- About me -
About Me
My name is Amelise, I'm currently travelling full time around Europe with my dog Gigi.
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I spent over 2 years in total researching van life and designing hundreds of vans before I reached the point where I had enough money and knowledge to take on the build. Once I felt ready, I bought a van and put all my knowledge, research (and passion) to test. I started the build in May 2020 and I eventually finished it in the south of France and I have been travelling since September 2021!
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I'd love to take you with me on my travels or at least help to inspire you with your own version of van life. So here on my site I have shared everything I wanted to know about van life and wished I had available to me before I started my van build & living in a van (especially as a DIY newbie)!
- My Story -
Why Do I Live In A Van?
I lived a fairly normal existence up until 2019, However this all changed when someone very close to me died. When this happened everything else in my life came crashing down and made me question if life was really worth the pain of living and loss. I asked myself 'what makes life worth living?', and I simply couldn't find an answer. At this point, I hit rock bottom. I couldn't see the purpose of living a normal existence anymore, it just was not worth the pain of existing to me. Then, I realised the problem, I had never been living, I had been surviving, merely existing, just 'getting through' each day... Something I think a lot of people can relate to.
During this time, I could only do one thing, watch TV. Somehow I came across the concept of 'Tiny Living' on YouTube, which lead me on to discover the world of 'Van Life'. I felt this INSTANT connection and insatiable desire to live this beautifully simple life, and 3 years of dreaming, planning, building and saving later, I finally am living in my self converted van named Gloria alongside my little dog named Gigi.
I poured my heart and soul into building my van (as well as a lot of blood, sweat and tears), I documented the entire build and learnt just how capable I was... I could build, wire and plumb my own house, just through online research!
I'm so grateful to the Vanlife and Tiny Living Content Creators that showed their lives on online, and helped shape my life as it is today. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I hope that you can take inspiration from my story and the content that I create, I'd love to inspire you to take a chance on yourself and help you live a life that makes you feel alive.
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Thank You for reading,
- Amélise
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