Van life Couple adopt cat as they travel world while working remotely
AYOUNG Bristol couple who spent nearly £10,000 renovating a van so they could work remotely while travelling the world say they have few regrets and have even adopted a cat.
Meera Bhardwaj-Patel, 25, and Will Brown, 24, graduated from university in 2021 and 2022 respectively, but neither were interested in a traditional 9-5 job.
Instead, they decided to gather all of their savings to buy a Mercedes Sprinter, which they renovated before setting off in August.
So far they have managed to visit 10 countries while working remotely – Will works part-time as an electrical engineer and Meera volunteers as a mental health support worker.
Meera, from Bristol, always wanted to do a van conversion since becoming addicted to watching videos on YouTube.
The money they have both saved from previous work, plus Will’s current income is enough to sustain the couple on their travels.
They have your everyday expenses like food and toiletries, but the thing that eats up the most of their funds is fuel.
Meera explained: “In the winter we do tend to have to stop at campsites about once a week to recharge our batteries which costs a fair bit.
“In summer this isn’t the case as our solar panel draws enough energy for us to work and live quite comfortably.”
The couple have managed to visit places like Norway, Sweden, Amsterdam and Germany, and would love to ship the van over to places such as Canada and Morocco in the future.
They are now heading to Spain,
in the hope of some sunnier weather.
As if renovating a van to live in wasn’t challenging enough, Meera and Will also decided to adopt a cat, Lola, to take along on their travels.
Meera said: “We had been looking into adopting a cat for a while even before starting the van - we both love cats and loved the idea of having a little companion to take on our travels.
“We knew it would be quite hard work but we were both prepared to spend the time training her and making sure that she was safe and happy in the van.
“She’s allowed to roam freely in most places and she has a tracker on her collar just incase.
“We got her a pet travel certificate to get her over to France and then from there we could register her with the local vet to get her European passport. She’s technically a French cat now.
Their life sounds idyllic but Meera acknowledged that there wee definitely some negatives to “van life.”
She said: “Like with everything there are definitely negatives.
“While there are some amazing highs, it can feel quite draining moving around constantly and not really having a permanent ‘safe space.’
“Sometimes, we spend hours driving around in the dark trying to find an appropriate place to park.
“We’ve also had things like the back door not closing due to the cold and our headlamps constantly needing replacing, which are generally small things but can get quite exhausting when they all happen at once!
“That being said, we love our tiny home and, for us, the positives far outweigh any negatives.”