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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to save /plan to live full time in a caravan at 60?

55 replies

Mrscropley · 29/08/2017 11:18

Started out as a joke to the older dc that we would retire to a one bed home so we wouldn't have lots of visitors staying over!! (lots of dc so likely - hopefully - lots of gc tho only 1 at present).
Don't get me wrong I love being a dm /gm but our bedlam life means we don't have much time to focus on our marriage and own thing - hobbies /spare time or even catch a breath time sometimes!
We don't own a home together (rent) but dh has a small house rented out that we would sell to cover costs etc.
Does anyone live in a caravan or know anyone who does? Material things and home comforts def aren't important to either of us - we just want somewhere to call ours and live a simple life. .

OP posts:
ImperialBlether · 29/08/2017 11:20

Do you mean one of those static mobile homes?

PotteringAlong · 29/08/2017 11:20

I think you'd need a contingency plan - most caravan sites shut for at least a month a year. Where will you go then?

CigarsofthePharoahs · 29/08/2017 11:21

My aunt owned a static caravan for a while.
Almost impossible to keep warm in winter. Damp was a problem too.
In the end it was the ever increasing ground rent that made her sell up. You'd have to think very hard about exactly where you want the van to be.

Surfingwhippet · 29/08/2017 11:23

Maybe a park home would be better to look at. Same sort of size as a caravan but meant to be lived in rather than have a holiday in

JustMumNowNotMe · 29/08/2017 11:23

My parents have one, the site doesn't open from jan-april so you couldn't live in it full time.

frenchfancy · 29/08/2017 11:24

The only way I think I could do it is with a really good motor home, that I could drive to the med for winter.

I can't imagine spending winter in a caravan in the UK. I know people do it but it wouldn't be my choice.

Original poster
Mrscropley · 29/08/2017 11:24

Was thinking we could holiday with family the month not allowed to live on site. Dh had mentioned buying some land or private renting off a friend. Have read up about insulation and ventilation, washer /dryer in an insulated shed seems the done thing. Would like my last years to be very unlike the first ones. Have given my whole adult life to dc - obviously whole heartedly and without regret - but wanted a more sedentary old age!!

OP posts:
JustMumNowNotMe · 29/08/2017 11:25

surfing a lot of park homes have the same issue, as although you own the home, you don't own the land its on so they limit the amount of time you can live in it per year.

RonSwansonsMoustache · 29/08/2017 11:26

I wouldn't - the upkeep is expensive and they cost a fortune to heat. Many have problem with damp/mould. Why not just downsize and buy a cheaper 1-bed house you can live-in year round. You have more security, you own the land you live on and they're a lot cheaper to maintain in the long-run.

fortifiedwithtea · 29/08/2017 11:30

We used to own a static at a holiday place in the days when caravans were only heated by the calor gas fire in the living area i.e. bedrooms and bathroom no heat.

In November we had to do routine maintence and close up caravan for winter. I remember wearing a woolly hat in bed. Condensation running down the walls. It was not glamorous.

Surfingwhippet · 29/08/2017 11:34

How strange, I think it must depend where you are because the people i know who have park homes, (on several different sites) while having to pay ground rent, they can live there all year round

19lottie82 · 29/08/2017 11:35

Park homes are different to a caravan (site).

DJBaggySmalls · 29/08/2017 11:36

YANBU. Do you want a lodger? Grin

centruim · 29/08/2017 11:36

You can put a coal stove in them and get good insulation and ventilation, Condensation is due to not leaving any ventilation. Ours is lovely and toasty in winter but we make sure we ventilate properly.

cricketballs · 29/08/2017 11:38

Mum to a friend of ours has done this, the park she lives in closes for January, so she goes to Spain for the month!

Surfingwhippet · 29/08/2017 11:41

Park homes are different to a caravan

Totally, but closer to a caravan than a house if that's what the op is looking for and may suit better than a caravan

Notevilstepmother · 29/08/2017 11:42

I think you might be better off in a little house than a caravan, caravans do need looking after or they end up damp.

WatchingFromTheWings · 29/08/2017 11:43

I have a relative who looked into Park Homes. Iirc you have to pay rent annually for the use of the pitch, once the home gets to a certain age you have to upgrade it (know that's definitely true of most caravan parks) and if you sell to move/leave the site, they get a cut!

stayathomegardener · 29/08/2017 11:46

If you put it on your own land you would have to prove you made a living from that land and would therefore have to buy many acres costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. Or live with the hounding/planning issues.
Otherwise you would just see caravans springing up on tiny plots everywhere.
Static homes on a site you may be able to live all year round and damp/decay are less of an issue. But round here you would pay between £60-150,000 and resale is a nightmare, clauses can mean you have to sell back to the site owner at a huge loss.
Barges seem popular especially around London and as amazing as that would be I'm sure there are even more problems with water/repairs and mooring fees.

Tensecondrule · 29/08/2017 11:48

My aunt and uncle live in one, it's lovely in summer....but winter is a different kettle of fish. They have had to deal with frozen pipes, flooding, being freezing cold when the boiler packed up (admittedly this can happen in a house) but the biggest issue is the site closing for a month in winter. Before they had it they were full of plans to go to somewhere hot for a month long break, but they've never done it. They just end up staying with friends or family which is a big imposition on them. If I were you I'd be moving into this rental house your partner has!

Original poster
Mrscropley · 29/08/2017 11:49

Def not on a site.

Don't want neighbours!!
The outer edge of nowhere particular would be fine!!
Hoping for some chickens for some intellectual conversation - not for a minute implying dh isn't a great talker!!

OP posts:
MumsOnCrack · 29/08/2017 11:51

How about a boat instead? Always fancied living on a canal boat!

CoolCarrie · 29/08/2017 11:51

Better to buy a flat in Spain or somewhere else in Europe and enjoy good weather all year round.

Whywonttheyletmeusemyusername · 29/08/2017 11:55

I'm with baggy - d'you want a lodger ?? !!!

PovertyPain · 29/08/2017 11:55

You don't want to be those people that relatives start to resent, because you're expecting them to out them up, op. Have you never read the threads on here! 😮😄 My sil and her DH have retired and moved to France to live in a yurt for a few months. I think they're going to play it by ear, but had talked about 'tiny living', as an option. They're renting out their house to help with income.

What do you intend to live on, op?