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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:
MarcyMercy · 29/08/2017 11:55

I wouldn't even consider it at all, sorry OP.

Too many pitfalls as others have mentioned.

Why not just live in your husband's little house that he has rented out, or sell it and buy a tiny house somewhere else.

Nothing like bricks and mortar in my view.

Original poster
Mrscropley · 29/08/2017 12:00

Haven't told my dc it's a real idea - they won't be happy!! My dc are my only family and wouldn't mind us pitching a tent in the garden!! Don't think chickens would survive a boat life very long!! My dh is a man of many talents and quite a bit younger than me so would tinker on to keep us going - can't imagine he will ever truly retire tbh!
Maybe just got holiday fever after a few trips away recently. . . .
Might open that savings account just in case though!!. Thanks everyone!!

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 29/08/2017 12:04

I'd buy a small cottage instead.

RonSwansonsMoustache · 29/08/2017 12:06

Why would you voluntarily isolate yourself going into retirement? I can understand not wanting children/grandchildren coming to stay all the time, but I don't get moving to the middle of nowhere, without the security of a proper house?

What if one of you becomes ill/immobile and needs regular hospital appointments/treatment? It's one of those things you need to consider as you get older - living rurally is one thing, but in the middle of nowhere is quite another. What if one you becomes unable to drive, for example? My dad is only in his early sixties but is having problems with his peripheral vision - eventually he won't be deemed safe to drive. So my parents have moved somewhere with good public transport, a GP surgery and easy access to hospital just in case.

I just don't understand moving somewhere that isn't really designed for year-round living. Most people in caravan parks only use them a few weeks/months a year. Maybe they'll rent it out for a couple of months too, but I don't think these places are really designed to withstand constant daily use.

Ifailed · 29/08/2017 12:11

You can't just buy/rent a piece of land and then live in a caravan on it. You can stay overnight 28 times/year on land you own. What might seem like a good idea in the summer may take on a different aspect in the middle of a dark, damp and cold winter with both of you cooped up with hardly room to swing a cat.

Mushroomburger17 · 29/08/2017 12:15

Why not just put some ground rules in place with your family now?

I wouldn't buy a caravan but there are some lovely little houses for under £50k around. Some rural and by the sea.

BahHumbygge · 29/08/2017 12:15

Look into Tiny Houses (they're a thing) rather than a caravan or park home which have problems with insulation, cold, damp and can't live on site all year round (and fugly to boot). Only for super-minimalists tho'... you'd have to downsize 98% of your clutter. Ex lived in a park home, as an employee, and his place had to be heated 24/7 from gas bottles in order to keep it basically warm. When he moved in/turned off heat it took the best part of a week to get it warm.

Eg. www.tumbleweedhouses.com/ (US based, but you get the idea) Look into bloggers like Rob Greenfield and Rowdy Kittens who have lived in tiny houses for inspiration.

Nubbled · 29/08/2017 12:16

You should try living in a caravan for a month or two during the winter, just to see if it suits you.

Stefoscope · 29/08/2017 12:16

There seems to be a lot more cons than pros to owning a static. I did a lot of research on this recently as I really liked the idea of owning one. They have zero resale value, and realistically on most sites you'll probably have to scrap it after 10 years and buy new. Even if you find a site which says they have no maximum age for caravans, there's always the risk the site could change hands and the new owners could change the criteria. They seem to depreciate in value even worse than cars and you'd probably have to pay someone to dispose of it when it gets to the end of it's useful life. There seems to be very little legal rights for static owners, with no regulation as to how much the ground rent can be put up by each year.

If you wanted to buy land to site it as a previous poster has said, this is very tricky to do legally due to planning legislation in this country. I believe the laws in certain countries (if I recall France is one) are more relaxed about this.

I think Park homes/Chalets retain their value a little better, but the land you're buying is only likely to be a leasehold, so if you're wanting to pass something on to your children this may not be a good investment.

Ponderfully · 29/08/2017 12:20

www.boltonbuildings.co.uk/cube.html
What about this?

PeaFaceMcgee · 29/08/2017 12:25

Millions and millions of people want to live full time in a caravan in a remote field with a few chickens. It's practically impossible to do this from a planning perspective, sorry to say.

Unless you can get away with it for the prerequisite amount of time (10 years change of use of the land, 4 years for a dwelling house without planning permission).

