I am Pim, 28 years old, and until a few months ago I had a “normal” life. A house in Dordrecht, a steady job, a predictable pattern. Nothing wrong with that, but somewhere something was gnawing at me. The feeling that the big adventures always come ‘later’. When you’ve saved up a bit more. When the timing is better. When the kids are out of the house. But what if that ‘later’ never comes?
That question kept coming back. And at one point, we, my girlfriend and I, decided to just answer it. We sold our house, we both quit our jobs, bought a camper and took off with our dog in the back. We left a month and a half ago, and I am currently writing this from the Algarve, somewhere near Faro, with the sun on the roof of our camper van.
The right time to work remotely
I find that many people put off the adventure of travel. “Will come later.” First make a career, then a house, then children, then maybe when you retire. But we made a very conscious choice not to put it off. Not because we are adventurous by nature, but because we are very well aware that “later” does not come by a long shot. Or that there will be new reasons why it won’t come out. Children. A renovation. A promotion you don’t want to miss out on. We wanted to see more of the world. And frankly, I also just wanted a little bit of salary. That turned out to be a great combination.
Operations Manager from an RV
Two months ago I started as Operations Manager at a Dutch company that sets up B2B sales processes for IT and SaaS companies. Fully remote, which turned out to be the perfect construction for me. An average workday for me looks like this: I start between 8 and 9 am. At 9, I have a set call with my supervisor to go over the day’s priorities. Then I get to work on my own. I finish around noon. Each week I work an average of about 15 hours. Three hours a day, five days a week. The rest of the day? That’s for us.
That may not sound like much, but it works. Focus is high when you know you can go into the mountains or to the beach afterwards. And because the structure is clear, fixed check-in, clear priorities, there is little noise.
From Dordrecht to the Algarve
We started in the Netherlands and drove up the Spanish coast through France. For over a month we traveled along the south coast of Spain, occasionally heading into the mountains to avoid bad weather. Now we are in Portugal, in the Algarve. Each place has its own pace. That’s the beauty of traveling by motorhome: you’re not in a hurry. If you want to stay somewhere, you stay. If you want to move on, you drive on.
At a campsite in Spain, we were invited by the owners to join them for dinner. Just like that. We hadn’t known them for a day. They had set a table, there was food. We sat and talked for hours. You can’t plan moments like that. You get them because you are there.
The advantages and disadvantages of remote working
The biggest advantage is simple: ultimate freedom. No alarm clock dictating when you get up. No traffic jams. No meetings that consume your entire day. You decide what your day looks like, as long as the work is done.
Cons? Honestly, only one: every day feels like the weekend. That sounds great, and it is, but of course you can’t spend an entire year sitting on the patio every day. Working out and eating healthy require a little more discipline when you’re on the road.
Remote working tips
If you are considering working remotely and traveling at the same time, these are the things that made the difference for me:
- Start with structure, not freedom. Freedom only works when you know what to do. A set check-in or daily priority list helps tremendously to stay focused, even when you’re at a campground overlooking the mountains.
- Choose a travel mode that works for you. An RV is not for everyone. But it gives us total flexibility. No booking hotels, no planning flights. Just drive to where you want to be.
- Don’t wait for the perfect moment. The perfect moment doesn’t exist. There is always a reason to put it off for a while. At some point, you just have to jump.
The future with the motorhome
We will go back to Holland at some point. When we get there. No deadline, no pressure. When it feels like the right time. But we’ll keep the camper. And when we get back to the Netherlands, I’m going to work more hours at my job and around that and in between we’ll just keep driving.
Want to follow our adventure? You can do so on Instagram via @happyhymer_.
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