I have three cats that I don't want to let go of so my plan is to renovate an old bus and take them with me everywhere.. But now that I'm talking about it they might not like that life, and ill need to pray for someone who is willing to love them like I do to have them.. I love the idea of growing in my apartment, but I don't have much space as it is and my porch is pretty small and doesn't get any direct sun which is good for lettuce right? I'm really excited about building my rock roundhouse when I get home..
You know, lots of long-distance truckers have cats with them and they seem happy to go along for the ride. Something to think about.
If you can't grow much in your apartment, you can always sprout seeds in jars for fresh greens, I do it to reduce my grocery bill and then I only have to buy carrots to make a salad! Sprouting in mason jars is super easy and amazon sells straining lids (and even stands to hold them up with). You don't need light to do this.
Other things you can do to "homestead" in the city: bake sourdough from scratch, make your own sauerkraut/kimchi, make kombucha, make your own beer/wine/liquors, farm worms with your
compost scraps and use the worm castings to grow a few herbs in pots. Herbs don't need a ton of light to thrive. You don't need grow lights for those. Especially if you buy the plants from the nursery (versus growing from seed). Buy a few parsley plants, mint, thyme, rosemary, and a kumquat tree (which are very small). You'll be surprised how easy and fun it is! You can also grow mushrooms inside, just get one of those kits to grow oyster mushrooms and you'll be harvesting them in no time! I totally sympathize with the feeling of wanting to grow stuff and not having the means/land to do it. So, you can do those things I mentioned to feel like you're dipping your toe in the pond.
Oh, and I love your bus idea! That is brilliant for a student just starting out in life. Perfect way to avoid rent payments, which probably eat up most of your wages every month, right? Rock on, Franak!