Opportunities and challenges of living in a caravan
For over a half a year we’ve had the opportunity to live a lifestyle that comes with living in a caravan. Strangely enough we love it. There are many things to take into consideration if the lifestyle intrigues you. Here are some of the opportunities and challenges, that we’ve had to come to terms with during our caravan adventure.
Freedom of travel
I think this goes without saying freedom of travel is the defining quality of living in a caravan. Where do you want to move next? As long as there’s a road, you can camp there for a few nights, but for longer times you need a permission. There are so many amazing places to visit and the caravan makes travelling so much easier.
Minimalism
We basically have on board: clothes, kitchen stuff, cleaning stuff and adventure gear. With only what you use and need at your hand, things don’t get lost and you don’t buy so much new stuff, it won’t fit!
The view
I think how spacious it feels inside depends on the caravan. Ours is equipped with 9 windows of which one is a panorama window above our bed. Looking up at the stars before you fall asleep is calming. If you’re e.g. parked in a forest, it feels like you’re outside in the forest even though you’re comfortably indoors. So do you want a sea view or a forest view?
Budjet friendly
You can get a loan for a caravan, like for a car, so that the caravan grants itself. The price of course depends on the caravan, but ours was 20K. However, with a caravan it’s good to have a car to tow it with. It’s not a way to make money, but owning is better than renting a place in the long term.
Space
Many of us are used to having our own room. What if your room would be an apartment and that apartment would be the size of a large cupboard? 8 m² of living space is something you need to get used to and it will start to feel very cosy at some point.
Showering
Washing your hair and taking a long hot shower to wash away the stress and sweat of the day. It’s not going to happen in a caravan. It’s a quick 2 min shower or you dive into the nearby lake/sea. It really makes you appreciate the scarcity of freshwater on our planet. But when you do have the chance to go to sauna and shower you really appreciate it.
Thingamabobs
Let’s face it we all have a lot of stuff, old papers, photos, weird things you don’t really know how to use anymore. You can’t store them in the caravan, fortunately there’s a possibility to store them somewhere in a box, and then someday when you do need the thing you’ll have fun rummaging through all those boxes wondering where you stored it.
Waste management
You know when you go to the toilet you just push a button and off goes your worries. What if you have to confront them and act as the waste manager? Like many things you get used to it, and in the end it’s not that big of a deal, we all need to go to the toilet.
Cleaning
A small space is easy to clean, but if you don’t it gets messy instantly. Designating stuff in their own spot is important as well as cleaning regularly. And yes doing the dishes by first boiling some sea/lakewater might seem like some trouble but it’s actually okay. And doing laundry, once a week somewhere is easy.
Sounds
This is a tricky one as it has its pros and cons. The sound of birds walking on the roof and the strong winds of the arctic that shake the caravan can be exciting. But when it rains, well you know it rains. An aluminium roof has this nice quality of being nearly deafening loud when it’s pouring, luckily it doesn’t rain all the time.
So there’s some of the good and the bad. If you’ve been thinking of trying an alternative lifestyle and you’ve thought of the things you’re ready to “give up” and “ready to get”, it’s pretty simple from there and you can make the change happen in a short time if you want to. All decisions come with their own set of problems and opportunities, this is life.
