Couple quit their jobs to live in a van and travel the world with their dog

By Ben Barry via SWNS

A couple quit their high-flying jobs to live in a van and travel around 12 countries in five months with their dog - after spending £10k to deck it out with heating, solar panels and a shower.

Sammy and Chris Hoar, both 30, bought their Ford Transit in May 2021 for £3,700.

The pair fell in love with van life after renting a vehicle when they went on holiday to New Zealand in 2018.

After buying their first van in October 2018, the couple knew it was the life for them and bought their now-permanent home-on-wheels in 2021.

The adventurous pair didn't skimp out on spending £10k on installing a heating system, solar panels, a shower and lounge area to make their van feel more like a home.

Now, the couple travels around the world in their home on wheels and have visited 12 countries spending 174 days on the road.

Sammy, a former business owner turned content creator, from Plymouth, Devon, said: "Chris came from work and said we'd found a van that we had been working for.

"He told me to have an open mind and we drove five hours there and back to Bradford, West Yorkshire, to collect it.

"We have always loved to travel, and we love adventure.

"We always used to joke about going to live on the road one day.

"It was a massive commitment for us.

"To everyone on the outside, we were pretty set up in life.

"We had our own house, Chris was an engineer, I was a business owner, and we were very established.

"To give all that up was a shock to some people but we longed for adventure.

"Fletcher has been incredible, he is so adaptable. He is with us 27/7 it is hard to separate us we are this little team."

Sammy stopped running her business in December 2021.

The pair then moved into their van in January 2022 after renting their house out and Chris quit his job as an engineer and on-call fireman in March 2023.

Since moving into the van full-time, the pair have traveled to 12 countries and spent 174 days on the road.

Chris, a former engineer turned content creator, from Plymouth, Devon, said: "It is so freeing waking up in a different location.

"The feasibility to move on if you don't like somewhere is great.

"It is freedom, and it makes you live so much more in the present day.

"When you are at home doing 9-5 you are constantly thinking about the next hour, the next day and life is so fast paced.

"When we come back to visit friends and family, we get overwhelmed very quickly."

The couple said they haven't experienced any major challenges since embarking on their journey and the challenges they do face are everyday issues.

Sammy said: "The biggest challenge for us is the simplest of things, like finding a place to empty your toilet.

"Finding a location where you can fill your water up and even find places to park if you don't use campsites.

"Europe is amazing for having designated areas for motorhomes, but the UK is very strict about it - a hard day for us can be very simple things.

"We have been very lucky we haven't had any really hard times living on the road.

"Our van has been incredible."

Chris said that the pair have stayed in some picturesque locations including the French Alps, Luxembourg, and the Northern Lights, with one beauty spot being closer to home.

He said: "We have just come back from having six weeks up in Scotland and we have completely fallen in love.

"We were parked next to beautiful lochs, there have been a lot of highlights for us in Scotland.

"Luxembourg is an underestimated, gorgeous little country. We could use public transport for free, it was mind-blowing."

The couple said they have no plans to settle down soon and are already planning their next big adventure with their cocker spaniel, Fletcher, four, by their side.

Sammy said: "It is a completely open-ended book for us, we don't plan far ahead nowadays.

"With van life, things can change quite quickly and because we have so much freedom and options it is hard to have a direct plan.

"We have completely and utterly fallen in love with this life. We are not ready to change this lifestyle anytime soon,

"We are content with it and want to stay in it as soon as possible.

"We have our next big adventure pending, where we will be travelling up Scandinavia, visiting Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Arctic Circle.

"At the moment we are in the phase of getting back home and getting things organised as it is such a big trip, we need to get the van prepared."

Countries the couple have visited so far:

• France
• Switzerland
• Germany
• Liechtenstein
• Austria
• Slovenia
• Italy
• Belgium
• Netherlands
• Luxembourg
• Scotland
• Wales

People can watch their journey on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.