Living in a Caravan Vs Living in a house

I think the point you keep missing M is that we do have the choice and choose not to live in a van full time. For me not having a choice, as in your case, would not be the fun option that you consider it to be. I am happy for you. You have found a way of life you enjoy and are able to remain positive, even in these exceptional weather conditions.

It's just not for us.

My wife's just successfully defrosted the caravan kitchen sink drain and washroom drain using the hairdryer. So water is now flowing down the drain without any problem. The taps are already working because of the onboard tank. So the weather is not a problem for us, SteveL. It would be more of a problem in a house. What if the drains in a house get blocked by ice? I doubt that they could be defrosted as quickly as in a caravan.

The site is having more of a problem with frozen outside taps than we are with the internal taps in our caravan.

If you never try it, SteveL, you'll never know how much better this way of life is!

M, the costs to "run" my house for a month is £375 , why would I want to give that up and stay on sites that ,1 ,will cost me more ,and 2 ,I would have to move site every so often , with staying at my house I can grow veg and flowers and carry on with my hobby of wood turning in my shed ,how could I do that if I stayed on sites ???, but for you that wouldn't be a problem because it appears your wife does all the work and you sleep in the awning , since this cold spell our plumbing has not frozen ,so we haven't had to buy a hairdryer to thaw it out , your arguments for living in a caravan just do not stack up ,and as you get older and less mobile you will find out 

but M ,you do write a good story 

We remember the property we had in China that was in an ideal location. It was a flat on the 18th storey with a view over a lake and you could see surrounding countryside for miles all around. However, even a brilliant view can become boring after a while if it never changes. When we put the property on the market, it sold within one week because the whole block of flats had been newly built when we bought it in an ideal location. That enabled us to get the necessary cash savings into the bank that gave us sufficient money to set up our present life here. We have not regretted it. It's the best thing we ever did!

Sounds like a nightmare to me, but "each to their own"!!  

We are all different Malcolm. 

We have a house and a touring caravan and would never dream of having a seasonal pitch. A touring caravan is designed to 'tour' both here and abroad not to be restricted to a couple of seasonal pitches.

Out of interest how many different sites did you stay on last year?

Looking at your situation Huskydog, it comes to my mind that you are still having to work hard running a business and having less time therefore to pursue other interests. If you were to sell up everything and retire, you would have a huge amount of cash savings in the bank that could be used to enjoy your retirement, have the latest model towcar of the year and the latest models of more spacious 8 ft. wide caravans that are now on the market. All of this could be purchased just using a proportion of that cash in the bank and then you've got the lovely life ahead of you that we are enjoying now!

Firstly I enjoy running my business, I can decide when I open and close ,can you choose when you work ??, and why would I want the lastest model of towbar and wide caravan ?..

I'll let you in to a secret M , but don't tell anyone else , I already have a lovely life 

Hi, Swifty 2018. In the last year we stayed on Northbrook Farm CMC site, Cirencester Park CMC site, North Ledaig near Oban when we visited Scotland, Lancing Fruit Farm CL, Baltic Wharf CMC, Bristol for Christmas and New Year and yes we did have a real Christmas tree and lights for our awning. In addition,  Alderstead Heath CMC and Gatwick and two other CMC sites whilst in Scotland last summer and three other CMC sites in England including Littlehampton. All this has given us a varied and interesting way of life. 

The 21 night rule of having to move is actually a benefit to us because it enables us to get a change of scene and location within a reasonable period of time. We find that more enjoyable than being stuck in one location all the time. Like they say, 'a change is as good as a rest.'