Frequently Asked Questions about vanlife

When we mention to others that we live in our motorhome full time, we are either met with looks of utter disbelief, as if we just admitted to being nomadic tramps, or with the wistful gaze of someone yearning to escape and roam free. This usually leads to a bombardment of questions about the nitty-gritty details of our unconventional living situation. So, here are some answers to address those burning questions you might have. We've tried to cover everything, but don't hesitate to ask us about anything we may have overlooked.

Why did you decide to live in your motorhome?

You can read more about this in our blog but to cut a very, very long story short, we grew tired of the rat race, of working our guts out just because that’s what expected, of parting with a chunk of our cash on rent, bills and because we both turned 50 and felt that a midlife make over was very much needed before time runs out!

Aren’t you cold?

This is right up there with the most asked question. In short, No, never! Heidi is 32 years old, she was built in Germany when quality and craftsmanship was at its finest. She is incredibly well insulated and has two heating systems on board. Both run on gas, so even off grid we are as cosy as toast!

How do you do your washing?

We use a launderette, the same as anyone else who doesn’t have a washing machine at home but if we are travelling abroad, we use Revolution Laundries. These are situated all over the place and normally in large supermarket carparks. They provide the washing powder and are card operated making them super convenient and easy to use.

What do you do for work?

David is an IT Systems Architect, he designs large computer systems. He works as a contractor and so he picks and chooses what works he takes and when. Most of his work can now be done remotely, thanks to Covid but his current contract sees him in the office 2 days a week. This has worked well for us during the winter months as we get hotel accommodation paid for. It’s been a nice change to be out of Heidi for a few days each week during the worst of the weather.

Suzy is a qualified (retired) veterinary nurse, a small business consultant and a qualified dog groomer. All skills that have allowed her to work on an ad hoc basis where and when she chooses.

We work just enough to get our adventuring money together and then we take several months off at a time.

Where do you park?

When we are in the UK, it usually means that we are spending time with family and/or working to earn some travel funds, so we park on campsites. When we are travelling, we use a mixture of campsites, farm stays, wild camping spots or anywhere that we find that looks interesting.

How do you find places to stay?

We use a mixture of ways such as Apps like Park4Night and lots of word-of-mouth recommendations.

What’s the best way to find safe places to sleep using Park4night when you travel abroad?

We tend to look at places that only have 4 and 5 star reviews, lots of recent reviews and we do read through at least 5 of those reviews. Take note of warnings and of any issues that people have had, like neighbours complaining or Police issuing fines. If people have complained of break-ins, stay well away!

Do you feel safe?

• When we first set off, our biggest fear was sleeping in the van in wild camping spots, nowadays we don’t give it a second thought but we do have a few rules:

• If your gut instinct tells you it doesn’t feel safe – leave

• Always park facing out, so that you can drive away easily if you need to

• Clear everything away before you go to bed, so that you are ready to drive

• We sometimes hang a blanket up instead of drawing our front cab blinds and curtains

• Leave your keys in the same place every night, so that you can find them easily

• Don’t park in towns and busy places at the weekends, this tends to mean drunk people!

• Have your clothes and shoes laid out, ready to get dressed fast!

• We always make sure we have at least two park up options lined up before we settle for the night. Trying to find another place to sleep, in the dark is no fun!

• Finally, remember that really bad people, walking around, looking for random strangers to murder in their sleep is RARE. Just get out there and enjoy the freedom of the road and amazing views to wake up to.

What do your family think of how you live?

This is always a real sticking point for anyone who wants to live full time van life and to travel for any length of time, especially for women. Throw children and grandchildren into the mix and the heart is well and truly torn!

We really struggled with the emotional tug or war over our need/want to live the rest of our lives to their fullest and with our longing to spend time with our family. I won't lie, at first it was tricky and we all struggled to find a happy medium but I think as the years have gone by, we have all adjusted and worked hard at communicating about our individual needs and spending quality time together during our UK time.

We do feel very strongly that our children and grandchildren need family support but this is also mixed with a desire to show them that they can choose to live any life that makes them feel happy and fulfilled, safe in the knowledge that we are all still close emotionally.

One day, these little people, will be 50 and who knows, they might just be telling their friends and family about how cool we were!

How do you budget?

This is a big one and everyone’s situation is different of course.

We tend to set a daily budget of 60 euros per day when we are travelling. This covers everything from campsites, food, drinks, sightseeing, fuel, ice-creams and any odds and ends that we might need.

