“I’m not homeless. I’m houseless by choice,” said Valerie Nielsen, known as the bus lady around Santa Clara, where her green 1980, former Sunnyvale school bus is often parked, sometimes evoking the ire of neighbors.
Occasionally, the police get calls about the bus. Or a car drives by slowly, and the occupants yell hateful words. Nielsen has called 9-1-1 because of physical threats. Several times, the bus was pelted with beer cans and eggs.
“I and my children respectfully request that whoever is [doing these things] please have some humanity and stop,” Nielsen wrote in a Facebook post on “You Know You’re from Santa Clara When.”
“I grew up and went to school around here. This is my hometown, too. I’ve opted out of slaving and paying a ridiculous rent and prefer a nomadic lifestyle that affords me time to teach my children a better way of life. It does not mean I deserve to be treated like I don’t belong here,” said Nielsen.
Aurora Busealis—one name for the family bus—is a 36-foot, diesel-engine, Crown Supercoach. Her dad flew Nielsen to Sedona, Ariz., to pick it up in his single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza on December 12, 2021.
“I was the happiest person alive that day!” she said. It was the start of a new life for Nielsen, her two daughters and son, now ages 19, 12 and 13, respectively.
“This isn’t something we fell into. It’s something we jumped into,” said Nielsen. “We’re survivors of domestic violence, and this bus was our salvation.”
Nielsen was raised in Sunnyvale and graduated from Fremont High School in 2004. She married at 17 and survived a violent marriage, finally escaping and divorcing in 2016.
With the help of “YouTube University,” Nielsen and her kids are converting their “magic zoo bus” from an empty shell into a livable motorhome for the family, which includes a lizard, a cat, and, for security, two dogs—an Alaskan Malamute and a German Shepherd.
Nielson has invested about $30,000 in the bus. She learned how to lay a subfloor, install plumbing and do carpentry. The bus has a kitchen, bathroom with a compost toilet and bunk beds. There’s a power generator, propane heater, area fans, and Wi-Fi connection, but no TV.
“I’d never picked up a screwdriver to build anything before,” she said. “My kids and I work together on everything. Everybody is hands on. They’re learning good life skills and how to live simply and be grateful for what they have.”
Although an experienced chef with a BS Degree and Certificate in Culinary Management from the Art Institute of California, Nielsen is changing gears. She is working on an A.S. Degree at a local community college with plans to transfer to Cal Poly Humboldt to earn a Ph.D. in anthropology. She is putting herself through school and doing part-time jobs on the side.
Nielsen hopes her story will inspire others in violent relationships to find the courage to leave.
“All it takes is 30 seconds of insane courage to make a big change in your life. Go for it with full tenacity!” she said.
“We might look a little different on the outside because we’re in a big green bus, but we’re the same as everybody else. We’re hard-working Americans just trying to get a leg up in this hard economy,” said Nielsen.
“We’re not trashy or creepy. We’re just a regular family, and we deserve the same respect as any of the people who live in the houses on the street where we frequently park,” said Nielsen. “I would really appreciate it if our neighbors and community could accept and respect us.”
“With other homes, you stay in one place. But we can go anywhere we want,” said Nielsen’s younger daughter when asked what she likes about bus life.
“What are we going to do today, Mom?”
Maybe they’ll head for the beach in Monterey—their favorite “therapy place.”
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