do, but you have your exercise science degree.
Aisha Trent (30:04)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Blake Boles (30:29)
Did you just like learn everything you need to on the job?
Aisha Trent (30:33)
Yeah, since and actually working that job since I was just a seasonal there were full timers there and they would like tell me what their degrees in and there would be like environmental science or like aquatic biology and I was like I didn’t even know these degrees existed growing up until like working that job. I’m like, wow, I wish I knew of this. I probably would have taken that route going through college. But yeah, pretty much as a seasonal, you just work or you learn the work there. And yeah, you’re just, you usually are helping a full timer or on your own if you pick it up pretty quick. And it is spraying weeds and algae. So yeah, on the waters.
Blake Boles (31:16)
And you mentioned that this was just going to be a transition job until you figured out what else you want to do, but you’ve ended up sticking with it for years. So what’s the, what’s the draw for you?
Aisha Trent (31:24)
Yup.
Definitely the outside part of it every day and being in nature and it’s a different, you know change of scene week to week and The physical activity part of it. It’s like you’re moving your body and The the seasonal work too, yeah, and just like the work the my co-workers too and so Yeah, I’m just not one that ever wanted a desk job. like after working that and like having a job I liked because I’ve tried many other jobs to along the way and like some sprinkled here during off season but never lasted long and I would quit and just go back to this job. And yeah I guess it’s really just. You know the outdoors it’s your body’s moving change of scenery not micromanaged there’s some independence there and.
Yeah, it’s fun. If only it wasn’t chemicals. It’s just, yeah. Yeah.
Blake Boles (32:29)
If only I wasn’t spraying terrible, terrible chemicals.
And you seem to get like three or four months off each winter, right? That’s great. That’s way more than like a teacher gets.
Aisha Trent (32:39)
True, yeah. My best friend’s a teacher. Well, yeah, she hasn’t been for a while, but she has kids.
Blake Boles (32:48)
So how do you spend your time in those winters?
Aisha Trent (32:58)
So in the winters since 2017, I mean, I guess I’ve been doing this sometimes or most of the time, I think I would just like, you know, try to be outside and hang out with friends and also trying to figure out what to do with my life. Because at the time, especially in the early years, I’m like, well, this is not acceptable in society. And I’m sure my parents, my parents were not proud of me not working in the off season and I needed to find a full-time job or figure out what I was gonna do. So actually like in 2022, no, 2022, 2021 I think, I got, I worked really hard and tried to get a full-time position there. But I know that they favored people with degrees, but I think because I was there for many years that they finally let me in. And so I was able to work full time, but it’s kind of funny because after that happened, like a few months later, we got bought out and everything went to crap kind of. And so I left and went to a different company as a seasonal too, because part of the deal when I worked there, my boss, I made sure I was like, in the off season, it’s really slow and it’s more like desk work.
And so was like, am I able to still travel while in the off season when it was like we’re not outside and doing more remote stuff? And so he let me do that. And I was set on that. And then when we got bought out, they weren’t going to let me do that. So I went to another company and went back to seasonal. And so but also other other things. Yeah, I just like to spend my time outdoors in 2023, no, the end of 2023, yeah, going into 2024 is when I finally took a trip and spent that whole time off in my 4Runner and traveling in a lot of places. I went to California, Oregon, Utah, Arizona. Where else? I did stop at the Badlands.
Blake Boles (34:59)
Where’d you go?
Aisha Trent (35:16)
But yeah, I mainly stayed in those areas. I have a friend in Oregon. I have a cousin in Arizona. I had some family and my friend had a wedding in California at the time while I was traveling, so that worked out nice. Oh, and Colorado. Did I not say Colorado? What in the world? That was like my number one. Oh my goodness, Colorado. Yes, I went there.
Blake Boles (35:32)
You did not say Colorado. How could you forget Colorado?
So earlier in your winter’s off, you were having a bit more of like an existential crisis on repeat because you’re like, I’m not allowed to not work. But it sounds like you eventually settled into it and then were able to start doing more long travel. But it sounds like you also prioritize a lot of time with friends and just being able to hang around. And are you able to live off your savings?
Aisha Trent (35:48)
Yes.
Blake Boles (36:09)
during this time and just in general, like the work that you’re doing, does it allow you to save up a good amount of money so that you feel comfortable and can do what you want during the off season?
