From burnout to living and working in my camper for 9 months a year

If you had told me 15 years ago that I’d end up living in a camper van for 9 months a year while still doing my job as a marketing manager, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. I’m Henno van de Hee, a marketer and van lifter. For a long time, traveling and working were two completely different worlds for me: whenever I wanted to travel, I would literally quit my job.

Things have changed quite a bit since then. My RV is my home and office 9 months a year; I work 4 days a week for my clients and, in the meantime, I regularly move my “front door.” That might sound like a very carefully thought-out plan, but it definitely wasn’t.

Quitting my job to travel

My career began during my vocational training at the MultiMedia Academy in Amersfoort. For my internship, I ended up at e-Village, an online marketing agency, and I ended up staying there. I worked there part-time throughout my entire bachelor’s degree program in Interactive Media at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. In the end, I worked there for about eleven years and progressed from intern to junior, mid-level, and senior marketer, and later to marketing manager.

Meanwhile, I was also really eager to see the world, but remote work wasn’t really a thing back then. This was well before the pandemic, and working from Mexico or India for a few months wasn’t something you could just suggest to HR. So my solution was pretty simple: I quit my job, went backpacking for a few months, and as soon as I started running out of money, I reached out again with , “Hi, I’m back. Do you happen to need anyone?”

The great thing was that I could just come back several times; I think I even got a promotion once after I’d resigned. Not exactly a conventional career path, but it worked for me.

No more traveling—just buying a house and working

At some point, that changed. I bought a house, started my own business, and threw myself into it completely. I found the first few years as a freelancer especially exciting: I wanted to land projects, build up financial reserves, and grow my business. So I worked. A lot.

Travel, something that always gave me a tremendous amount of energy, had meanwhile all but disappeared from my life. For about seven years, I hardly took any long trips at all, until my body signaled about 3.5 years ago that it had had enough and I was on the verge of burnout. Fortunately, I caught it in time, but it still took me about 8 months to recover. My client at the time—ironically, an occupational health and safety service—helped me tremendously with that, even though, as a client of a freelancer, they weren’t at all obligated to do so.

I tried several times to get my career back on track. It didn’t work out twice, and I ended up taking another break. The third time, I succeeded. At the same time, with the help of a psychologist and others, I began to take a critical look at my life.

What gives me energy?
Where does my energy drain away?
What is my work-life balance like?
Do I exercise enough? Do I sleep well?
And perhaps even more importantly: what things that make me happy have I let fall by the wayside?

The answer to that last question was pretty clear: traveling!

So you end up buying a camper

Since I’d worked hard for years, I’d fortunately built up a decent nest egg. I then spent almost all of it on a camper. I didn’t want to take another three-month vacation and then go back to my old life; instead, I wanted to see if I could make traveling a part of my everyday life. Besides, I’d seen surprisingly little of Europe, so I bought a camper van where I could live and work comfortably for extended periods. I named it Vamos, which is Spanish for “let’s go! ” I thought that was fitting.

In my first year, I traveled through Spain. In my second year, I drove to Morocco and back to the Netherlands via Portugal, partly because of the filming of the TV show On the Way to Love. Last winter, I set off once again for Morocco and Spain.

I now live in my camper for about 9 months a year. The rest of the time, I live in my house in the Netherlands, which I rent out while I’m traveling. I’ve deliberately kept that house because, as much as I love this lifestyle, I eventually see myself with a partner and maybe a family down the road—I’d really love to become a dad. But for now, I’m absolutely loving this house on wheels.

My first workation was one big marketing gimmick

I’ve actually known Working Remotely and Alieke since the very beginning of this whole adventure. When I decided during my recovery period that I wanted to travel again, I saw on LinkedIn: A Workation by Alieke I happened to pass by and immediately thought: This is exactly what I need. A chance to get away, but at the same time fulfill my commitments to clients. The only problem was that the workation was fully booked, so I decided to make my own arrangements. I ended up at an all-inclusive resort that was advertised online as a suitable location for a workation. It sounded absolutely fantastic, of course—until I got there. No decent workspace and no one who knew anything about a “workation.” They arranged something on the spot, and I had a great time. I discovered that combining work and travel actually worked for me.

Book your workation in time

The next time, I was quicker to act and joined Alieke on a workation to Sant Feliu de Guíxols in Spain. Later, we went on another workation in Valencia. That first workation we took together ended up giving me so much more than just a different place to work: I met new people, I’m still in touch with some of the participants, and Alieke has since become a good friend—she even came to visit me during my camper van trip through Morocco.

I think that might be one of the most beautiful aspects of this life: things start to happen as soon as you get moving—both literally and figuratively. You meet people you would never have met otherwise, and friendships, ideas, and sometimes completely new adventures emerge. For example, I probably would never have participated in *Onderweg naar Liefde* if I hadn’t first bought that camper and started traveling. One thing sets another in motion.

The next Trip: Albania, Greece and Italy

For now, my camper is parked in the Netherlands. After months in Morocco and Spain, plus a few trips in the Netherlands and France, it’s time for maintenance, an inspection, and a few months of winter storage. Starting in January, I’ll probably start itching to hit the road again. At the top of my list are Albania and Greece. After that, I want to take the ferry to southern Italy and slowly drive back up through Italy. I want to set aside about 6 months for the entire trip—Albania, Greece, and Italy—and I’d prefer not to do it alone.

Recently, I traveled in a camper with a partner for an extended period of time for the first time. Although that relationship fell apart along the way, the experience taught me something: in the end, I still enjoy traveling with someone more than traveling alone. So who knows who might cross my path before January.

Want to give it a try for a week first? 😉

And since this article is all about trying new things anyway, I’ll go ahead and throw out a somewhat unconventional call for help. I’m single and would absolutely love to eventually meet someone who’s also excited about this kind of life. Someone who has her own career, interests, and life, but who would also love to discover new countries together and travel around in the Vamos with me for a while.

But setting off for Albania together in a camper van for six months right off the bat—as a first date—might be taking it a bit too far. So, does this lifestyle appeal to you, and do you find yourself thinking while reading this: “Actually, that Henno guy seems pretty nice”? Then sign up for a Working Remotely workation that I’ll be joining, too. That way, we can get to know each other for a week first: working together, eating, exercising, having a glass of wine, and finding out if we still like each other after seven days. Sounds like a great first test to me. 😉 You can find me on Instagram @hennovandehee.

Above all, don’t overcomplicate it

If I could give one piece of advice to people who dream of working remotely, taking a workation, or maybe even living a life like the one I lead now, it would be this: just give it a try. Don’t go to the other side of the world for six months right away, don’t buy an expensive RV first, and you don’t have to quit your job right away either. Start by working remotely for two weeks.

Ask your employer if you can work from abroad for a short period. Book an apartment, go on a workation, or find a place a few hours’ drive from the Netherlands. See how it feels first. Can you bring yourself to work while the sun is shining outside? Do you enjoy combining work and travel? Does it give you energy?

People sometimes make remote work seem like such a huge undertaking that taking the first step appears nearly impossible, when in reality you don’t have to turn your entire life upside down. My van life as a digital nomad didn’t start with a perfectly thought-out five-year plan either; it began with one fairly simple thought: I think I just need to start traveling again. And I’m still happy about that every day.

In Part 2, coming soon, I’ll explain how I make this lifestyle work from a business perspective: why I work seriously four days a week, how I organize my marketing projects around my travels, and why good internet, enough power, and an empty toilet cassette are sometimes more important than the view.