We are in.our.mid forties and are in the process of selling our house, will hand our notices in in the next few weeks and will live in a new csmpervan I've bought. Aim is to reflect, re evaluate and relax. We have no end date and will see what happens. I want to live a simple life Has anyone else taken this step? If so. How did it go? First month will be spent relaxing on Tiree whilst making onward plans.
Are we mad? A change has been.needed for a while. We are in a fortunate position of almost having paid the mortgage off and also do not have children . I also have some savings. Money from the house will go into the bank and won't be touched. Any future house purchases will be a downsize to ensure we remain.mortgage free.
I have worked in flood risk for 25 years but is that what i want to carry on doing? Maybe, maybe not, let's see. I've become increasingly stressed about life in general and need a reset for.my health.
I have had days of thinking 'what on earth are we doing' but other days thinking about the freedom.
It's a big scary thing, but I'd like to.have no regrets.
Wow! A bold and exciting decision. All the best!
Sounds like a great move to me op and you've make it, as near as possible, pretty risk free.
Good luck and keep us updated.👍
You'll never know if things are the right/wrong decision until you view them as that - in fact there are no right/wrong decisions like this, just choices you make. Freedom from the daily grind is something both my wife and I wish we had. No generational wealth, no future inheritances, little in pensions for our ages 49 and 48 although we do nearly own our house outright so that's something.
We are both earning more than we ever have, but life is about more than just what you earn.
Take the opportunity to explore the world and your interests and see where it takes you. Maybe an extended break from the grind will help you find another way to use your skills and interests.
A colleague is about to do a 6 month sabbatical to do similar. I am jealous of you both.
Keep us informed how it goes
I really hope you mean motorhome rather than campervan
...
You're ten years on from me I'm mid thirties but kudos man, go for it.
Me and my wife thought about doing the same a good few years back, we since hired 4 different types of campervans and spent 2-3 weeks at a time in them and eventually decided we couldn't do van life long term.
Now we've shifted to aim for early retirement above all else
I have had days of thinking 'what on earth are we doing' but other days thinking about the freedom.
It's a big scary thing, but I'd like to.have no regrets.
Do it!
Even if you ultimately decide in a few months that you do in fact want the stability and salary of working in Flood Risk (i imagine there's a growing sector if ever there was one), it'll be a positive decision that you're taking, and you'll not sit around wondering 'what if'.
Good luck.
No but we do spend 6/8 weeks in Spain in the van and living together in such a small space can be a bit stressful after awhile
Are we mad?
I don't think that I'd want to live in a caravan/camper van/motor-home for any more than a week or so, so good luck!
where are you planning to overnight? every location is different but I think you could easily end up spending more than rent of a cheap flat on camping pitches without good planning.
are either of you blessed with an EU passport?
Are we mad?
Yep but who isn’t 🙂
.No but we do spend 6/8 weeks in Spain in the van and living together in such a small space can be a bit stressful after awhile
Short-term to clear the mind yep but I reckon longer term it would do your head in.
Don’t forget you could rent your house and get a little income also be aware how much the gov covers for banks going pop.
The FSCS protects 100% of the first £120,000 you have saved, per UK-regulated financial institution (not per account) So in simple terms, if your bank were to fail, the FSCS aims to get any savings up to this amount back to you within seven working days
TBH, I’d have a pootle in the camper an then trundle down to Spain once our spring has started but before it gets hot in the summer.
I think a little place in Spain and a camper van makes the best life combo 🙂
‘Living the dream’ is still an option but TBH it’s slowly slipping away from being affordable.
As long as your money is secure and you have at least the vague iidea of a backup plan, then why not enjoy yourself when you're young enough and able to do it.
I was made redundant from a really stressful job about 6 years ago and while I didn't go the whole hog like you but taking 15 months out completely really helped me and my marriage.
Back working in a far less stressful job with less money now but really enjoying life so much more
I hope you get a good spring on Tiree. Often they get brilliant spring sunshine when the rest of the UK is bathed in soggy gloom. Or, you could spend the entire time there eating out of tins as the Coop hasn’t been stocked for weeks as the ferry can’t dock. Hope you get the former!
You only regret the things you didn't do. You will not regret this whatever happens, you had a go.
If you can put the mo ey I to a property to either rent or just lock up, maybe a flat it will probably make it easier to get back into a bricks and motor home later
You're certainly braver than me, I would be buying the home you want & letting it out whilst you motor around, personally I'm enjoying fairly stress free work (calculated I actually work about 180 days per yr) and currently we're enjoying money like we've never had before (kids left home & mortgage free) but I still couldn't jack it all in, hope you enjoy your freedom.
