This is perhaps the only vanlife blog you’ll see on the internet that is just that. It is not a vehicle to make money to fund a lifestyle and nor will it ever be. It is simply a record of a new journey in life. A journey which started with back in the summer of 2019 when I decided to retire at 55 and travel.

Take it as an open diary of events, experiences and memories, recorded for my pleasure, that I am happy to share. I only hope that it inspires, motivates and helps guide others to do the same. Good luck and enjoy!

Wannabe Digital Nomad!

Hi, I’m Sean, aged 54 (at the time of writing) and married with 6 kids. Not really kids I suppose (Emily 26/Lucy 25/Jessica 24/Joe 22/Megan 21/Grace 19), am I blessed; perhaps not!? Currently, I’m a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist working for the NHS (National Health Service) in the UK.

Having, been married at 27 and by today’s standards a large family, Christina, my wife and I had little time to explore our own life’s ambitions . So that is where I found myself; hankering for a change, while in a job that no longer challenges or excites me.

So, I’ve decided to retire. The mission, is to travel far and wide in a converted Mercedes Sprinter Sports Home, with all my adventure sports equipment, so I can ride, hike, kayak and ski along the way. Look at My Van, to see my home for this next chapter in our lives. My mission is to retire, build a functional mobile home,live an outdoor adventure sports existence, off grid where possible and to write about the journey from now and record my experiences on this blog. I also want to recall and share small anecdotes of my life from my earliest childhood memories, through adolescence, university life and later as career NHS Consultant and family man.

I plan to work as and when I please for the benefit of others asking only for a place to park and a meal for my efforts and subsistence. I set out on this personal journey in August 2019, when I decided to take that leap and retire. As a young man in my mid twenties, I did have a life’s plan to retire at 55 and travel. I even made financial provision for it but had forgotten about the aspiration over time, getting bogged down in daily professional and family life. A letter arrived a few months before, from a pensions company, regarding a couple of addition pensions called AVCs, that I’d taken out many years ago.

It summarised the benefits due on my retirement of the 29th April 2021, my 55th birthday. I’d completely forgotten about them, but at that moment my fire and passion for life was re-ignited. The forgotten desire to retire at 55 was reborn, rising from the ashes just like that mythical creature The Phoenix.

I am sure, I am not the only one out there from my generation, Generation X, who has the same hankering! I know that you are out there, with the same fears and apprehension that goes with making such a huge life change. I will chronicle my personal travel experiences during this journey and through this blog/website, in the hope it inspires you and others like us, to overcome those fears, to take that leap and become a Van Traveller.

I plan to post every 4-6 weeks so you can follow the journey as it unfolds. You can subscribe to the site, to get early notifications when new posts are published. Click on this link to the blog page FOLLOW THE JOURNEY now to catch up with where we are right now on this journey!