‘I left my home and husband to live in a camper van’

LAURA SHUKBURGH, 53, is a ‘digital nomad’ in the south of France

‘Approaching midlife threw up some strange feelings for me. I recognised some of these as classic perimenopausal symptoms, such as hot sweats, brain fog and anxiety. But there was something else mixed in; a niggling feeling that I wasn’t living the life I truly wanted, although I wasn’t entirely sure what that looked like.

I was living in Leamington with my husband of eight years and we were making regular trips to France to look to buy a house there. But something didn’t feel right, and when that internal whisper became more of a scream, I knew I had to follow my gut, rip up my old life and start something new.

I told my husband that I wanted a divorce, bought a car and drove to France with my dog Pammy – my 21-year-old son, Sol, waved me off. I had no idea what I was driving towards, but it turns out it was the life I believe I was meant to be living.

If it sounds like it all happened suddenly, that’s because it did! I felt really scared en route to France, with just the address of the Facebook rental I’d sorted, especially as I’d never driven overseas. But the gut feeling I’d had felt like a calling, so I went with it, excited about where this adventure might take me.

My mum and dad were a bit worried, but generally everyone supported my decision to go. Even my son, who was at university, told me I needed to do what made me happy.

I rented for three months in a village in the south of France, but wanted to try something else. Plus, I didn’t have heaps of cash to spend on rent so I thought, why not get a motorhome so I can live relatively cheaply and travel? I bought the first one I saw.

I’ve lived in my “camping car”, as the French call it, for almost two years and I love it. It’s my own space, with the basics that I need and it gives me the freedom to move around from place to place whenever I fancy.

Now I’m living as a digital nomad, which means I work off hotspots and 4G wherever I travel, building my business, Marvellous Midlife. I coach and support other women navigating the menopause and their midlife, while also helping businesses put support in place for their staff. I’m so passionate about it, especially as I’m proof that life really can begin at this time of life.

Occasionally I’ll house-sit – and it was while house-sitting last year that I met and fell in love with a French man, 13 years younger than me. He was doing some work for our mutual friend, and we became friends and the rest is history. I couldn’t be happier.

In fact, I’m so in love with love that I’ve just qualified as a marriage celebrant and have my first wedding in a few months. There are so many beautiful spots and chateaus here, I can’t wait to be a part of other people’s love stories.

I took a massive risk in trusting my gut instinct and I’m grateful that I did, as I’m loving midlife and how my future looks.’

✢ marvellousmidlife.co.uk