We gave up a one bedroom flat and two children to live permanently in a van… we saved £900

WHEN you think of someone living in a van, you probably think of sun-tanned surfers or soap-dodging hippies.

But skyrocketing house prices and the cost of living crisis mean that people of all ages and stages of life are being forced into RV living, whether they like it or not.

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From middle-aged accountants to stylishly dressed web designers, people from all walks of life are now swapping their conventional homes for a life on four wheels.

Jenna Winterburn-Hynd, 41, a travel content creator who also runs her own jewellery business, lives in a £20,000 van with her wife, website specialist Cath, 36, and their children Luna, five, and Bodhi, two.

The family opted for #vanlife, as the social media hashtag goes, in 2021 after feeling “stuck” in their rented four-bedroom home in Lyndhurst in the New Forest, Hants.

“Cath took home £40,000 and we lived in a beautiful house where the rent was subsidised to £900 because it was linked to her job,” says Jenna.

“But the bills and the fact that I was on maternity leave meant we were still £200 a month short.”

The cost of living and a lack of affordable housing means many are turning to less conventional housing, with the government estimating that 300,000 new homes are needed each year.

But figures from the National House Building Council show that only 133,213 homes were completed last year, a 12 per cent drop compared to 2022.

So it’s no wonder that more of us are living in vans and campers. Although they are not exempt from council tax if used as a sole residence, they do fall into the cheapest category, band A.

According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, commissioned by the Caravan and Motorhome Club, the number of vans and campervans in the UK is expected to increase by more than 40 per cent by 2030.

Three years ago, Jenna and Cath realized they couldn’t afford to buy a house as big as the one they were renting. “The prices in the area were really high, so we were going to look at a one-bedroom apartment,” Jenna says.

Instead, she and Cath moved into the 14-year-old Mercedes Sprinter van they had been renovating as a hobby.

“When we told people, they were divided,” Jenna says. “Some said we couldn’t do it because of the space, but we needed a change.”

The couple, who married in 2017 after three years of dating, now say it was the best thing they could have done.

And their new home is far from the type of mobile rust bucket you might imagine at a folk festival.

Their gleaming van is fully equipped, including a shower, a 90-litre fridge and a four-burner hob. The cream curtains and soft cushions in their bedroom would not be out of place in a fancy hotel.

“There’s a king-size bed for mom and dad, plus bunk beds for the kids,” Jenna says. “There’s also a play area and couches.”

The bus even has heating inside, so it doesn’t freeze in the winter. “It’s really cosy and we’re really well insulated,” says Jenna, who claims they’re saving £900 a month compared to living in a house.

In addition, the couple believes that their nomadic lifestyle enriches their children’s lives and gives them plenty of friends.

“They’ve seen so much of the world already,” says Jenna, who has visited Scotland, Wales, Malaysia and Thailand with her family.

She added: “We ‘world school’ them. We teach them math through money and they also learn life skills.”

“We have just left Scotland, where we were with five other families we had met in Thailand and Vietnam.

When we told people, their opinions were divided

Jenna

“So even though Luna doesn’t go to school, she doesn’t lack friendships. She’s very confident and learns very quickly how to make friends.”

But there are also disadvantages. Their shower is currently broken, so they have to go to local service stations to wash. Privacy is also an issue.

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“Compared to a house, there’s not much peace and quiet,” Jenna admits. “But with two small children, you don’t have much privacy anyway.”

The couple isn’t the only one making the switch to #vanlife.

In 2019, just 21,000 people in the UK lived in campervans, trailers or caravans rather than homes. Now that number has risen to half a million, according to travel agent Call To Adventure.

Lizzie George, 58, an accountant, and her husband Pete, 56, a retired IT consultant, from Cheltenham, Gloucester, are parents of six and also left their home to live in a van.

They wanted their children to put down a down payment to buy their own home and realized they could do that, but only by selling their own home.

After Pete’s job in Brussels was cancelled due to Covid, the couple decided to move into the Bürstner bus they wanted to stay in while Pete worked abroad.

“At that stage we had rented our house to our two adult children, who are in their late 20s,” says Lizzie, explaining how she got into #vanlife.

“But it turned out we liked living in the bus so much that we moved the kids out and sold the house. They got their down payment and were able to buy new homes.”

Lizzie loves the freedom of the #vanlife and laughs that despite being close to retirement, she’s now part of a Gen Z social media trend.

“I love the lack of clutter and the ease of cleaning,” she says. “You can also go anywhere. We drove to Spain for the winter, which was great.”

The couple are now mortgage-free and spend virtually nothing on bills, but pay around £3,000 a year on insurance and repairs. And while Lizzie can do her accounting work in the van, the Wi-Fi can be “spotty”.

As for the futureLiving in a van as a retiree doesn’t sound like much fun. But the couple insists they’re taking it one day at a time.

‘I love my freedom’

Pete says: “We don’t think too far ahead. We usually plan about six months ahead and know that at some point we’ll be able to live in a house again.”

Single Helen Laing, 41, originally from Devon, is a marketing and strategy consultant in the hotel industry.

In March 2022, despite being unable to afford to buy a house, she modified a van for £25,000 to give her freedom. “It’s a 2014 VW Crafter — it was a van and it took eight months to build,” she says.

“Some friends don’t understand how I cope with the stress of it: if it breaks, my house is broken.

“But I love it. Sometimes I see a picture of an incredible-looking place and I just drive there in my van. I always say, ‘My space is smaller, but my world is bigger.'”

Helen usually parks her motorcycle along the side of the road or in nice spots – if allowed.

She estimates she spends £750 a month, including a UK-wide local authority gym pass and access to a co-working space. “I have a shower and toilet on the bus, but I prefer gym showers,” she says.

Helen has no plans to give up her van for the “foreseeable future”, but admits it’s not all roses and sunshine.

Once you have ‘van fever’ it is very difficult to go back to a house

Helen

She collects her urine and takes it to a supermarket toilet every few days. “I’m used to walking around with a bag of pee now,” she says.

Despite living alone, Helen insists she doesn’t fear safety. “I’ve never had any worries about being parked at night,” she says. “You get a feeling when it’s not safe to park somewhere. And no one knows who I am when I’m locked in. I could be a six-foot man.”

Helen now runs VanLife Hub, a van appreciation website, and says there are a number of reasons why #vanlife is such a growing trend.

“Single people coming out of a relationship often don’t want to move into a shared flat or a rented room, but they also can’t afford a house,” she says.

“I’m saving about £1,000 a month compared to when I was living in a house. I have enough for a deposit, but I like the freedom of movement and being able to go where I want, so at the moment I have no plans to buy.”

And the #vanlife trend shows no signs of dying down any time soon. Helen says: “Once you get ‘van fever’ it’s very hard to go back to a house.”

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