At 21, Paulina and Stanley Gammon already have many of the things young couples often spend years working toward: a three-bedroom house, two cars, two children and a steady job.

Now they’re preparing to sell much of it.

The married couple is putting their home on the market, getting rid of their cars and shrinking the family’s belongings into three large suitcases. Their plan is to move into a converted campervan with their sons, 16-month-old Jakub and 4-month-old Albert, and travel through Europe.

For Paulina, the drastic change comes down to two things the family wants more of: time and freedom.

“We’re going for a cheaper lifestyle and to enjoy our lives,” she said.

They Bought Their First Home at 19

Paulina and Stanley reached a major milestone unusually early.

At 19, they bought their first house in England. Two years later, however, the cost and routine attached to that home have started to feel less like security and more like something keeping them from the life they want to experience.

Paulina said their mortgage, food and other bills total about $2,430 each month. The couple wants to travel, but maintaining their current home and expenses makes that difficult.

So instead of trying to fit travel around those obligations, they decided to change the obligations themselves.

The family bought a converted campervan and listed their three-bedroom home for sale. Once the house sells, they plan to leave the U.K. and head toward warmer parts of Europe, including Portugal and the coasts of France and Spain.

Paulina expects their expenses to fall considerably. The campervan is equipped with solar panels and water containers, which will allow the family to live largely off-grid. She said they won’t have a regular electricity bill and expect to use less gas while spending time in warmer climates.

The vehicle has been set up as a small home for four. Paulina and Stanley will have a fixed double bed, while the boys will sleep in bunk beds. There is also a working kitchen and bathroom.

But Paulina doesn’t picture the family spending most of its days inside the van.

“We’ll use it to sleep and eat in but then the rest of the time we’ll be exploring with our kids,” she said.

Four Lives, Three Suitcases

Before the road trip can begin, the family has to dismantle much of the life they built inside their house.

Paulina has been documenting that process on TikTok, where she has nearly 300,000 followers. Clothes, toys and household belongings are being sorted into different piles. Items with value are being sold, while many of the children’s clothes and toys are going to friends.

The couple is also selling both cars.

What remains has to fit into a radically smaller space.

“We’re putting our lives into three large suitcases,” Paulina said while describing the family’s move toward minimal living.

There is no rigid itinerary waiting for them once they leave. Instead, the couple plans to move slowly. If they find a place they enjoy, Paulina said, they may simply stay there longer.

For Stanley, leaving also means walking away from his engineering job.

That decision is about more than saving money.

Paulina said her husband currently works overtime, leaving him with less time to enjoy family life and watch their two boys grow. She sees the van as a chance for him to trade some of those working hours for time with Jakub and Albert.

“He won’t miss out on the kids growing up as much,” she said.

In Paulina’s view, Stanley had become caught in a cycle where working more was necessary to support their lifestyle, but those extra hours also kept him away from the people the work was meant to support.

Their Decision Has Divided People Online

Not everyone watching the family prepare for the move thinks abandoning a house for a campervan is a good idea.

Paulina said some online commenters have called the parents “irresponsible,” with particular concern focused on what the lifestyle could eventually mean for their children’s education.

She pushes back on that criticism.

Jakub and Albert are still a toddler and an infant, she noted, so neither child is being removed from school for the experiment. Paulina said that when they become old enough to attend school, she intends to enroll them.

For now, she believes the boys will gain something from spending their early years outdoors, seeing different places and having their parents nearby.

“I don’t think it’s irresponsible at all,” Paulina said, explaining that she wants her sons playing and exploring rather than spending most of their time indoors because of poor weather in the U.K.

Other viewers have encouraged the family. Some praised them for stepping away from a conventional lifestyle and taking the chance while they can.

Paulina doesn’t pretend the decision was the result of years of careful planning.

She calls it “impulsive.”

Even with the house on the market and the campervan being prepared, she said the reality of what the family is about to do hasn’t completely sunk in yet.

There is also an important unknown ahead: they haven’t actually started van life yet.

Their new chapter depends first on selling the home they bought at 19. Only then will four people, three suitcases and a converted campervan head toward Portugal, France, Spain and wherever else they decide to stop.

For Paulina, the uncertainty is part of why she wants to try it now rather than wonder about it years later.

“We’re just trying to live our life,” she said, adding that this is the kind of choice she believes they might regret not making when they’re older.