Imagine getting the jobs, the house, the location, the outdoor garden. Imagine being happy,

because why wouldn’t you be? We were close to friends and family, we even had our best

friend living downstairs with us. The beach was only a short drive, and we had oh so many

choices. My partner Kye and I lived in Northern NSW on the border to the Gold Coast. Looking

back on it, it sparked a lot of our ambition. Kye, my partner, had a self run practice as a Muscle

Balancing Therapist and helped so many people. I, also in health, worked in a private hospital

caring for a variation of cardiac patients. It was fast yet slow paced, with room for growth,

education and adrenaline. For a couple of 23 year olds, we had a lot of stuff, and to many had

achieved “a lot for our age”. Prior to buying our house we had also bought and done a small

renovation on a VW transporter. We did a few 2-3 month trips to Tasmania, Western Australia

and South Australia. When coming home we incorporated our love for Vanlife into weekend

aways. We definitely had dreams for future long-term travel like a “lap around Aus in a few

years”

Yet, something felt missing. A yearning for more. Something was lacking, was it us, our

relationship, our jobs or house? I clearly remember one afternoon sitting down on our couch

together watching back our Instagram highlights on past travel (we were oversharers even then

so it took us a good hour to get through them all). Once we had gotten to the end, we kinda just

sat there in silence for a little bit. Then I simply turned to Kye and said, “let’s do it, let’s just go.

Let’s not wait another couple of years, let’s rent our house and quit our jobs (which we both

loved and worked hard to get) and go do our lap now”. Six months later, one new van

renovation later we left. We had tenants for our house and we were both officially jobless. The

inner Taurus in me (always so planned and safe and grounded) felt pretty scared. We had

saved 30k and planned to spend it all…

It’s been a year since we left, and a lot has changed. We are in the market for a new & bigger

van because we don’t plan on stopping haha. We are no longer jobless, we are without a house

though. We have more friends than when we left, less “stuff” but more education. That yearning,

that missing piece. Turns out it wasn’t our house or jobs or relationship (although that is fucking

thriving and I’m proud to say so). It was these invisible walls we had slowly put up inside our

brains telling us what life should look like. It was the ‘amount’ of work, in the same jobs that was

actually shadowing our creativity; not allowing us to pursue other lines of work or interest. It was

living in the same place for so long that somehow made us think we didn’t need to talk to a

stranger, or we didn’t need any new friends. Everything that I thought about our future was once

planned out, curated and stored in a pretty pink box. It was boring, I was boring. My future now

looks like a wide open field. With endless possibilities and adventures. I metaphorically

squished that pretty pink box and ran off with the man I love to live in our car haha how crazy

am I?

Vanlife isn’t for everyone. But for those who it is, welcome, enjoy, and release that deep breath

you have been holding. I have learnt that a home is no longer a physical place, rather a feeling.

That a place is just a place without the people you share it with. That connection to land is

essential, and will bring you so much joy. That sustainability is both in the choices we make but

also the care we have for the things we carry and the places we visit. I now wake up every day

and I feel light. Because a day on the road is just another day I could meet someone new, learn

something interesting and lean into the woman I am destined to be. The more I slow down, the

more I see and the easier problems are to solve (because you will have problems and stressful

days). Vanlife will test you, inspire you and ultimately if you let it, free you.

Happy one year on the road to us & cheers to many (many) more.

Alex & Kye