Pack in the job, rent out the house, get in the camper van, fuck off

Do it, put it on TikTok and let it pay for itself

I think this is a good idea. As we discovered, spending weeks at a time in very close proximity even to someone you love can be v stressful. Take a month off in the summer, the pair of you, and try it out first.

Its for many people fear, the fear of ding something different and not normal

But when Op get out there, they'll realise that actually there are many people doing this, dutch, German, British, Spanish who take off for 6 months at a time.

Some sell up, others leave their homes empty, others rent their homes out. Some have a narrow boat in Uk and motorhome in the wanter to warmer places and then return to a canal boat for the British summer.

There are so many variations on this, but many on this thread will be very fearful of something going wrong - but that needs to be put into perspective

Just wanted to add, I've watched relatives live out retirement on very little and it was absolutely miserable.

Do it! Life is way to short!

I know quite a few people who have done it they’ve all been caught out by their van breaking. All have bought bigger vans after a few months. One has found a mechanic who lets them camp in his yard. So they now have the best aa cover to get back to that mechanic if at all possible.
most of them go a few days on roadsides then stay on a proper site to have a decent shower and deal with laundry.

It’s not an easy life, but they are happy.

What's the longest you've done in your campervan to date? If it is under a month I would do try to do a longer break of maybe 3 months before you pull the trigger on leaving jobs/selling up/renting.

What do your pensions look like?

What would the decades following the next few years be like if you returned home and you and/or your DH didn't get a job with similar pay to what you're on now?

I'm not saying don't do it, but I would be taking a good hard look at the reality of it all and I would want to feel fairly confident that I wasn't jeopardising the rest of my life/retirement for the sake of 12 months. Yes, it sounds great, but I wouldn't want to come home to poor housing, struggling to pay for heat and decent food and future trips all because of one year.

You can buy insurance against non payment of rent and for legal costs. It’s not mega bucks - couple of hundred a year.

I would absolutely do it if I were you. But don’t sell the house - much harder to get back on the ladder with no savings / job and you will end up spending much more if you have to rent when you return.

The house is a huge safety net - you can always rent it out and/or sell it later.

Do it and rent the house out while you’re gone if it’s going to provide you with an income and if you plan to sell it anyway when you come back. You’d be mad to try to sell before you go. It could take ages and then you may never go. See if your job would give you a career break of six months or a year. I know you don’t like it but you don’t have to go back to it but could if you needed to and you may as well ask

You could need money for all kinds of things- healthcare, legal fees for the house selling and buying, helping adult children etc.

what monetary help do Ops adult children need?

Why not try it out first?
I suggest that your DH requests two weeks of unpaid leave for next July. Add this onto the summer holiday and, allowing for a bit of time to sort yourselves out either side, that should give you a clear seven weeks for a trial trip.

We have had two mohos and now have a small campervan. We got the first large Moho just before we retired, and used it in the UK for a year (holidays) to get used to it, and on retirement we had several trips to France for three months at a time. On our first trip I kept a note of all we spent, food, fuel, (we mostly used free aires, but some campsites, which are much cheaper than here). We didn't rent our house, just shut everything down whilst away. It was important for us to have a home to come back to. It surprised me that we had not used any savings, that our running costs were no more than what we spent at home, bearing in mind that we weren't using utilities etc.
we absolutely loved our trips, made loads of happy memories and had adventures. Then Covid put a stop to all that, DH is now in his 70s and not in the best of health, so we don't go abroad, but still we go off in the van a lot in the UK. I could have lived in the Moho for years at a time as it like a mini flat really, you can get so much in, but the camper is quite small to make permanent, although some people do.
there's loads of videos on YouTube and also websites that give you an overall picture of van life, check out the pros and cons and do your homework. If you are getting a rental income I would think you could manage it without eating into savings.
Best time of our lives. To infinity and beyond!

Sell your house first, then travel. No landlord hassles, money in the bank, downsize on your return. As for getting another job when you get back, if you’re not fussy, catering, hospitality, retail and healthcare always have vacancies. Good luck! Now go!

Some of these replies are utterly miserable, go enjoy life OP. If taking a few months sabbatical is an option to test the waters then go for that option first.

Id declutter, put all the furniture in storage, rent the house out through an agent and let them manage it - 12% is usually agreeable for managed let

Don't give up your jobs until the rental is agreed

You'll need an electric certificate, Legionnaires, gas certificate and also make sure the house is C or D rating - probably cost around £1200 top end to get this done.

Then drive to Portugal in the camper van as its warm during the winter and cheaper than many other places in europe

@GotTheBug have you spent extended periods in your camper van before? I don't say this to put you off in anyway but just to check that it is something you could realistically do. I had a friend who recently spent a month travelling in a camper van with her DH and she found it an immense struggle, despite being in a country where it was warm and living was mostly outside. They had thought that they would do something similar to you but they are now rethinking that and looking at other options.

Do you have someone reliable and sensible who can keep an eye on your house and be available to sort out any issues that may occur?

We rented out our house and became camp site wardens. It can be hard work with odd hours, but great meeting all the different people who check in and a couple of days off to explore differentplaces. Jobs can be found on www.campsites.co.uk and Caravan Jobfinder. We worked for 7 months and spent 5 months abroad. Unfortunately Brexit laws have changed this to allow only 3 months in Spain, Italy, etc. Not for everyone, but we loved it.

Is there anyone who could manage your house as an airbnb? If you're in a popular seaside location that could be better than residential letting as you can return more easily

Do it if you can afford it - enjoy!

I'm never going to have £100k in the bank or a 6 let alone 7 figure pension but it's certainly not going to stop me having fun and seeing the world. A year out in my 50's is c.£2k less in my pension which in the grand scheme of things isn't going to notice a jot and I'm not grafting for years just so I have money sat in the bank 'for an emergency'. I don't think many people £10k in the bank let alone £100k - maybe on mumsnet but not IRL.

I absolutely would bother.

Imagine giving up on an adventure due to not wanting a bit of hassle.

OP, get a good management company and go for it.

Agree! yes there are periods of 'adjustment' when you come home and have to reestablish - it takes a year or so, but what I gained from travelling and seeing new places was worth the upheaval and having to find a new home etc upon return. I have recently started a stable and interesting job that I would not have gotten prior to upping sticks as I would not have had the confidence to apply for it.

I rent out one property with no mortgage and the profit from it is less than half the rent. Tax, fees to property agents, money aside for repairs and maintenance, landlord insurance and all the legal tests required etc.
There is also the cost of getting the property to the legal standard where you can rent it.

You do need to look into all this. If you are only looking at renting it out for a fairly short period (2-3 years) there is also the ethics of this if the tenant believe they are getting a long term let,. especially if yours is a family sized home. You should be honest about the duration of the let.

Sounds amazing OP, definitely do it!
we travelled for a year when our DC were tiny, and rented our house by word of mouth, - a family who wanted to move to the area and house hunt, friends of friends (of friends?) so it worked really well.
is that an option to ask around locally and then time the travels around finding good tenants?