Aisha Trent (36:22)
Yes, absolutely. The pay is from what I started into what I’m getting now is like pretty decent amount. And I’m definitely able to save because I don’t pay rent. My car and probably my student loans add up to rent. So it’s just nice not to have rent on top of that. And honestly, not until this year, I would say, is when I really dialed in and focused on saving money a lot more and like actually tracking more than I used to. In general, I’m someone that likes to over calculate my expenses so I always just have like more than I think. But yeah, I forgot the question. Did that answer your question? Sorry.
Blake Boles (37:15)
Yeah, just the finances of your life. There’s a lot of people when they think like, taking four months off would be cool, but I couldn’t afford to do that because I don’t have that much money saved up or my income matches my monthly expenses. so seasonal work is not that simple. A lot of people think it sounds cool, but then they’re like, I actually have to be like pretty financially savvy to make this work.
Aisha Trent (37:27)
Mm-hmm.
Yes. And yeah, I forgot to mention, I do go on unemployment as well. So in the off season. Yes. But it is very impossible. So anyone that’s listening, you should definitely give it a shot. It’s just planning and managing your finances, kind of, and giving up certain things.
Blake Boles (37:52)
Like what?
What are you giving up?
Aisha Trent (38:11)
For me, would say, mean, it all depends on the person, I guess, but I definitely was back in the day someone that would grab Starbucks, like coffee and a breakfast sandwich every morning before going into work. And it’s just like, that adds up, especially now with how expensive everything is. So yeah, stuff like that. Obviously not paying rent is nice.living out of my vehicle. What else do I give up? I’m just not someone that, again, like tying into like image and stuff, like I don’t spend maybe a typical thing, you know, other women spend stuff on is like, you know, makeup, jewelry, clothes, and obviously like if you have a home, like furniture and stuff for home stuff like going in a Target that gets you pretty quick to buy a bunch of things you don’t need. And just eating out all the time, which actually I do kind of do, but I try to be very mindful. And with that, what else? I’m trying to think.
Blake Boles (39:16)
Mm-hmm.
It sounds like you’re doing the standard dirt bag minimalist equation here. And as you already identified, if you just don’t have a house that you need to furnish and you can put stuff in, then it’s just a much lower incentive structure for, yes, mindlessly buying stuff. And how does your boyfriend feel about you using his, I assume you’re using the bathroom, the kitchen? The Wi-Fi, all those sweet utilities, the toilet that you don’t have to clean. Is it like a positive symbiotic relationship or does it ever get into a more stressful parasitical type situation?
Aisha Trent (40:02)
Yeah, definitely both, but also he actually doesn’t have internet. we do, we have a lot of similarities too. Like I feel like he totally could live out of a van as well. And he is, he said he would totally try that. But, and he’s into outdoors and stuff and he likes to run marathons and is active as well. And so yeah, he doesn’t have internet and it’s, been both like.
We work great together, but we did struggle for some time, mainly me just kind of, I don’t know, spiraling into my own and selfishly just focusing on my needs, not getting met of, really, because I think right before we met, was, that’s when I started, I was already like living out of my 4Runner and just enjoying that and it was like fresh in the start of that. And so like when we started dating and hanging out more and hanging out at his house and then it kind of turned into me like kind of staying there for some time and I just noticed falling back into just ⁓ just like what I was explaining earlier of that feeling of waking up in a home and like feeling stuck at his house. And so I really had to work through that and it took some time.
Blake Boles (41:30)
Hmm.
Aisha Trent (41:39)
but we figured it out and now it’s like I have, we find balance in me still sleeping in my vehicle and parking in his driveway and still sleeping in the house sometimes and just, I feel like we’ve figured out a balance of me and for both of us to have our independence still while being together. And he fully supports me in all of it, which is so great. He’s awesome.
Blake Boles (42:06)
Hmm. Wonderful. Let’s go back to the moment you mentioned earlier in the episode about your parents passing away. And I know that this was like a fairly big turning point for you. Can you just kind of set the scene and, and then talk about what changed in your life?
Aisha Trent (42:15)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, so in July, on July 20th of 2020, my parents ⁓ suddenly and tragically passed away in a car accident on their way to work. ⁓ And obviously that was an extremely hard time. It will be forever. Just something that I’ll have to grieve and deal with. But I would say their death and just going through that and Yeah, for some reason, early on after it happened, something I thought to myself was, know, if I basically putting myself in my mom’s shoes and like, if I had a daughter and I passed tragically, ⁓ like my mom did, what would I want for my daughter? Like, I was like, I wouldn’t want my daughter to become extremely depressed, you know, given to bad habits for coping with my death and I wouldn’t want them to become ill from me dying. What I would want for them is to have my death show them that life is short and that to live their life as much as they can with the time that they have and to let my death kind of be the reason that they go for everything that they want in life. And so, yeah, that’s something that I kind of have thought of and has kept me going, I’d say, because don’t get me wrong, when it happened, I’d say the first year was a struggle. And I totally was definitely drinking. I wouldn’t shower. I just was so depressed.
