Vanlife Stories: Green Earthling Blog (Nic, Billy, Onyx & Vandalf)
- Lloyd
- Jun 23, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 1, 2019
We have been following @greenearthlingblog on Instagram for a while and they have taught us so much about making small but important changes to your day to day life in order to be kinder to the environment! Despite travelling Spain & Portugal around the same time, we didn't manage to meet up this time, but no doubt we will meet in the future!
Who are you? Tell us a little bit about you and your lovely home on wheels!
Hi we are Nic, Billy and Onyx and we have been living full time in our self-converted van, Vandalf!
Our interest for tiny houses evolved from our passion for living a sustainable and minimalist lifestyle. In November 2017 I (Nic) started a blog, www.greenearthling.co.uk covering topics including zero waste, single use plastic, slow fashion and natural beauty. We then discovered the tiny house community in particular van life where we knew this was the lifestyle for us. Before we knew it in Feb 2018 our journey evolved, where we bought a van to convert in to our tiny eco home.
Why did you choose vanlife?
To break away from society's norm of climbing the career ladder but most importantly to live a more free, sustainable and adventurous life. Plus, we get all the best poo views!
Your conversion process Inspirations etc Favourite van accounts etc
We were on Pinterest at the time and came across a few van conversions. Originally we were looking to do van life part time but realised we didn’t have the financials for a van and a flat. But as time went by and we were nearing the end of our tenancy we decided one night to just go for it. 2 weeks later we had a van and handed in our notice to our flat.
Our favourite van accounts for Inspo were:
Fulltime Vanlifer travelling Australia in Saidey the Mercedes.
Rock climber on an endless climbing trip.
Travelling Europe in his self built Mercedes Sprinter Campervan.
What are your experiences of living vanlife? Best and/ or worst bits
Best:
Being able to explore 24/7 – our favourite places so far have been Tabernas Desert and the free hot springs around Spain.
Bringing your home with you – it’s like having a backpack full of pizza and spare pants!
The process of learning how to build a home
Living more sustainably
Breaking free from our office jobs – good riddance!!!
Worst:
Rainy days in a small space (with a dog) Not fun!
Being able to find water in the UK when living off grid – not fun!
Emptying the toilet – especially when you run out of chemicals! :’) – not f***ing fun!
What is your vanlife must have?
SOLAR!!! It allows us to work on the road but more importantly binge Netflix – as Billy calls it (supple upon the Netflix teet) :’)
What would be your vanlife do without?
For Nic: The shower – I am trying to persuade Billy not to have one in the next build
For Billy – It’s Nic, because she doesn’t want a shower
What are you doing now?
We are cleaning up Vandalf, finishing off a few bits for the new owner and looking for a place to rent… Green Earthling HQ :’)
What is your next step?
We are starting a van conversion business! We will also be building another van for us, we are thinking Sprinter? Where we will go on smaller trips across the year 😊
What advice would you give to would be vanlifers or people thinking of living in a van?
Do it now, do it good, do it just like you should! Just kidding :’)!
It is never the right time to do something like this and we don’t know if it ever will be. There’s always something, an obstacle, a bit of fear and the big ‘what if’ question. However, someone once said “it’s never the perfect time to travel” and we have held on to this. We know when we reach 30, 40, 50 etc we would be kicking ourselves if we didn’t do this. So just go for it!
What tips and tricks have you picked up, these can cover things you've learnt converting your van into your adorable home, to things you’ve learnt that made vanlife easier
Tip:
Learn not to care about where you park and filling up your water tank at petrol stations (UK based)
Empty your toilet before it’s full :’)
If you could take your van anywhere where would it be and why?
America – So much land to explore and we can also go in to Canada and South America! We would love to see all the national parks one day!
Social Channels:
Website: www.greenearthling.co.uk
A massive thank you for taking the time to be a part of our Vanlife Stories series.
If you liked reading about their story and journey head over to Instagram and give them a follow at @greenearthlingblog or check out their blog (www.greenearthlingblog.co.uk) for all the details of their conversion and tips on how to be more green.
For those reading, if you are converting or living in your van and would like to be featured you can download the questionnaire here or you can get in touch with us either through our Instagram or through our contact us page!
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