We ditched our 9-5 jobs – now we travel around the world in a motorhome

QUITTING your 9-5 job can be a very daunting step for many, especially when you have kids to look after.

But that’s exactly what parents Natasha and Greg Plant have done.

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Fed up of coming home from their 9-5 jobs and spending little time with their two sons, the Merthyr Tydfil family said enough was enough.

Taking advantage of the steep hike in house prices in 2022, they sold their family home of six years and embarked on a travel adventure.

Starting their journey from Wales on December 30, Natasha, 33, and Greg, 37, set off with sons Regan, 14, and Ronan, 7, and headed for France in their motorhome.

Natasha, a qualified primary school teacher, said: “What we noticed when we were away on the weekends, we started realising it was not the house and stuff that made us happy. We were living in such a minimal way in the motorhome we didn’t miss going home to our house.”

Before their motorhome acquisition, the family owned a caravan in the picturesque market town of Brecon.

Greg, who works in the car industry, said: “We realised we wanted to teach the boys there was more to life than that. And we are learning as we go. And it is just about spending more time together.

“We haven’t got a set plan yet, we are just going with the flow. Obviously, with it being cold this time of year we are heading south next towards Spain.”

The family will start home schooling in line with the January term curriculum, utilising Natasha’s skills as a primary school teacher.

The couple have said their new lifestyle offered a richer opportunity for learning. Cultural stops during their Gallic adventure included the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris which remains closed following a fire.

Natasha said the boys were asking about what happened to the building so when they got back to the van that evening they started to research it. They found a documentary to watch about the cathedral as a family.

Appetite whetted, the boys researched the Cathedral, and subsequently watched a documentary with their parents to learn more.

Natasha added: “They are learning in a totally new way. We want them to learn from their experiences and know that there isn’t just one way of doing things.”

They plan to take their motorhome as far south of Europe as they can, hoping to pit stop in Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar.

With the restrictions on tourist visas now the UK has left the European Union, the family will have to return within 90 days but are hopeful they will find a place to call home in the meantime.

Greg said: “The money won’t last forever but it is enough to get us started to find somewhere we could settle and work less than if we were in the UK. Natasha added: “We are living much simpler. We are not eating as much junk, we are walking and moving more.”

A social media presence has helped them connect with other families from the UK living life on the road.

They are sharing their experience of living on the road on Instagram as @travel.van.fam.

You can follow their journey here.