My mother recently asked: don't you miss your work? We have been on the road for more than 100 days, which is equivalent to more than 100 days of not working. The question surprised me a bit because I hadn't even thought about working for a second. How logical it seemed in The Netherlands to spend your days working, it is so logical here not to be busy with that.
Also read: #vanlife tips for buying a motorhome | @vandemics
A life without work
It's hard for me now to imagine what it was like to sit in front of my laptop for more than 9 hours a day. Did I really ever do that? How did I keep that up? And did I really get so little of the outdoors? Our current life almost exclusively takes place outside. A complete contrast to a few months ago.
A motorhome pitch in nature, near Granada
A life without work may sound empty to some, but I definitely don't experience our lives that way. Another life has taken its place. One where you are busy figuring out the weather forecast, sleeping places, empty places, (tourist) activities and doing the laundry. I could not have imagined in advance that your days would fill up quickly with this.
Everything takes extra time
At home you can do all kinds of things at the same time: such as turning on the laundry and shopping. That washing machine waits patiently for you to get home. Here you are only a temporary user and you must be ready to transfer your spot to someone else as soon as possible. In addition, shopping takes much more time because yes, how easily can you find a package of breadcrumbs in a foreign store in a foreign language.
Waiting for the washing machine
slow life
Life without work has become a much slower life. Maybe it's like retired people live, but with much less stuff. Because we also learned that along the way, you only get irritated from continuously moving things in a bus. And what do you actually need all that stuff for? Often it is laziness, but if you have time, why would you want to do everything quickly?
Living in a small space makes you realize that you don't need that much at all. In addition, status also matters much less, because in the end you are (believe it or not) mainly judged on your license plate. Swapping the working life for a while for a simplistic life in a van gives a sense of freedom. But not a complete sense of independence. After all, you remain dependent on water and discharge points, washing machines, the weather and a sporadic camper wash. But hey, how bad is that…
Also read: Five ways travel helps you grow in personal development
Adaptability
Does this experience mean that we can never be part of working life again? No, you probably get used to it just as quickly as we got used to this way of life. After all, humans have a good adaptability.
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