The first thing people ask is, ‘what do you do about the loo’, the second thing is, ‘why vanlife’? So, here’s my story.
Just over a year ago I was sitting at my desk, in a lovely office, working with awesome people, running an amazeballs project... life was great... I had this wonderful career, I owned a gorgeous little cottage in a great town on Dartmoor, I spent my spare time with my dogs walking on the moors, wild camping, riding with friends and eating far too many delicious meals (!); yet something wasn't quite right. I wasn't happy; in fact, I was suffering with horrendous depression, which I just couldn't shake. The big black hole just kept getting larger and no amount of scrambling back up, or ropes thrown down could help me get to the top. I couldn't escape this place of darkness and I felt lost, alone and, ultimately, I felt like a failure.
I suddenly realised it was time to do or die. My life needed to change, but how?
I've never been one for settling; I've moved home more than 20 times in my life, I can't commit to anything, I'm a lifelong procrastinator, doodler and fidgeter! I considered the things I love and what makes me happy; spending time with my friends and family, creativity, exploration, travel, adventure, experiencing new things. How could I enjoy these things more? I had been telling my mum for years that I wanted to be a beach and snow bum, maybe now was the time.
So, after some serious thought, lots of list writing and chatting to everyone I care about, I decided it was time to live a new exciting and less structured and stressful life.
But how would I achieve this? Well, before anything else I knew I needed to leave the rat race and spend more time worrying about me instead of work; so, I quit my job. It was scary but exhilarating to have made the decision to break free from a secure, well paid and amazing job but I knew I had to. The next step was trying to figure out how on earth I would pay my mortgage; what would I do for money... aggghhh!! So, I took a deep breath and sold my house, along with pretty much everything I had spent the past 12 years painstakingly collecting to make my house a home. 'It's just stuff' I told myself, and slowly I said goodbye to the last of my furniture, clothes and posh shoes that I realised I no longer really needed in my life... I kept only the things I needed in my new life or that I really loved and that made me happy. I felt free and started my search for my new home.
I've always wanted a van; the idea of just packing up and travelling around has always seemed like a dream to me. The images of vans parked up on the beach, surfboards resting against the side of the van as the owner chills watching the sun go down; what could be more idyllic... I had spent my life escaping at every opportunity, holing up in a remote spot in a tent or out the way B&B, a life exploring was exactly what the doctor ordered. My dream was to buy a 7.5t horsebox but after lots of research, too many hours on Pinterest, endless designs being sketched and searching the net for the perfect base vehicle, I stumbled across a lovely VW Crafter LWB van. It was yellow (not my favourite colour and not overly stealth!), was clearly an ex DHL van (alarm bells rang about bad driving and dodgy clutches!) and I knew absolutely nothing about vans, apart from to check if there's any rust, if the radio worked and whether it started! But I took a leap, checked it out and thought 'yes, this is my new home'. It just felt right.
I started converting Buttercup in to a little home on wheels in the Spring, it's an ongoing challenge, and labour of love, and I have been so very lucky to have some amazing friends and awesome family who have helped me on this journey; with emotional support, skills, money and giving me somewhere to park up. I couldn't have done any of this without them.
A year later, I'm parked up on a gorgeous farm, with the most amazing views, a cosy homely van and the feeling of sheer happiness and freedom. I won't stay here forever; I've itchy feet already! Soon I'll be off on my next adventure, travelling, exploring and living my best possible life.
Life is what you make it and it took me so long to realise that you don't need to fit society's norms; break free and live the life you want to live.
Here's to the dream and the adventures that will follow...
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