Pros and Cons of Living in a Camper

 

Admit it - you have at least once dreamed of leaving the job you hate and start travelling across the country. No nagging managers, no deadlines, no traffic jams on the way to work. You must be impressed by all those people who have the courage to leave the boring job and pursuit their dreams. They buy a camper, ensure the most basic conveniences and do not spend more than a few days in the same place. Well, even if you cannot say “enough is enough” and leave the big, noisy city just like that, you can still travel across the country during your vacation. Keep in mind that the more conveniences a camper has, the more expensive it is, so think twice before you make a purchase and check out the advantages and disadvantages you may encounter.

• Living in a camper greatly reduces the amount of the work related to domestic cleaning you would typically be supposed to do if you live in a house. However, if you opt for a more expensive vehicle, you have to expect higher maintenance costs. Plus, you will still have to clean the countertops, the oven, the fridge. In point of fact, having a camper is pretty much like having a house and a car at the same time. You have to set aside money for gas, engine maintenance, new tires and so on.

• If you are used to living in a big house, the lack of space in the camper might drive you crazy. You will have to lift your improvised bed to go to the fridge, you will not have enough room for your clothes, the bathroom will be too small, etc.

• On the other hand, living in a camper gives you the freedom to choose a destination and go to a place you have never been to and meet people you have never met. You don’t have to worry about paying utility bills, performing an end of tenancy cleaning, moving to another house, and so on. Your camper is your castle, you are in full control of your life. If you don’t like the climate, turn the engine on and go to a place where the pouring rain is not a bother. If you have settled at a place where it is too hot, go to a region with a milder climate.

• Even if you have always wanted to live in a camper, at one point you might want to get back to the big city and enjoy the conveniences a standard house has. Many people compare living in a camper to living like a nomad. You might have hated the tedious gatherings with co-workers, but you must have enjoyed having the opportunity to hang out with friends on Saturday evening, then catch a taxi and get back home. Traveling from one place to another might be fun but beware you might get sick of that and want to go back to the normal community life.

• If you buy coffee from the same coffee shop every morning, go to the same supermarket for groceries and call the same company for pizza delivery, you might encounter difficulties when you start your travels. Being unaware of the local providers might greatly affect your habits and make you confused.

• On the other hand, living in a camp gives you the opportunity to escape from the routine and ensures a lot of room for personal growth. You learn to be independent, you are surrounded by woods instead of concrete buildings, you learn to rely on yourself and stress out less about stuff.

• If you are travelling with a close friend of yours or a boyfriend/ girlfriend, the camp life will definitely strengthen your relationship. You will rely on each other and the communication will be considerably improved. Of course, the opposite scenario is also possible. You might find out that you do not actually have that much in common and bitter arguments can become a part of the everyday routine. In other words, either living in a camp can strengthen your relationship or it might fall apart as a result of living together on the road.

Having a camper is a great investment if you are an adventurous person, but if you are not willing to completely give up on your “normal” life, and you want to travel at the same time, the most sensible solution is to get a few weeks off work and make sure living in a camper is exactly what you wanted. You will either find out that the boring office environment is not that bad or you will realize that your freedom is much more precious than working something you don’t like and living in a noisy, densely populated city is not for you.