I think having that in the back of my mind and even my job, honestly, like having that job and it’s forced me to be outdoors helped a lot as well with healing and, you know, this whole van life dirtbag journey has helped kind of heal that as well. to my parents death for sure is what catapulted me into and pushed me towards going after van life and, you know, doing the things I want to do, no matter how scary or odd it is and different it is from the norm and American dream and society. Because I know that they probably wanted that for me because they were foreigners, too. So they came here at a young age and, you know, followed that American dream. And so, you know, they definitely wouldn’t be too happy about my life or me sleeping in a car. But at the end of the day.
I think they still would be happy for me as long, you know, I think with any parent, as long as you are happy and can support yourself and take care of yourself and doing what you wanna do that they would be happy too. I think, you know, sometimes that gets lost in translation and may come across, you know, negatively or judgmental, ⁓ but really it’s just the root of that is them wanting the best for you. And they just may not think it’s the same thing. But I think at the end of the day, yeah, just living out your dreams and taking care of yourself and being a good human.
Blake Boles (45:57)
Hmm. It’s super interesting how when your parents were there, it sounds like they were definitely pushing you towards more like conventional, secure forms of employment. Like you said, they probably would not have been happy ⁓ to learn that you’ve decided to live out of your car. But at the same time, they went away, you felt this sense of empowerment to go for it, even though that’s not explicitly what they would have wanted. But the sense of like, I need to live my life now and, not wait and not be afraid. ⁓ yeah, that’s, yeah, it’s super interesting how both of those things are true at the same time.
Aisha Trent (46:50)
Yeah, it’s wild. It’s a weird catch 22 because it’s like my parents dying is the worst thing that anyone could go through and so painful. But it’s also like something I’m grateful for in a way because it did teach me to do these things and live life as true as I could to myself and yeah, it’s just so weird because one thing I also remembered was when my parents passed, I would think about my cousins and my family and their parents being alive and I’m like, you know, when my parents were alive, I thought they were invincible too. I just, and when I would hear or like someone at school or something, like if they lost their parents, like I felt weird about it or uncomfortable and never thought I could relate to that or even imagine that. And so it’s it’s like thinking about that and experiencing it and then realizing when they did actually die, how much, something I thought of was like, wow, my parents kind of do, had like a subconscious effect on me and my decisions.
I mean, even consciously too. So it’s like, cause even before they passed, I just like working seasonally was something very different. And so I, and like going outdoors and stuff and like, they weren’t too fond of me traveling as well either, but ⁓ it was something that I still would do regardless of, you know, their thoughts and opinions. But I feel like once they did pass, I realize, more, you know, that they were holding me more back more than I thought. I don’t know, because that sounds kind of negative, but it’s like, feel like our parents’ thoughts and opinions weigh on everyone and us more than we actually think that they do because of experiencing that.
Blake Boles (49:08)
Yeah, absolutely. When you reached out, you, said that you feel like there’s no going back to this, this other more conventional life for you. said that if I could just settle down, get a house, get a full time job and a 401k. Like you would, but it almost seems impossible or even illogical for you to try to take that path. Like what makes you feel like you’ve really turned a corner and you need to live this different kind of life instead of, yeah, retreating back into something that is much more secure and predictable.
Aisha Trent (49:45)
Yeah, so there’s probably two parts to this answer. But the first part being that I feel like, well, maybe I’ll say the other part. It’s funny because you bring it up, because I think I also told you when we talked before of how now I actually am kind of considering working full time at my job because, well, they always have that offered to me. But I like sat down and ran some numbers, especially with my car debt and my student loans and I’m like, wow, if I work full time and just, you know, do this for two years or even a year and a half, I could pay off my car. And I’m like, wow, that would be awesome. And then lead me more to like the ultimate freedom, in my opinion, where it’s like way less debt or no debt and being able to have, you know, the flexibility and options to work and do whatever job I want, seasonal or whatever, just something, even if it’s working at, know, like being a gardener or something or working on a farm or something. And just being able to have more time and freedom after that, like, because two years is a short time, but it’s also a long time. And that’s another thing I find, like I struggled to find balance with. so I’ve been considering that and been battling with that, you know, to this recently and got to figure that out. I feel like soon because I don’t think they’ll have that position for me always. So but yeah, so I. And going back to with like, you know, choosing, you know, nine to five and having all like working full time and having the benefits.