Ifailed · 29/08/2017 12:25

doesn't matter if you go for a boltonbuilding cube, or a Tiny House, you can't just set one up somewhere and live in it, you need planning permission.

PoppyPopcorn · 29/08/2017 12:30

Just buy a one bedroom flat.

BahHumbygge · 29/08/2017 12:33

Lots of people round my way live in caravans or vans on quiet roads at the back of the industrial estate or down the byway along the river. Mark Boyle (moneyless man Guardian columnist) lived in a freecycle caravan on an organic farm in exchange for work. If you're quiet/unobtrusive/tidy/alternative thinker there's ways of making it work. Look into Chapter 7 for advice on planning issues.

Steeley113 · 29/08/2017 13:00

After spending a week in one, during the summer months, there is not a cat in hells chance I'd live in one! They're freezing!

Schroedingerscatagain · 29/08/2017 13:14

We had a double glazed centrally heated static so very up to date in the Welsh mountains

Our site stayed open 10 months of the year so only shut 5th Jan to 5th March, so we often spent Christmas to new year there

Even with a gas fire and central heating once the outside temperatures dropped below zero it was chilly. At -5 degrees the gas cylinder connection/supply invariably started to freeze on ours and a number of neighbours vans

This once lead to us having to do an emergency shut down at 5pm for the winter in failing heat with 2 young kids

Gas bottles are not cheap and you use a lot up in winter making it an expensive way to live

If I did it again it would be a park home or small house

AnnabelleLecter · 29/08/2017 13:25

We used to stay in caravans when on holiday with small dc. They seem to be freezing overnight and too hot in the day. That was in average British summer May/June/July and August.
I would keep the little house and live in that.

5foot5 · 29/08/2017 14:17

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.

A few years back there was a story in our local paper about a couple who had done just that. Was fine for a few years while they were "young old", i.e. 60s. However, when they started to get properly old they didn't feel they could drive that far anymore but they had nowhere other than their motor home to live in so they were parked in a lay-by off a dual carriage way. They were showering at the leisure centre and local businesses were letting them fill up the water tanks for free. They had been there for several years and were in poor health before SS found out and they were given council accommodation. Don't think their retirement plan was thoroughly thought through.

OstentatiousWanking · 29/08/2017 14:31

My DGPs retired to a mobile home site 30 years ago.
Sadly my DGF died shortly afterwards but my DGM still lives there.
Her mobile home is lovely. Just the right size for her to manage now she is getting a little frail.
The site itself is very well maintained. There is an active residents association and a lovely sense of community, which helps us knowing she has a good social network.
I'd say go for it. My only word of caution would be to research and service charges and clauses regarding re selling the mobile home. It's in my GMs deeds that when she sells there are restrictions as to who she sells too.

NightDayNNight · 29/08/2017 14:37

Suggest your partner keeps his property and rents it out and pays his tax, allowing for the tax free allowance. Buy a caravan or motor home and travel around staying at different places. Have you worked out how much per day/ month /year you need to live on. Do you know how much state pension you will receive and do you have a private pension or other investments?. You could also do house sitting if you join one of the agencies /websites

haba · 29/08/2017 14:42

I kind of dream of this, but it seems impossible in Britain. PP being the main issue. Also, living in splendid isolation is fine when you're 60, but very different when you're 95!

NightDayNNight · 29/08/2017 14:45

If in UK look on www.rightmove.co.uk you can find property cheaper in some places in UK if you are willing to relocate

MrsTerryPratchett · 29/08/2017 14:46

I think the issues is the land as well. You want out of the way but presumably with amenities (water, power etc.). You need land that you can live on, but that isn't protected from that in some way.

We've been looking at off-grid tiny homes. Lots of options but the land is generally the issue, not the home. You can buy totally swanky tiny homes. But where do you put it to be close enough, far enough, chickens (in your case), safe, you can age comfortably...

Bluntness100 · 29/08/2017 14:50

Not for me, not for when I get older, when I may need medical care or ease of getting to the shops or the doctor etc, I don't think it's a good idea. No.

drinkingtea · 29/08/2017 14:51

I fancy one of these

www.theweehousecompany.co.uk/our-houses/one-bedroom-wee-house

Not a caravan. Same sort of minimal feel but more practical. Image living in a caravan if you get arthritis or one of you needs your knee replaced or a wheelchair. In a little mini bungalow type house you'd be ok together, but if your home was a caravan the affected partner would have to consider a care home or sheltered housing.

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