Get into the grove …

We’re getting into the groove, so to speak. I know … it’s taken us over four weeks, and I’m not sure what that says about us. But, having meandered north through the Costas from just north of Benidorm, and now on the one closest to France – the Costa Brava – we are back at one with motorhome living. And I love it. Let me explain why.

constantly surprised …

First, there’s the anonymity. For a man who spent all his full-time working life in an institution, with uniform, behavioural expectations, and living on the barracks or in the school, it’s so good to turn up somewhere and know that there is no way anyone is going to know who I am, what I do/did and, indeed, how I’m going to react. I find that completely liberating.

our latest spot

Second, there’s the simplicity of it all. Doris is not uncomplicated, but she is (compared to a house, our possessions, the garden, garage, attic, etc) small. Tiny, in fact. Sure she has every modern convenience, less a washing machine, but her footprint is miniscule and the life that she affords and the choices she offers are straightforward. What would you like to do today, Roland and Claire? Drive somewhere? Walk, run or cycle? Read a book? Play the guitar? Write? There are no distractions and, for me from a mindful perspective, I don’t feel the ‘not really contributing’ guilt that I often plagued with when I’m at home. And the domestic jobs that need doing are small and quicker to complete than being at home. Doris has no attic. Her garage is 1/20th the size of our garage at home. Life is straightforward. It is simple. And, and this is a big thing, mostly lived outdoors. It is, after all, a small space to cohabit. Being outside is an obvious choice.

Third, you can move on. If you don’t like your disposition then you pack up and go. We could own a holiday home in Spain, for example. But, in my mind, you’d feel inclined to go there and, what happens if you don’t get on with your neighbours? Once there, you’ve got the same draws on you that you have at home. What needs painting? Have you cleaned the pool? What is the electric bill going to be like (?) … which leads me onto costs. We are currently in a wonderful camperstop. We have a big pitch, 5 amps electric (which just boils a kettle but you’d be surprised how workable it is if you’re sensible), really decent wifi and all other facilities. Cost? 15 euros a night. That would be, if we chose to stay, around £400 a month rent. That’s less than half of a two bed flat in Bristol … which would itself attract utilities costs and council tax, wifi etc on top of that. But it’s more than that. People are naturally attracted to shops. We live a five minute walk from the largest Tesco in Christendom. Popping over and spending at least a tenner – because you can – happens. Regularly. You spend money. It’s a pastime … a thing to do. Taking a bike ride down the corniche here, like we did today with a picnic, is free. And much more fun. And good for you. And you can’t buy nick-nacks. Because there’s no room to store them. We find being in Doris is just cheaper … in almost all ways (although diesel is pricey, but if you’re long-terming you do tend to slow down and spend less on fuel).

When we started full-timing eight years ago we set ourselves a budget of £50 a day (less annual recurring costs, such as insurance). We always underspent, so much so that C was able to afford for us to fly to the US, the Bahamas, take a holiday in Turkey and then Tunisia. In short we lived on around £15-18k a year. And, wow, what a life it was. 

some vans are bigger than others

Fourth, and I find this becoming more and more important, our carbon footprint is small. We use the sun to charge our batteries. Just now we’re sucking up no more than 5 amps of power. We are v careful about water usage and waste disposal. And our LPG usage is low. Between us we shower using about 10 litres of water. OK, Doris is a big 3 litre hunk of diesel engine and she struggles to get over 26 mpg, but in the four years we lived in a van we averaged no more than 7,000 miles a year. We are, more often than not, off grid (last night was the first time we’ve plugged in in over 30 days and could carry on like that indefinitely). We are v aware of our place in this precious world. 

Finally, the element of surprise really gets me. And it’s not the ‘wow’, look at that as you turn a corner, although that in itself is a huge draw. It’s the surprise of heading somewhere seemingly bland and then finding it really is rather nice. Of pitching up in a free camping spot, out of the way somewhere, and then wandering around the village and chancing upon something you weren’t expecting. I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad stop. They’ve always been interesting in one way or another. 

our happy place

There are downsides, obviously. The initial outlay is not cheap. Even at 12 years old Doris is probably worth over £40k. New and fully rigged as she is now, we’re talking over £100k brand new. But our first liveaboard cost just over £30k and in it we managed 18 months fulltiming, eight of which were pottering around Europe. Second, and a deal breaker, you both have to enjoy the life – and I appreciate that nomadicy is not everyone’s cuppa. You really have to be able to rub along in a, at times, lavatorial environment, and that takes patience and understanding. C and I manage. Those who know us know that we can be cat and dog sometimes. Doris both amplifies but pacifies that. And we’re still all over it 8 years later. 

Finally it’s not two weeks in the Maldives. It’s not luxurious. Not really. And maybe you can do both. But pampered you are not. And I get why that may be important to many people. For us the freedom trumps everything. 

my happy place

In short, we are back in the groove. I could stay here. C, not so much. Certainly when it comes to seeing the kids/grandchild. And she likes having her things out. Doris doesn’t have a mantle shelf. And I get all of that. So, as with everything, it’s a compromise. We are catching a ferry in just under two weeks. That in no way seems long enough to me. If C said ‘let’s move back into Doris’ I’d probably jump at the chance. In the meantime I’m going to have to settle for a 40/60 split. That may well be good enough.

Stay safe everyone.