We find setting a daily budget helps us enormously and it helps us to keep on track with our money. We rarely spend that, especially if we are free parking, we seldom eat out and our entertainment is normally, hiking, biking and picnics.

What payment method do you use?

We use a Revolut card. We pay ourselves weekly and only use that payment method. This means that we can monitor our spending and check our remaining balance easily. If we have had a good week and don’t spent much, we either treat ourselves to a meal out or let it build up into the next weeks budget.

How do you fund your lifestyle choice?

This is always a hot topic of conversation and it’s also a question that some people don’t feel comfortable answering. It is a very personal choice but we have chosen to be open about this subject in the hope that we can assist anyone who’s trying to work out if they can live this lifestyle

We don’t have a limitless pot of money in the bank, and we do need to work to keep our funds topped up. Here are a few things that we have done to keep ourselves on the road.

• Cleared all debt. We have no loans, we don’t have anything on finance, we don’t let ourselves get overdrawn on any bank accounts and we don’t use credit cards.

• We have periods of time when we “lie low” so that the money we do earn is spent on adventuring and more time off.

• We saved and bought a cheap flat that we have no mortgage on. We get a monthly rental from this.

• We got rid of as many monthly subscriptions as possible.

• We negotiated with a small local campsite on their daily charges if we stayed longer term. Our daily campsite costs are £15 and that includes water, waste disposal and electricity.

• We meal plan as much as we can and only buy what we need rather than just filling the trolley.

• We live a fairly simple life and with little amounts of space, we no longer just buy “stuff” for the sake of it or to fill a house, we eat out as a treat and we make a conscious decision about how are where we spend our money during “saving up periods”.
  

Is Van-life cheap?

It can be an incredibly cheap way to live with very low overheads and no utility bills, no council tax etc to pay and of course free parking can reduce your daily outgoings even more. However, you do need to budget for major van repairs, Vets bills (if you have pets) specialist insurance, accommodation if your van is out of action and everything else that you would need to pay for in a house like dentists, opticians, pet insurance.

Of course, not everyone is able to but we highly recommend that you budget and set some money aside for all eventualities.

What about when you get old?

Our answer to this is always the same…what if we never get old? What if we are all on borrowed time? What if we are wasting these precious years worrying about something that may never come!

Before we set off on this journey, we had a full and sometimes hard conversation about this topic. We are well aware that the choices that we make now, will no doubt effect how we live as OAP’s but we made a very clear choice to live our lives to the fullest now whilst we still can.

Ask yourself this, how many quality years, do you think you have left?

Why didn’t you wait until you retired?

The same as above really. We’ve all spoken to people who have a story about someone they knew who worked hard all their lives and never got to enjoy their much-anticipated retirement.

Also, having now lived this way for the past 4 years, we can categorically tell you that it can be hard going. It’s totally knackering some days and the constant moving about can take its toll and that’s doing it at 50 not 70!

Do you ever miss home?

This was something that I, Suzy, really did worry about. Would I feel lost, homesick or adrift without any really place to call “home”.

However, a strange but lovely thing happened along the way. I fell totally in love with cosy, small living. Heidi became our safe place, our place to cosy up in, our sanctuary if you will. We could literally be in any country and in any place from a mountain top to a car park but once we close our door, pull the curtains, we are home. Home is now wherever we are in Heidi.

Where do you poo?

Yep, we do actually get asked that all the time!!

We use a toilet, just like everyone else if there's one but if not we use the toilet in Heidi. She has a toilet cassette that we empty into a waste tank on campsites. It really is that simple!

Do you ever get tired of moving around?

Moving and driving around to new places is very exciting, but it can take its toll and over the years we have learned to recognise the signs of travel fatigue. When we start to bicker, get poorly or stop having fun, it usually means we are tired and this is when we now find a campsite and unpack ourselves for a while. It feels good to stop moving, to get the BBQ out and to just sit and read a book.

Remember, rest, don’t quit!

Do you ever feel lonely or isolated on the road?

Generally, we don’t but anyone who lives this life will tell you that home sickness for loved ones and friends can creep in at times, especially if you’re in a country where you don’t speak the language fully, but we find that this is usually temporary and soon passes. The best thing ever for us, is if we get to meet up with other like-minded people on the road. So don’t be afraid to wave or say hello to others and if you see online that someone you follow on social media is nearby, message and ask if they fancy a cuppa. We really are a friendly bunch!

What do you do if you get sick whilst on the road?

We have needed doctors in France, Spain and Portugal and we can honestly say, we have always been very well looked after and at short notice I might add. Most medical facilities will have an English speaking person so don’t be afraid to ask.