A COUPLE FINANCIALLY REDUCED their skyrocketing bills by moving from their home to a seven-tonne lorry.
Chris, 50, and Catherine, 52 respectively, left their 9-to-5 lives to travel the globe with their mobile homes.
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They have been married for 13 years and found tenants for their suburban house. Most of their possessions were sold as they moved to their new lifestyle.
They were able “escape bills”Florry is their lorry that takes them to the sun.
They bought the lorry with a £15,000 loan, and forked out another £10,000 to covert it into a day-to-day home.
It features an open-plan living, dining, and sleeping area with separate shower and toilet rooms.
But despite saying they are now happier than ever, Catherine admitted: “I did feel scared when we said we’d do it, but I knew we couldn’t carry on as things were.”
Although the couple already had five children from previous relationships and were looking for a new home, they said that moving was the right decision. “all about timing”.
The mother said Wales Online: “My girls were leaving home and Chris’s children, who have a full-time home with their mum, were saying they would prefer to spend holidays rather than weekends with us, so we decided the time was right.
“We both like scuba diving and had been out in Menorca, where one of our instructor friends invited us to her home, which turned out to be a lorry!
“That sowed the seed and when we came back to England, we just thought, we could do the same.”
Catherine, a part time secondary school teacher, stated that Chris’s grueling IT career was another reason she wanted to make the switch.
“We knew we couldn’t and didn’t want to continue as we were, as Chris was depressed and stressed by the long hours he was working, we were both exhausted and, because the family’s needs were changing, we both said, ‘Let’s do it then,’”She spoke.
“We’d always had holidays in motorhomes, but knew they were too small to live in and not always that well-built, so we started looking for a lorry and soon found Florry, on eBay, in November 2017.
“She was only the third lorry we looked at, so it all happened quite fast.”
But after making a successful first “test run”Their bold plans to visit France in March 2019 were quickly questioned when Florry fell apart.
They were both left homeless after a week-long wait for their garage to be fixed.
“We’d not planned for that happening and were glad she broke down during the test run and not when we finally left the UK a good two months later,”Catherine.
Their vision was restored by May and they were able to set off on the open road with their chocolate Labrador Rolo.
They spent seven months traveling through Europe, spending time in France, Spain and Menorca, Germany as well as Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Holland and Switzerland.
‘WEIGHT OFF OUR SHOULDERS’
Chris finally said that he was free from the pressures of his job and that life in the lorry is the perfect escape from modern-day stress.
He said: “When we left London, we gave so much away after emptying a four-bedroom house, that we suddenly realised we didn’t need all those material things.
“It’s a weight off your shoulders when you get rid of it all and there’s not a single thing I now miss.
“I have photos up one side the lorry. For me now, my memories and photos are my photos. I don’t need all those possessions.
When I go back to London and see people living in the rat race, I realise I just don’t want that anymore – I’m so much happier
Chris
“We eat far healthier. You can’t just order a take-away and we don’t really eat out because we are on a budget.
“I sleep a lot better and love the fact we’ve simplified everything. We’re less stressed, so of course that makes everything much easier.”
The couple now hopes to maintain their nomad lifestyle as long as possible.
Catherine said, “This window of time is closing before we can take on responsibilities for our family.”
“There’s no fixed plan. It would be nice if we could enjoy five or six years of this lifestyle, but we’re very fluid.
“The only thing I know is that I never want to give rid of Florry, so she will always be part of our future plans. She’s part of the family now.”