Reacting to criticism, Paulina Gammon said, “I don’t think it’s irresponsible at all. [My kids are] going to be … exploring the world”

A married couple, who bought their first house when they were 19, are now selling their home two years later to try out “van life” with their two babies.

Paulina and Stanley Gammon, both 21, purchased a converted campervan and put their three-bedroom house on the market to prepare for their new lifestyle with their sons, Albert, 4 months, and Jakub, 16 months.

“We’re going for a cheaper lifestyle and to enjoy our lives. We’re hoping we can escape the cost-of-living [in the U.K.],” said the mom of two, who lives in England with her family, per Kennedy News and Media.

“We want to travel but have the house and bills, so we put it on the market,” she added. “Our bills with the mortgage and food come up to [$2,430] a month so it’s going to be significantly cheaper.”

Van life will allow the Gammons to decrease their utility bills.

“We won’t be paying for electricity in the campervan and plan on using less gas as we’ll be in warmer countries,” Paulina said, referring to their plans to travel to Portugal and along the French and Spanish coast.

Their adventures will begin once the house sells, so for now, the couple is focused on packing and setting up the van, a process that Paulina has been documenting on her TikTok to her nearly 300,000 followers.

“We’re in the process of decluttering now,” she explained. “Things around the house that are worth money, we’re trying to sell and we’re also giving a lot of toys and clothes away to friends.”

Paulina continued, “We’re going to live a minimalistic lifestyle. Between us all we’re putting our lives into three large suitcases.”

Paulina, who said she and her husband are also selling their two cars ahead of van life, noted that the campervan will have a fixed double bed for them as well as a bunk bed for the boys.

“It’s a full off-grid system so it has solar panels and water containers so we’ll pretty much be living off-grid,” she detailed, adding that the van will have a fully operating kitchen and bathroom.

“We don’t plan to sit in the van all day,” she said. “We’ll use it to sleep and eat in but then the rest of the time we’ll be exploring with our kids. We’re just going to take it slow and if we like somewhere we’ll stay for longer.”

Stanley, who plans to quit his engineering job, is looking forward to spending more time with his family in and out of the van.

“He won’t miss out on the kids growing up as much,” Paulina said. “My partner has to do overtime and then he ends up working more and doesn’t actually get to enjoy his life as he’s working. He’s stuck in that rat race.”

Their decision to abandon their traditional living situation in favor of van life has been met with mixed reactions online, with some calling it all “irresponsible,” particularly when it comes to the kids’ future education.

“With education, I can see how that could be seen as irresponsible, but I’m not taking my kids out of school to do this,” she said of her infant and toddler sons, adding that she’ll get them into school when they’re older.

Reacting to the criticism, Paulina said, “I don’t think it’s irresponsible at all. They’re going to be playing around and exploring the world and having all these adventures rather than sitting in a box room in the U.K. all day long because … it’s raining or the weather is miserable.”

Their announcement about van life also attracted positive comments.

“I absolutely love this for you. I’d rather be crazy than a slave to the system,” one TikTok user commented, while another wrote, “Absolutely go for it. Well done for breaking free from the ‘chains.’ ”

Paulina admitted the decision is “impulsive,” but she doesn’t regret it.

“It’s so impulsive and I don’t think the full emotions and that we’re actually doing this has hit me yet,” she said. “We’re just trying to live our life — and it’s something like this that you’ll regret not doing when you’re older.”

Source: https://people.com/couple-is-selling-house-to-try-out-van-life-with-2-kids-cheaper-lifestyle-12037849