Nomads who sold their house to travel the UK for a ‘gap year’ now live full-time in a motorhome with their three cats

Nomads who sold their house to travel around the UK for a “gap year” now live and work full-time in a motorhome nearly four-and-a-half years on and have taken their three cats with them to experience new places.

Natasha Gooch, 37, a virtual assistant, which includes admin work for travel blogs and content creators, and her husband, John, 42, a freelance motorhome technician, travel the country full-time with their three rescue cats, Rosie, Millie and Tinkerbell.

Originally from Gosport, Hampshire, the couple sold their house in 2019 and moved into their motorhome, initially intending it to be a “gap year” from work.

Since then, they have remained on the road, with Natasha working remotely from the van and them travelling to Shrewsbury every few months where John takes on freelance work.

Natasha said their lifestyle is marginally cheaper than when they owned a house but that a lot of their expenses go on things like fuel.

She said: “Before we got our first van, I wouldn’t even camp, I was always strictly a hotel girl – John used to caravan with his family and go camping with his friends but I’d never done that.

“I can’t believe how much I enjoy living in a motorhome now but I absolutely love it. Neither of us were ready for the trip to end after 12 months and now we’ve been travelling full-time for nearly four-and-a-half years.

“We never would have gone without the cats, we are their forever home, and it’s been really fun to watch them experience new things too. They’re getting to see incredible landscapes and animals.”

The couple’s love for motorhomes started in 2014, when they bought a transporter vehicle for their mountain bikes.

At the time, the pair were keen mountain bikers and would travel to biking events together.

The couple soon realised the van was convenient for a place to stay overnight when they were travelling but, without amenities, electricity or heating, they soon started looking for a more comfortable option.

Much to Natasha’s surprise, one day in 2014, John returned from a work trip with a motorhome.

She said: “He’d left with a car and came back with a motorhome.

“It was a complete surprise, but I wasn’t even annoyed, I was actually excited.”

Natasha and John started taking breaks away in the UK to places including the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands.

Each time, Natasha noted that they were “sad to be going home” and wanted the adventure to continue.

Natasha said: “We would go to the Motorhome and Caravan Show every October and the Camping, Caravan and Motorhome Show in February to get inspiration and it sparked an idea for doing a full-year trip.

“We were tied down by our mortgage and jobs, so we decided to sell the house and quit our jobs to take ourselves on a gap year around Europe.”

In March 2019, their plan was put into action and, upgrading their van to a newer and bigger model, they sold their house in Gosport, Hampshire, and moved into the motorhome full-time.

Bringing their three cats with them, the couple spent a year driving around the UK, stopping off “on a whim” when they saw a place of interest.

While at first Natasha was worried that the cats would not like the van, they have taken to the nomad lifestyle and love experiencing new places too.

Natasha said: “It took a while to get them used to it but now they love it and it’s been brilliant getting to watch them experience new things. They get to see different landscapes and the first time they saw a sheep or a horse was hilarious because they were so confused.

“We would do what we call ‘brown sign hunting’ where we’d see a tourist attraction sign, which is brown, and follow it.

“We’ve found it to be much better than planning everything we’re doing because we end up discovering new places that we never would have expected.”

When the year came to an end, Natasha said the couple were “not ready for it to end”.

She said: “We loved it so much and we just wanted to keep travelling. So, nearly four-and-a-half years down the line, we’re still travelling and we absolutely love it.”

Working remotely as a virtual assistant, Natasha is able to work from anywhere and, as John is freelance, they travel to Shrewsbury once every few months where he will pick up work for the weeks they are staying in the area.

With the van kitted out with solar panels and batteries for electricity, water storage, a toilet, a bed and a dining space, they have no desire to give up their nomad lifestyle.

Natasha said: “We’ve both become really fond of Germany, we just love the lifestyle, we love their attitude and Italy as well actually. When you’re travelling full-time, you can go somewhere, you can just immerse yourself into the lifestyle of a new place. I feel like you just get so much more out of it than just going to a touristy place and ticking things off.

“A place that surprised us was Luxembourg City, we loved it so much that we’ve been twice. It’s just the most unassuming place that has all this character and the food is amazing.

“I think we’ve learned that we don’t need a lot of entertainment either, just experiencing new places is enough for us.”

And the pair are still regulars at the Motorhome and Caravan Show.

Natasha added: “We love seeing what’s new in the industry and the shows hold a really special place for us because it’s where the seeds were sown for us doing this long term.”