A couple and their puppy live on the road year-round in a 90-square-foot van

The 29-year-old Canadian photographer got a taste of tiny life while living abroad.

"I flew to New Zealand on a working holiday visa and I bought a van to live in. I was in it for two years," Bigger told Insider.

While traveling between 2017 and 2019, Bigger said she realized she wanted to return to the nomadic van lifestyle.

"When I came back to Canada, I just knew that that's the life I still wanted to live," she said.

Bigger's brother and dad helped her remodel the van to fit her needs.

When it was finished, she and Waugh hit the road. They've been traveling together ever since.

The couple has had Salem since mid-June.

Salem has his own Instagram account where people can keep up with his travels.

The front of the van features a kitchen and living space.

"It has a bunch of jars and a bunch of overhead storage for the kitchen," Bigger said of her kitchen. "I have an oven and a stove that's connected and a bunch of storage underneath the counter."

The kitchen is complete with a refrigerator, as well as a water pump and faucet. The gold faucet ties in with the gold of the jars and the wood on the counters and wall.

One of Bigger's favorite parts about the kitchen is the unique wood-chip countertop.

To fit the queen bed in the van, Bigger said that she shaved off some parts of the mattress, making it 10 inches smaller in length and 2 inches smaller in width.

The bed also has cubbies underneath and above it where the couple stores their clothes. In addition, the van has storage underneath it that can stow items like bikes, clothing bins, and car equipment.

"There's an insane amount of storage," Bigger said.

Bigger describes her decor style as a chic, rustic cabin with a modern twist.

There's no private room for the toilet, but it's still convenient for the couple to have one in the van as it means they don't have to worry about using public bathrooms as they travel.

Bigger said the toilet is what surprises people most about the van.

"Every time someone's never seen it before, they are always amazed that we have a toilet, which is funny," she said.

"We can only do outside showers," Bigger said.

That being said, the shower is heated, which adds a luxury of home to life on the road.

The bed has storage underneath it, and the couple hangs their shoes on hooks to make room for a heater.

"We've bought these large Ikea containers, and one is for me, one is for Ben, and one is for Salem," Bigger said."So that's really helpful to utilize space and keep everything organized."

But she said that the financial benefits of her lifestyle are also why she is drawn to van life.

"Our monthly expenses are so low that we don't actually have to work a 40-hour week," she said, adding that they typically only work around 15 to 20 hours a week.

Bigger said that she and Waugh also consciously make choices to help them mitigate their costs.

"We refuse to pay for camping," Bigger said. "There are so many rural camping sites, but also there are so many local, residential ones."

The vehicle's appearance also allows for flexibility in where the couple can park it, which can help save money, Bigger said.

"My van looks so much like a cargo van that you can park beside someone's house," she said.

Bigger lived in the van with a dog before, but Salem is her first van puppy.

"We were just nervous about training a puppy in the van," Bigger said. "But when we got him, he was basically potty-trained."

"He is amazing," she added. "It has been really good, and he's OK in the van. And we always bring him on adventures."

Bigger and Waugh are both commercial photographers, and they often have to send prints.

"If we're on a road trip, it's really hard to organize where that package is going to go," Bigger said. "Sometimes if it takes longer than you expected, the package is behind you on the road trips, and then you have to drive back. But then you have a bunch of packages ahead of you. It's just really hard to organize packages and plan a road trip."

She also said they sometimes miss being in a more permanent house.

"Right now, we're kind of in a phase where if we did rent a house for one month just to get it out of our system, it'd be really nice," she said. "Sometimes we really miss having a desk and a quiet space."

"It would be sweet one month per year to live in a house just to remember how boring it is, basically," Bigger said.

Since Bigger and Waugh are both photographers, they often work side by side.

"It is very interesting living with your partner and sort of working with them," she said. "I think that if you can't live with your partner inside a vehicle, maybe that's not the right person for you."

"It is possible with someone that you love," she added. "It takes a lot of work. I would definitely say it's the ultimate relationship test."

"It's not as hard as most people think," she said. "Once you do it, you will save that $1,000 on rent every month, so you're actually doing yourself a favor."

You can follow Bigger, Waugh, and Salem on Instagram.

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