The Mayes family swapped their large home for a cosy converted bus to allow them to travel. Van life may not be for everyone, but it has certainly worked for this amazing family!

Could van life be the ‘slow living’ dream?

We all have different dreams and ambitions. For some it’s winning the lottery, buying a yacht and living the life of a millionaire. For others it’s simply giving up the 9-5 and turning a passion into an income. For me, it’s having more time to spend doing the things I love – travelling, exploring new places, slowing down and not living by the clock day in day out.

Dreaming is the easy part. Turning the dream into reality is the hard part. There’s always some excuse. The need for the well-paid job, the want of conforming to what is ‘normal’, the constant pressure to have the house, the kids, a stable job.

But what if one day you are brave.

You stop dreaming and start planning on changing your life. The steps could be slow and small, but would you take that first step? Would the fear of failure or giving up the life of security and conformity make you change your mind?

Days roll by and before you know it you are an elderly person sat in a home dreaming of what could have been if you had taken that leap all those years ago…

Van Life – Minimal possessions + travel = the slow living dream

The Mayes family prove that following your dreams can be reality. They went from living in a 5000 sq. ft house to living in a school bus – with their four children! So those excuses that I mentioned earlier – not such excuses anymore. They embraced van life!

The reasons The Mayes family chose a life on the road…

“Life before living on a school bus looked completely different for us, and we needed to make a big change! Basically, we needed to downsize our life! We were living in a 5000 sq. ft house with Gabriel working multiple jobs, sometimes working until the early hours of the morning building business for other people. When we had a large house, we felt the need to fill that house with “stuff” and once we did that, I found myself spending my days cleaning and organizing all the stuff we had! I even had an entire day (Friday) devoted to cleaning the whole house.

Gabriel and I were both feeling like we were just running on the hamster wheel of life, doing everything everyone else told us would be ‘best’, keeping up with the life we had built as best as we could. We had become really disconnected in our marriage and knew that if we weren’t happy as a couple there was no way that we could grow a healthy and happy family. So, we quickly realized we needed to change everything about our life”.

“Before we made such a huge decision, we had a family meeting where we went over the pros and cons of living in the bus versus renting a ‘normal’ house. We told the kids they would have less clothes and toys, but they would gain travelling and seeing the country. They were all on board with making the decision to move onto the school bus and hit the road!”

So how did they do it?

“We just did. Once we decided that this was our dream and we were going to make it happen, we did it. We didn’t let people’s opinions stop us. We didn’t let our own doubts or fears get in the way. We didn’t listen to the “shoulds” or “coulds” that arose. We didn’t let our bank account, or consistent pay check rule us.
You can spend your life dreaming of a goal but doing what’s expected of you OR you can buckle down, silence the voices and DO your dream”.

Be inspired – follow your dreams!

This family are so inspiring to me. I am guilty of being one of the people who put excuses in the way. I have been talking about my dreams for so long, but so far haven’t taken that first step. There always seems to be something in the way – decorating the next room in the house, a wedding to pay for, the next holiday to save for. But if I want to be living my ideal life, then I need to take my first step.

This blog post is my first step. My next step is the planning – what do I need to do financially and emotionally to make my dream happen. It may not be van life but it will definitely be something that involves embracing slow living, travel and caring for our planet.

Gabriel and Debbie remind me of myself and James. James is gone from 6.30am every morning, sometimes working until 9pm in his office to pay for our extravagant house. I LOVE our house, but I do love James more! We are at our happiest when we are outdoors exploring and creating, not tied to our desks. I am a realist and understand that a big house comes with big bills. But a small bus doesn’t – I wonder if James will share my views!!

Here’s to new adventures and big changes!

Big fat thanks to The Mayes family for creating an Instagram account to share their journey and for the powers beyond for making me stumble upon it this morning. It has inspired me and reignited a passion and fire inside of me on this dreary Wednesday morning!

(All images and quotes are from The Mayes website. Also do check out their Instagram page for more pictures from their journey!)

Related posts:

Planning a road trip: top tips

Koto – sustainable houses and cabins

Lagom: work life balance

Back