Bradley Williams “completely hated” his first job after graduating from faculty.
The 28-year-old stated the workplace setting wasn’t for him — and he stop in three months.
Williams’ girlfriend, Cazzy Magennis, had simply completed her diploma on the College of Exeter, the place they met. Whereas their buddies have been beginning their careers in London, Williams and Magennis have been unfazed by the social pressures to settle into company jobs.
As an alternative, they determined to backpack to South America, they advised CNBC.
An unimaginable 4 months adopted — they camped in a single day within the Amazon rainforest, went paragliding in Bolivia, surfed in Peru and noticed the Iguazu Falls in Argentina — which they chronicled on a weblog known as Dream Big Travel Far.
Cazzy Magennis on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Supply: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
However their cash shortly ran out, Williams stated.
The couple began doing freelance copywriting to make ends meet, which raked in between $1,000 and $1,500 per thirty days every, Magennis stated. It was sufficient to permit them to backpack comfortably by way of Southeast Asia for 18 months, she stated.
They continued to weblog, sharing journey ideas, itineraries and pattern packing lists with their viewers. Ultimately, they stopped copywriting and devoted all their time to the weblog.
Now, the location attracts a mean of 250,000 month-to-month guests and is on observe to earn six figures in annual income quickly, she stated.
“It is a numbers sport. It’s important to be getting hundreds of individuals studying your content material earlier than you really begin to make any cash,” Williams stated in a YouTube video about how they earn money whereas touring.
Their important income streams from their journey weblog are promoting and affiliate marketing online, Williams stated within the video. They obtain a fee when readers ebook excursions or lodges through hyperlinks on their weblog, he stated.
“It is grow to be too huge for us to handle on our personal,” Magennis advised CNBC, including that seven contributing writers assist handle the weblog.
The couple additionally has a YouTube channel, however within the video Magennis stated the couple do not make a lot cash from it.
“We have now made … $382.85, so take from that what you’ll,” she stated on the video with amusing.
When Covid hit
When Covid hit and journey got here to a halt, the weblog — their solely supply of revenue — took successful.
“Revenue type of simply went off a cliff,” Williams stated. “Every part type of dried up.”
The couple returned to freelance writing to make ends meet, he stated.
“The advantage of having our enterprise as a weblog is that there are not any huge conventional bills, like hire,” Williams stated.
To save cash, the couple spent a number of months dwelling with their households in Northern Eire and England.
Throughout a four-month stint with Williams’ mother and father, they launched into a brand new challenge — changing a van to dwell in as soon as borders reopened.
A custom-built van
The couple wanted a van that they might use to drive all over the world, in line with their weblog.
To design it, they turned to on-line recommendation. “We took inspiration from the various dozens of van excursions we watched on YouTube,” Magennis stated.
Bradley Williams and Cazzy Magennis stated they spent three and a half months renovating their campervan.
Supply: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
The van, which they named Helen, has lots of the utilities of a daily dwelling.
It homes two beds and a seating space for 4 folks, plus a bathe, rest room and kitchen space. A 480-watt photo voltaic panel on the rooftop powers the electrical energy.
The kitchen space within the couple’s campervan.
Supply: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
“Most nights we prepare dinner within the van,” Magennis stated. “We have now an oven in right here, so we will prepare dinner all the pieces that you’d in a home.”
The route
A map on the couple’s weblog reveals the couple’s deliberate driving route. After they spoke to CNBC, they have been in the USA.
Williams and Magennis’ route for 2021-2023 is proven alongside the inexperienced traces, with the purple arrows noting the path they intend to observe
Supply: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
To traverse oceans, the couple fly and ship their van throughout international locations.
The couple modified course and are actually avoiding Russia in 2024.
Supply: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
The couple needed to journey by way of Russia however the battle thwarted their plans, Magennis stated.
In one other change, they now plan to ship their van from South America to Australia, the place they are going to journey earlier than exploring Asia.
Lastly, they are going to end the route in Europe, the place they started, she stated.
Finest and worst elements of van life
One of the best elements about dwelling in a van is that it encourages a minimalistic way of life, Williams stated.
“You may’t have ten pairs of footwear and 7 coats — you may understand that you do not really need that a lot,” he stated.
They love that their dwelling strikes with them, he stated.
“We might be parked up on the fringe of a cliff in the course of nowhere, however as soon as we shut the doorways and put the heater on … it is a actually cozy area to be in,” Williams stated.
However van life has its downsides too, he stated.
“If you happen to’re by yourself and you are not very sociable, it might probably grow to be fairly lonely,” he stated.
“Typically Instagram paints this image of van life … like each evening you may be by this superb seaside with the solar setting … however lots of occasions it’s going to be howling rain outdoors,” he stated. “Or your van breaks down and it’s important to get repairs completed.”
Bradley Williams and Cazzy Magennis outdoors their campervan.
Supply: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
The couple estimate that they spend not more than $2,000 yearly on van upkeep.
Risks lurk on the highway as effectively. They’ve had their vlogging tools, projector and clothes stolen whereas the van was being shipped from the U.Okay. to Canada, he stated.
Somebody tried to interrupt into their van at midnight, he stated. Thankfully, the intruder scurried away when Williams got here out of the car, he stated.
They encourage folks all in favour of van life to strive it out first earlier than committing to it full time. “It actually is not for everyone,” Williams stated, including that some folks could really feel claustrophobic.
“We all know we like it as a result of we did just a few different van journeys beforehand,” he stated.
His prime tip? Rent a van first, then “simply give it a go.”
