Hi! We are Leon and Melanie and we have been together since 2008 and making our dreams come true. We finally got married in 2022, after having to move our wedding three times due to the corona measures. Two years earlier when the pandemic broke out, we, like so many others, had a tough year. To top it all off, we had a serious scooter accident in the middle of summer. We were in bad shape mentally and physically.
Fortunately, after a lot of hard work we have almost recovered, but it did make us think. We had a wonderful life, a beautiful house, a great job and wonderful friends around us. But the accident made us realize that we wanted to make our travel dreams come true. Why should we wait until we retire? We may not reach that age at all. Maybe we won't be able to do it physically anymore or there will only be one of us left. Maybe…
Also read: There is no such thing as a perfect time to travel…
How do we make our dreams come true?
The dream of traveling started to tickle more and more. We decided to take concrete actions and investigate what was feasible for us. After a lot of research, we discovered that we had to do everything we could to make this dream come true.
This meant quitting our jobs and selling our house along with all our belongings. We had to completely let go of our permanent base that we have built up in recent years and that we have worked so hard for for the adventure. The biggest challenge was our two cats. Because we both felt that we would not continue if they did not accept traveling. After patiently getting them used to driving a car, with a harness, collar and tracker, we were convinced. It felt like we had gone crazy when we made the decision.
Are we really going to do this?!
This was so exciting and our feelings were all over the place. From super enthusiastic to terrified. We had no idea if this was the right choice, but it felt good. Our idea was to travel 8 months a year and 4 months a year in The Netherlands to stand in a fixed place and work nearby. We chose this so that we could remain registered in the Netherlands and because we enjoy spending time with our friends and family 4 months a year.
Traveling with a Tiny House on wheels
We had a Tiny House on wheels built (our Max) and went on an adventure through South-Western Europe with our two cats (France, Spain en Portugal). Enjoy the sun! We really enjoyed traveling and we quickly got used to our new life. Fortunately, traveling with our cats also became a lot better. This first year of travel it was mainly 'long live the fun' and we did as much as possible what we felt like. We threw away a lot of money, but at the same time thoroughly enjoyed our well-deserved freedom and peace.
We also discovered that we didn't want to continue traveling with the Tiny House because we had to plan so much in advance. We were in constant contact with campsites to see if we could go there because of the size and weight. We really wanted to be a bit more flexible and do more wild camping.
Traveling with our caravan Ollie
When we returned to the Netherlands at the end of May 2023, we started looking for another house on wheels, which would be more flexible. It became a caravan and we called it 'Ollie'. We chose the caravan because we really like the fact that we can leave our house and the cats quietly at the campsite or wherever until we return. This is working out very well so far.
In the meantime, we are trying to sell our Tiny House so that we can use this money to go on another adventure next year. We are also investigating how we can work on the road and what suits us well so that we can continue traveling for a long time to come. We really enjoy our freedom and have not regretted it for a moment! Of course it was a tough pill to swallow when we walked away from our house in Boskoop for the last time and had to say goodbye to the sweetest neighborhoods, but I can honestly tell you that it is worth it.
Next step?
We are currently in our second year of travel and our plan is to visit EastEurope to explore. We already have a lot of it Germany, Luxembourg en Switzerland seen. Now the plan is to Austria to travel and spend the holidays near Munich. Then we continue towards oa Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Czech Republic, Poland and via Germany back to the Netherlands.
At least, this is the plan. Those who know us a little know that little in our lives goes according to plan, but isn't that the whole adventure? Not knowing how life goes and where the journey ends? We let ourselves be carried away and try to enjoy every moment. If you would like to follow our adventure, read on wereldreizigers.nl our blogs!
If you are still hesitating about turning your life around and pursuing your dreams, ask yourself: 'What would you do if you had one year left to live?' And then live your whole life according to this motto and get everything you can get out of it!
In short, ENJOY!