Even if I do go back, like I’m saying, to pay off my debts, it’s like I would never go back to just live in that and let that be my life because I feel like it’s just hard to go back to after experiencing, you know, working seasonally and being able to travel and like even just learning minimalism through my downsizing to everything that fits in my 4Runner.
Like it was totally unintentional. was just like, initially I had my fantasy of like doing band life and I was like probably more on the side of like just how it looks, like on social media kind of thing. It was like, I’m good to go see all these sites and go to all these places and you know, all this freedom and travel and more of like that side of it. But you know, from just even if that was my motive from the start, like the process of having to downsize and live out of my car and do that really taught me more deeper lessons and learning to minimize things. And I realized how much stuff would just like hold me back and really weighs you down. It’s really wild. And I feel like so many people would benefit just from having less. Less is more. ⁓ And so it really just taught me a lot about just what matters in life and what’s important and along with my parents’ death. I’m sure if someone dies or once someone dies, it’s not like, I really liked their house and all the things that they had in it and the car that they drove or how they did their hair or how they looked. It’s like, no, you remember the things and moments and the connection you had with that person and the time spent with them and how they made you feel. Nothing, nothing, was not related to like anything aesthetic or the things that they had. So yeah, it’s, sorry, I keep getting away.
Blake Boles (53:49)
Yeah. Well said. No, no. I mean, you make it abundantly clear that if you do go back to full time for a year and a half or two years, you’re doing this with this clear intention to just make a bunch of money, pay off your debt so you can get back to this high freedom, high flexibility life. That’s still a pretty minimalist downsized life that you’ve really come to fall in love with.
Aisha Trent (54:13)
Mm-hmm.
Blake Boles (54:20)
And I think that’s the big difference, just like you mentioned earlier about going outdoors and body image stuff. It’s like, what’s your intention here? Are you doing this because out of a sense of anxiety and social comparison, and if you don’t do this, you’ll feel ugly in the same way that are you doing this because you just want to buy the same toys and go on the same vacations that other people seem to be going on, even if they don’t seem super happy in that situation. Or because you’re like, there’s definitely a huge pot of gold called, like, free time to go road tripping for multiple months at the end of this rainbow.
Aisha Trent (54:56)
Wait, can you say that last part again?
Blake Boles (54:57)
Are you doing it because there’s a clear, wonderful result at the end of this two year period that you already know you totally buy into and it’s really good for you and it’s healthy for you.
Aisha Trent (55:05)
Oh yes, yes.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Blake Boles (55:15)
Aisha, I wanted to ask you, as the last question, I know you have some international travel plans coming up and can you share those with me?
Aisha Trent (55:26)
I’m so excited. Yes, I recently got my passport a few months ago. And so one set trip is going to be next year in July. I’ll be going with my best friend and her husband and two kids. Her husband is from Austria, which is where you are right now. And he’s from Salzburg, so we’ll be traveling there. Me and my boyfriend, he’s coming, too. So we’ll be doing that for a couple of weeks. I’m super pumped.
And then this off season, when I finish work in probably like a month, I may be going to visit my biological dad in the Philippines, which that might have been confusing now that I brought that up with talk about my parents. So just to, I guess, clarify. So I was like, my gosh, we’re ending and I’m rambling some more. But so when I say my parents, it’s my mom, my biological mom and my stepdad. But he, my stepdad, my stepdad has been in my life since I was like in kindergarten. So he is like a father to me. And my biological dad, you know, wasn’t really around. But my parents death is something that actually helped me to talk with him more. And he turns out he’s been in the Philippines for the past like 10 years with some of my other brothers on my dad’s side.
And so, that might be a trip as well, going out there to the Philippines. Yeah, I’m so excited and I want to go to Canada, too. So everywhere, a lot of places. Yes, thank you. I’m excited.
Blake Boles (57:01)
Hey, congrats on getting that passport. It sounds like you are, you’re making the most of it. Yeah.
Great. Well, Aisha, thanks so much for coming on Dirtbag Rich.
Aisha Trent (57:15)
Thank you, Blake. You’re awesome. You’re amazing. And I appreciate everything that you’ve done and do and offer and just this opportunity as well. Thank you.
Blake Boles (57:25)
Thank you.