Wanting to Choose a vanlife life

Full of the comforting delights of coziness, a home from home, that you can take any place, anytime, anywhere. Yes it’s a campervan and it’s why so many are wanting to choose a vanlife life!

It’s nagging at you, pounding in your head, thoughts that just won’t go away.You’re sat at your desk, feet restlessly tapping the dust filled office carpet whilst dreaming of your own little house on wheels.

It’s real and you’re really wanting to take that next step. A leap of faith – grabbing the bull by the horns. You want to do it – jump right out of that frayed, worn out office chair and leave the moaning groans of grumpiness and empty aspirations behind.

Finally slamming the door shut on that dull work life forever.

Campervans Everywhere – Wanting to choose a vanlife life

You’ve been thinking about making that first step into the world of vanlife for sometime. Perhaps months or maybe even years.

Suddenly, everywhere you go you’re seeing vans – every type and concept an array of conversions, campervans and motorhomes.  Everyone seems to have one. How didn’t you notice this phenomenon before?

Wanting to choose a Vanlife life – Ditching Old Habits

They’re parked up at the supermarket, passing you by on the way to work, glaring out at you from every angle.

Those friends and colleagues who once opted for a luxury hotel with padded sun lounger are changing. Even the Pina Colada on demand is being ditched for something more earthy.

Getting back to one with nature and embracing the notion of driving off to who knows where is more idyllic.

It really is just so appealing than rushing to make an airport check in. That’s not to mention queuing for what seems like half of your life at security.

Then, there’s no sharing your bed, your coffee cup or toilet seat with a zillion other strangers! Those that have come and gone through the doors of the hotel room before you.

No more hotel rooms

Fed up of hotels, where drunken laughter from an adjoining room bellows through the air conditioning vents. Those slurred words of conversation getting louder and louder as you try to sleep.

The desperation has you reach for the headphones. Usually reserved for a poolside rendition of Wham’s Club Tropicana!

There’s no more emptying a tiny cabin size suitcase on the bed. Hoping the wondering eye doesn’t find a suspicious looking stain, on the neatly folded bedspread.

Exaggerating? I suppose that depends on your own experiences, but we’ve had so many disappointing hotel stays.  

It’s the process of not knowing what the room is going to behold – will it be noisy or smelly?  That view you’ve paid extra for – will it just amount to a square foot section of window pane? Overlooking what you think could be the 11th hole of a distant golf course?

The view is so distant that you can’t be too sure what you’re looking at. As long as you don’t loose your balance on the corner of the work station, that you’ve wedged yourself against. Suddenly you’re resembling an inquisitive giraffe – desperately trying to get a closer look at the view.

Home from Home

So, what’s so special about a van though? It’s just a metal box on wheels isn’t it?

Not quite! It maybe a tiny space, yes – well proportioned too, but also filled with all those essential gadgets, gizmo’s and homely possessions.

It’s an intimate place where you can feel the worries of the world ebb away. As relaxation, contentment and excitement for the journey ahead begins to consume the air.  

The moment you step inside seems so welcoming. It’s your own space, your own van – it’s a cliché but size really doesn’t matter!

In fact, the smaller, the cosier. The realisation that you don’t need more space and somehow the need for anything more really doesn’t exist.

It’s life changing

Life in a van, time in a van, moments in a van. Creating memories that stay with us, that simply stand out above all else.

That’s what we enjoy so much about vanlife. Getting away from it all, even for a day or a weekend, possibly permanently. Whichever you choose, it’s a way of life like no other.

It’s addictive and can even be life changing in so many ways.

A chance meeting with extraordinary people on their own journey, comparing stories, exchanging information, learning and growing and motivating each other.  

Planning that next destination, the call of the explorer in you and always wanting to know just what’s around the next corner.

Driving on, adventure driven and so encapsulated in the outdoor surroundings of where your little piece of home is taking you next.

Dreaming at the Office

It’s what so many of us dream about at our office desks. Propelled into the wilderness of escapism into the vastness of our wondering minds and that wish for something more, wanting to be that person behind the wheel of the campervan, that passed you that morning.  

We all dream, we all wish and hope and long for those moments, thinking that only others are fortunate enough to be living your dream.

But hold on, we are all in charge of our own destiny, no one else controls our minds or our choices, so those dreams can become reality. There’s really no need for more pondering, delaying or just waiting for the right moment.

Following those Dreams

So, we chose to just follow those dreams, finally on the road to great adventures and living life to the full. Finding the little holiday home on wheels to take us on the road to new horizons..

The road that’s full of amazing locations, beautiful people, incredible wildlife.

We can all find the new us, at last closing that office door behind and saying we’re worth it. After all is said and done, a life is there for living and no more so than a vanlife life.

Making the change

I’m so pleased we listened to that inner voice choosing to change our own lives. Most importantly, if we hadn’t taken that big step – no one else would have done it for us.

We took that step back in 2016 after many years of caravan and motorhome travel. We already knew we loved the concept of van travel, interestingly we just wanted to do more of it!

So, that’s just what we’re doing and loving our new life in the process. Above all, here’s to many more years of amazing travels – yes the future is looking really bright and no more so after the strangest year of all.

We hope you’ve followed your dreams too and maybe one day we’ll see you on the road!

Thanks for reading “wanting to choose a vanlife life” here’s some more of our blog posts – enjoy!

adventure Aires Alps Australia Balcony Roads France Best Drives Best Walks Best Walks France Campervan Castellane Europe Featured France freedom camping French Aires French Alps Gorges du Tarn High Mountain Pass Italian Cities Italian Lakes Italy Sosta Lakes and Mountains Motorhome Motorhome Parking Germany Motorhome Sosta Mountain Drives Mountains New Zealand Northern Italy North Wales Off Grid Pandemic River Routes Spain The Dordogne Thermal Towns Travel Diaries Tuscany Vanlife Wales Waterfalls Wellington wild camping Winter Travel

• 
  Espot – Parc National d’Aiguestortes
  Just when you think you’ve seen the most beautiful destinations, along comes this incredible and intoxicating location in the Spanish Pyrenees.
• 
  Driving into Andorra from Spain
  A quick glimpse into the duty free haven that’s Europe’s sixth smallest country.
• 
  Queralbs and Nuria in Spain
  A beautiful and historic pilgrim route involving a train up a mountain and huge sanctuary complex, where we start a stunning 8km walk down to the most rustic hamlet in this delightful part of Catalonia.
• 
  Volcanoes of Garrotxa Spain
  Discovering a region of 40 extinct volcanoes where a circular walk brings us to the heart of the crater and a very unusual find.
• 
  The Last Aire Before Spain
  As the border of Spain awaits, our choice of Aire sees us re-visit the fishing town of Port Vendres, but it’s not quite the sleepy location we’d hoped for!
• 
  The Gorges D’Héric France
  A sensational Gorge walk in exceptional natural landscapes where clear pools provide perfect swim holes and a very rustic cafe allows for a tranquil rest along the way.