Ever dreamt of ditching your job for a more laidback lifestyle? Well, one Aussie woman has done just that - and she's taken her beloved pooch along for the ride.
After working and paying rent for house shares since she the age of 17, Alice Bleathman was fed up of being stuck in the rat race of life.
The dietitian, from Tasmania, Australia, had started her own business just before Covid hit, which turned completely online during the pandemic.
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Luckily for Alice - who had always dreamt of travelling - this meant she was able to work remotely from anywhere in the country.
So, the 27-year-old decided to sell all her belongings and used her house deposit savings to buy a van she could live and travel in alongside her Border Collie, Ziggy.
The pair have since been travelling around Australia together in their tiny home.
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Alice explained: “I never imagined that it would be possible to be successful working while travelling.
“It had always been drilled into me how important it was to work and earn money, and I didn’t think I could do both.
“However, I had always wanted to be able to work while travelling around in a van."
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She says that she realised how important it was to pursue her dream of travelling after the pandemic caused her to struggle with her mental health.
“After starting my own business, which went fully online due to the pandemic, my mental health started to suffer, and I realised that I needed to be able to run a business that allowed me to live the lifestyle that I wanted and that would make me happy," Alice said.
“I have been saving up for a house deposit while living in house shares in Sydney, but there was no way I could afford a house so I started thinking about van life again and decided that I would spend my savings on a van."
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Alice quickly fell in love with and purchased a former ambulance van earlier this year and got to work decking it out.
“In total, I spent between $45,000 AUD (£23,400) to $50,000 AUD (£26,000) on the van and the fit-out. However, I needed it to be somewhere I was comfortable as I was going to be living and working in it."
Then, she set off on her travels around Australia.
Alice continued: “Moving into the van was such a liberating experience. I sold everything I owned, including all of my furniture, most of my clothes, my car, bike, skateboard and surfboard, and only took the belongings that I would be able to fit in the van.
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“My new minimalist lifestyle makes me so much happier now. I like having little choice.”
Alice set off from Sydney in May and has since visited more than 10 locations around Aus, including the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Byron Bay.
She even managed to find love on her travels, meeting her partner TJ while on the Sunshine Coast.
"He is now coming along on my trip with me which is amazing," she said.
“I am following the sun as I despise cold weather. We are going to keep going clockwise and just see where the wind takes us.
“That’s the beauty of van life, you don’t have to have a plan and feel restricted."
As for Ziggy, Alice explained: "I wanted him to be able to explore Australia and have the best life ever. He is the best company, especially on days when I feel flat and lonely as he is always there for me and he always needs me."
Bec Oakes