Our dream started about a year ago, now we are following it!
We want to live close to nature, and in harmony with it. We want to be independent from external sources of energy. We want to live of the land and give back to the earth. We want to find community and like-minded people. We want to spread joy!
My girlfriend and I were feeling not completely at home anymore in the Netherlands. I'm originally from here, but she's Polish. We have both travelled a lot, but lately have been spending most of our time in Amsterdam, because we have a small child together and it was convenient to be close to family for some time. But the travel-bug was still with us and although it is much more difficult to make a jump like this with a small child, it is definitely just as exciting. Dominika never wanted to stay here (mostly because of the weather), so last year we started to make plans, which over the course of a few months crystalized into a plan to buy a camper and just drive South. So recently we bought this monster:
It is the same age as me (35), but has only driven about 130.000, which is nothing for a Mercedes. Best part: it has solar, so we can basically park anywhere sunny and still be online (I am going to get a Bitebird, which gives you local rates for 4G pretty much anywhere). I bump my head constantly against the ceiling, as I'm 6'4" and have to get used to it, but Dominika fits in it conveniently:
We did some painting and just did the finishing touches today, as we are planning to start our journey next week, first to Germany, to my girlfriend's mother, who lives close to Mannheim, and then by the end of August we start to drive south. The goal is Portugal. I have a few friends there, and really like the country, climate and culture, plus it is cheap, so what better place to start.
One of the biggest challenges is boiling down a two bedroom apartment to a space that is, to be honest, quite cramped. I have always travelled light, so I don't foresee huge problems, but we are 3 people in a small space, whereas in our apartment it sometimes already feels like we don't have enough space. Fortunately we will be spending more time in nature, and as the weather will be slightly more warm and dry than in Amsterdam, we will be spending a lot of time outside.
I will stop working for the clients I have now. We have a buffer for a few months, but I hope to do some work online and continue to have an income. However, I don't mind having to do something completely different: it is experiences like this that shape one's life for the better.
My plan is to continue writing about our big move, and show you where we will end up. If you have any tips for Portugal, it is much appreciated.
