A VAN-lifer has revealed how his life changed for the better after he quit his job and switched his rented London flat for a caravan he’s dubbed his “cottage on wheels.”
YouTuber Life of Si has documented his journey from struggling with debt as a real estate guru paying £800 a month for a flat in London to living in a £7,250 van – before then taking his home on the open road and changing his life.
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In a video, Si said: “I was working in London, I was actually in London for six years and I was paying an extortionate amount of rent just like everybody else.”
Si revealed that when he first moved to London he was living in a small shared apartment with five other people – with a shared bathroom and kitchen area.
The tiny room cost him £800 a month, and having struggled with debt Si realised he needed to make a change in his life and live “as cheaply as possible” to ultimately achieve his dream of quitting his 9 to 5 job and travel the world.
Si added: “I decided instead of putting this money into rent, I’m going to just buy a box van.
“It was literally a van with nothing in the back of it when I first bought it.”
Si paid £7,250 for the van – a Volskwagen Crafter – and then rented a parking space for it on a church ground that cost him just £150 a month.
He said: “My bills went from an average of £1,000 a month if you take in rent, gas, electricity, council tax, all of this stuff, to my total bills per month being about £250 a month and that’s including my phone bill.”
As he stopped paying such a large amount of money on rent, Si was able to save money – which he believes was around £18,000 over an 18-month period which was enough to pay off the van and kit it out with amenities.
In another video in which Si gives viewers a tour of his caravan, he explains that he’s gone for a “cottage vibe” with lots of wood – giving it a cosy aesthetic.
His fittings include a vintage-style wood-burner which helps him save money on heating, and a small oven and grille that runs cheaply on gas.
There’s even a small full-size bathroom with a shower and toilet, and even a double-bed at the back of the van.
This comes as another man reveals how he saves £900 a month living in UK’s ‘Caravan City’ – but posh locals want him and other residents gone.
And the UK’s “most expensive caravan” is up for sale for an eye-watering £1.5million – it has three bedrooms and a sky deck.