Enjoy yourself. I've had countless extended trips over the years from 3 months to 3 years. Personally I'd get the downsize house now and rent it out, put it in the hands of an estate agent and forget about it. But then I'd also say don't ask for advice about your own life, if it feels right crack on.
Do people want to "make a complete change" or would they prefer what they're used to but with a bit more of the good parts, and a bit less of the crappy stuff.
Personally, I would hate a life without some structure to it. I can stand a holiday for a week (as long as we're doing something with a sense of purpose) but can't manage much more than that.
I think a little place in Spain and a camper van makes the best life comboMy exes parents used to do that, drive down to northern Spain in the spring, take 8 weeks. Get a longer term but basic rental somewhere, 8-12 weeks (or do two different stops), Figueres was the last one they did, then drive back once the season starts winding down. Again, take 6-8 weeks to do it, just a couple of hundred km or so a couple of times a week. They stopped after his second hip replacement. Mainly as the "mid holiday" trips back to Sweden got to be too much, with flights and so on.
go for it, but do bear in mind the longer term, basically you’re braver than me, (* I took the dead end, 35hr a week home at 4.20pm, low stress job option at your age)
Do you need to sell the house (can you rent) (*suspect houses done better than bank interest over most timeframes)
can you do your job in a consultant/self employed/sole trader type way to keep skills and some income, less hours and more control over hours.
Go for it. We've got a big tent and a van now. Can sleep in the van for a few nights (people carrier with a bed system in the boot), but a big motorhome would be ace. Off to Europe you go !
Weathers still a bit shite in Spain at the mo thou, reservoirs are at their fullest for 12 years.
It’ll soon change thou but it’s been crap for yonks….. 🙁
You only regret the things you didn't do.
🙄
im not sure that’s possible anymore of your stuck with a uk passport. See Brexit benefits for more detailsOh yeah... That's a point, have to race cross country instead...
Has anyone else taken this step?
Yup.
Been living in the van for 3,5 years now. We're both 43 now.
We were both somewhat over the rat race and not onboard with the idea of working 40+ hours a week to maintain a lifestyle in a place/situation we didn't ultimately want to be in....
Closed my business in Germany, sold up everything we didn't need. Sold our T5 campervan and converted a XLWB H3 Ducato.
If so. How did it go?
Bloody awesome. No regrets.
First month will be spent relaxing on Tiree whilst making onward plans.
Are we mad? A change has been.needed for a while.
Not at all.
Worst case you can return to something resembling your old life or it'll open up new options for you both.
As it is, neither of us like the idea of returning to our old lives. We visit friends who are settled in a house. None of them seem overly happy with the situation.... Be it neighbours, maintenance or just the mortgage.
I'm fortunate that I have an EU passport and can dick about on the continent for as long as I like.
We were back in the UK recently (albeit the south east) and we found it more stressful than on the continent. Main problem was the lack of water that's freely accessible. We ended up using Britstops to give pics where we could park up, but then you're constantly on the move.
Currently parked up east of Troyes and have been here for two weeks now without having moved the van. I'll ride 12km to pick up 30l of water or ride 20km to the next supermarket every other day or so
My advice would be to take it slow. A month moves at a different pace when you're not running around commuting. Take your time to slow down and breathe.
This was kinda the "Auslöser"* für me....
And for those who are interested......
https://www.instagram.com/flat.earth.research.project?igsh=MWdrNGV1bm9xMjQ3bQ==
*I had to look that up..... Trigger in English.
go for it.
I did a lot of cool travelling in my 30's and the thing that made it good for me was having a rough plan - it meant i could focus on doing those things and acjieving some ambitions that id harboured for a few years. Plus when everything was a bit shit and not working out (and it will - breakdowsn, illness, bad weather etc) you will always have your plan.
Awesome. Live the dream!
I think it would be wise to keep your property money in property, the trend is for property prices to double every 15/20 years so if your money is elsewhere it will most likey lose value relative to any future property you might want to buy. How about a fully managed rental property (your own house or another). Your money will be in a great place and you will have an income also if you are nearly mortgage free.
That's one thing my ex-inlaws are doing, keeping the house as long as they are physically capable. The value isn't increasing as fast as it would in the UK. But they are still adding £5-8k a year to their "savings" pot every year they stay in it (mortgage free and *very* low cost to run).
Both their kids live within 500m of the place, so it gets looked after, and there is a vague plan that my ex will move into it at some point. While they move round the corner to an apartment in the retirement home.