Three different people, three very different reasons to escape the city on four wheels…
In the United Kingdom alone, there is a new civilisation forming. Mobile living is on the rise and people of all ages are swapping city life for the outdoors.
Currently the UK has 230,000-known ‘vanlifers’ and this number is expected to rise as the virality of vanlife reaching over five billion views on social media.
Nine To Alive spoke to three van-owners at very different stages of their journeys into full-time van living.
Thea Wright, 20
Thea lives in Surrey and is a full-time student at Plymouth University. Being a surfer-fanatic, she bought an ex-British Gas van for £5,000 in May 2023.
Between her surf trips and university lectures she has began slowly converting it to a live-able van ever since. While keeping a tight budget.
The Big-city life left Thea feeling ‘overwhelmed’ at times. Escaping the concrete jungle in her van has helped Thea improve her mental health.
“First things first, she’s called Nora and I really love her. She’s almost ready to be lived in full time because I’m trying to have her ready for this summer. That’s my deadline because I have posted TikTok’s saying ‘she’ll be ready’ and now there’s pressure from people who are expecting me to do it.
“Anyways, I want to take her away to Cornwall, go surfing all the time and work at a cute café. I don’t really know where I will live or park up. I’ll just go and see what happens to be honest.
“It all started when my friend bought one of these ex-British Gas vans in summer 2020 and I saw the bright blue colour and was like ‘that is probably the coolest colour ever’. You never see vans that colour. It made me so happy.
“I did research them of course. They were known for being in great condition because the company services them yearly. I thought ‘hey that’s pretty helpful’ too!
“It’s difficult at university, I still live on campus. I work at a bar, but also play basketball and I can’t earn money while playing in the week. Therefore, I only really work at weekends and have to wait between each project on the van. It’s great because it’s been the only thing that I have ever really saved up for.
“However, I must confess, I never really ate well at university because all my money was spent on the van. So, that is why it has been taking so long to finish. But I am doing it at my own pace and that’s okay.
“The thing is, I can’t stand London. Big-city life is too fast and in your face. Everyone in cities seem so angry. When I’m in cities, I’m always thinking ‘I’ve got all these tasks to complete and must buy all these things.’ It really stresses me out.
“I have anxiety myself and big places like that make me really anxious.
“Nowadays, I could just go live in my van and get a random job and get out there and live. I love that aspect of always moving and not being stuck in one place. That has been a big help for my anxiety. I’m not stuck in a city.
“I would like to do Europe in Nora at some point. However, I am not the best driver in the world… so I think I should get better at driving first!”
Nige Parkin, 59
Nige had a van since the 2020 pandemic, he lives with his wife Dianne in North Yorkshire.
Having spent 27 years in the army and travelled the world, he then spent the past two decades owning and re-branding a successful ‘90-cover coffee house’ with his wife, Dianne.
Due to work pressure, they have recently decided to sell both their family home and business. They decided to travel in a converted ambulance living ‘off-grid’ full time.
“Originally, Dianne and I had the first van converted for some freedom. We needed to force ourselves away from work because it was completely overwhelming and impacting our lives.
“To be honest, we barely found the hours to spend quality time together. After two decades of running our own business, we were left so ingrained with work. We needed an alternative to get away from those pressures that having your own business throws at you.
“The city-commitments are non-stop. All the responsibilities and stress of running staff and the headaches they give you, can be so difficult. Being out of the city, just offers us a complete ability to de-stress and unwind.
“When we can get away and there’s no time constraints on our lives. So, I’m just able to enjoy the simple things with my partner. To sit and chat over a cup of coffee in the morning, inside the van, even if the weather is lousy.
“Time spent without thinking: Right, we’re going to have to wrap this up. We’ve got to open the cafe. We’ve got to close the cafe. We’re getting close to lunch service.
Staring out of a window looking at a hill or just at greenery is incredibly therapeutic. I use this phrase a lot – the antidote to life – that is the motto for us really.
After being away, Dianne sent me a screenshot of her ‘apple watch’ and it had a notification to say that her resting heartbeat had gone up by 16 beats. She said: ‘look at the date’. It was the date that we started back at work!
“Eventually we just ‘bit the bullet’ and set up the business independently. Initially we decided to take a six-week holiday in Europe and then we extended by another six weeks.
“We paid a penalty for that as our business was struggling but it was the catalyst to do vanlife full time. Europe is much more accessible in vans compared to the UK; the trip was the turning point.
“We didn’t even use a campsite – it’s quite cheap. On a budget we spent less than £45 a day between us, and rarely stay two days in one place. It was simply amazing! We’re now selling both our house and business and planning on doing it full-time. It just makes us happier and healthier.”
Cyril Frost, 39
Cyril has been a full-time van-lifer in Wales for the past five years. During the week he works at a Chemical waste plant near Cardiff. On the weekends, he uses his van to get away to the mountains or beaches.
His “life changed” the day he bought his first van after developing depression. Since then, he has travelled 12 countries in two years and is now planning on working and living remotely from his van in Europe.
“I lost my ‘mam’ twelve years ago and that was exactly where it all started really. I remember it well; thing is she didn’t really travel my mam. She never went abroad, never left Cardiff for holidays, never travelled at all really.
“At the time, I was devastated because I was always close to my mam. It hit me hard at the time. I was always closer to her than my twin sister, Anna. So, I suffered a lot with my mental health when she died, I was getting counselling for depression. I didn’t really want to get out of bed in the mornings.
We were at the funeral and my cousin Darren came over to talk to me. He said: “Awh Cyril, your mother never went anywhere because of you kids. She never saw any of the world outside of Cardiff really.”
“I remember I just thought ‘no way I can end up that way.’
“I started with just a mattress in the back of a van and went round Scotland for three weeks. It was absolutely freezing but I loved it. I wanted to get away from being bogged down in the 9 to 5 of life.
“I’m a simple man you see, so it wasn’t a massive decision for me. With the house prices these days I couldn’t afford to have a house and travel. When I live in the van, I only pay my insurance and tax once a year. The rest of my income is travelling expenses, all I have is a phone bill.
“I’m much happier now; it’s completely changed the way I look at life. I used to struggle getting up but now I jump out of bed now and make a cuppa. As soon as it’s the weekend I’ll be up in the mountains or at the beach. I’ll find a nice pub with some nice food and a nice pint… its simple really. I’m happy.
“Since then, I had seven vans, so I worked my way up. I bought this one fully converted; it has a proper £14,000 interior with a stand-up shower, toilet and bed. It is much easier buying converted and much warmer than my first van! It was probably my happiest moment when I realised that I could stand up in this van, because I am six foot, two inches.”
