Vanlife Vibes - dating for nomads

Social app and marketplace for nomadic people. Match with other nomads based on your travel plans and personality compatibility, meet people who will share the road with you!

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VanlifeVibes — RevenueCat Shipyard Hackathon Submission

Inspiration

Dating and making friends on the road is nearly impossible when you're always moving. Traditional dating apps assume you're staying put, but van lifers need to connect with other travelers who understand the lifestyle and share their routes. Also, I always wanted to develop a dating app, but of course gaining any traction is difficult, given the size of Quin's audience and the different matching algorithm required by the nomadic niche this was the perfect opportunity to develop a mobile app :)

Vanlife Vibes is the app where your path meets your people

What it does

VanlifeVibes is a mobile-first social network and dating app designed exclusively for van lifers and nomadic travelers. It combines the three core features Quin requested:

1. Nomadic Dating & Friend Discovery

  • Swipe-based matching for both dating and making friends
  • Location timing system: users share where they are now, next week, and next month
  • Smart overlap detection shows when two travelers will be in the same city at the same time
  • Advanced relevance scoring considers shared hobbies, lifestyle tags, travel timing, and gender preferences
  • Freemium model: 5 swipes/day free, 20 swipes and access to marketplace and geolocation matching with premium via RevenueCat

2. Campfire Events (Activity-Based Friend Finding)

  • Create or join group activities: dog walks, hikes, coffee meetups, coworking sessions, campfire socials
  • Direct-join or swipe-to-join modes for different event types
  • Platform-hosted events auto-generated for popular nomad hubs (Moab, LA, Denver, Austin)
  • Group chat unlocks when you join an event
  • Premium-only feature to maintain quality and safety

3. Builder Marketplace (Premium feature)

  • Van lifers offer services (electrical, plumbing, solar, carpentry) or request help with builds
  • Location-based listings with pricing and availability
  • Direct messaging between builders and clients
  • Premium-only to ensure verified, trusted community members
  • Showcase your rig with photos, specs, and build status on your profile (Invitation and verification features were ignored due to time constraints)

How we built it

Mobile App (React Native + Expo)

  • Built with Expo 54 and React Native 0.81
  • React Navigation 7 for seamless stack and tab navigation
  • RevenueCat integration for subscription management (freemium model)
  • Real-time WebSocket connections for chat and match updates
  • Axios API client with token-based auth
  • Dark mode native design with CampSiteModern aesthetic (warm amber accents, rounded cards, premium feel)

Backend (Django + PostgreSQL)

  • Django 5.2 with Django REST Framework for API
  • Django Channels + Daphne for WebSocket support (real-time chat)
  • PostgreSQL database with UUID primary keys
  • OpenAI API for daily jobs to generate events based on number of users and cities
  • Custom relevance scoring algorithm for dating discovery
  • Swipe limit service with daily reset for freemium users

Infrastructure (AWS via CDK)

  • Deployed on AWS Elastic Beanstalk (Docker container)
  • RDS PostgreSQL for database
  • ElastiCache Redis for WebSocket channel layers
  • S3 for media storage
  • Infrastructure as Code using AWS CDK (TypeScript)
  • Single-command deployment with environment variable injection

Development Workflow

  • Monorepo structure (backend + mobile client)
  • UV for Python dependency management

Challenges we ran into

1. Dating Algorithm Complexity

Building a relevance scorer that considers location overlap, shared hobbies, gender preferences, and travel timing was non-trivial. I implemented bidirectional gender filtering, five distinct scoring methods (overlap, hobby, lifestyle, completeness, recency), and weighted aggregation to surface the best matches.

2. Real-Time Chat at Scale

Integrating Django Channels with Daphne for WebSocket support required careful configuration of Redis channel layers and ASGI routing. I had to ensure chat messages, match notifications, and event updates all worked seamlessly in real-time.

3. Freemium + Premium Balance

Designing a swipe limit system that felt fair but incentivized premium subscriptions took iteration. We settled on 3 swipes/day for free users with daily reset, and gated high-value features (Campfire events, Builder marketplace) behind premium.

4. AWS Deployment Without SSH

Our EB environment didn't support SSH access, so we had to get creative with database seeding. We temporarily added management commands to the entrypoint script, deployed, then restored the clean state — ensuring idempotent operations.

5. Mobile Build Configuration

Setting up EAS Build for Google Play internal testing required understanding Android App Bundles, keystore management, and Expo's cloud build system. We configured production profiles to generate .aab files ready for Play Store upload.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Feature Completeness

The app is succesfully deployed. The core contains nomadic dating, activity-based friend finding, and a builder marketplace. The app is live on AWS with a seeded database of 40 users, 6 platform-hosted events, and 10 builder listings.

Smart Matching Algorithm

The relevance scoring system goes beyond simple location matching. It detects overlap windows (e.g., "Both in Moab Feb 21-23"), scores shared hobbies and lifestyle tags, and surfaces the most compatible matches first. This is critical for nomads who need to know when they'll actually be in the same place.

Premium Integration

RevenueCat is deeply integrated throughout the app. The paywall modal appears at natural friction points (swipe limit, premium features), and subscription status gates access to Campfire events and Builder marketplace. This creates a sustainable business model while maintaining community quality.

Real-Time Experience

WebSocket chat for matches and events makes the app feel alive. Messages appear instantly, match notifications pop up in real-time, and event group chats unlock the moment you join.

Production Infrastructure

We deployed a full production stack on AWS with Docker, RDS, Redis, and S3. The backend is horizontally scalable, the database is backed up, and the entire infrastructure is defined as code with CDK.

What we learned

1. Niche Communities Need Specialized Tools

Generic dating apps fail van lifers because they don't account for constant movement. Building for a specific community means understanding their unique constraints (location timing, trust, activity-based connection) and designing around them.

2. Freemium Done Right

The key to freemium is making the free tier valuable enough to hook users, but premium compelling enough to convert. Gating high-value features (events, builder marketplace) behind premium worked better than just removing swipe limits.

3. Mobile-First Design Constraints

Building for mobile only (no web version) forced me to prioritize ruthlessly. Every screen had to work on a phone, every interaction had to be thumb-friendly, and every feature had to justify its place in the bottom tab nav.

What's next for Vanlife Vibes

Near-Term (Post-Hackathon)

  1. Invite-Only Beta: Launch with a small group of verified van lifers to gather feedback and build trust. Infra is there but time constraints do not allow for email or SMS confirmation.
  2. Profile Verification: Add photo verification and social proof (Instagram, YouTube) to strengthen community safety
  3. Route Sharing: Let users share their planned routes so others can see who's heading the same direction

Medium-Term

  1. Campground Integration: Partner with campground databases to show where van lifers are staying
  2. Video Profiles: Let users add short video intros to their profiles (huge for trust in the nomad community)
  3. Push Notifications: Alert users when a match is nearby or an event is happening soon

Long-Term Vision

  1. Van Life Marketplace: Expand beyond builder help to include gear swaps, van sales, and sponsorships
  2. Offline Mode: Cache profiles and messages for areas with poor cell coverage (common in van life)

Why VanlifeVibes Deserves to Win

Quin articulated clearly what she wanted and I believe we have a strong foundation to keep building. It is tryly an underserved community.

VanlifeVibes is:

  • Feature-complete: All three requested features (dating, events, builder marketplace) are live and functional
  • Production-ready: Deployed on AWS with real data, real users can download and use it today
  • RevenueCat-powered: Freemium model with premium subscriptions driving sustainable revenue
  • Community-focused: Safety, trust, and intentional connection are baked into every feature

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