Jake and Gianna now post regular updates about their unconventional life on Instagram, where they have more than 52,000 followers, but Jake admits: ‘Van life might look glamorous on social media, but it’s not without its challenges.’
He added: ‘We get messages every day from people asking us how we do things like keep a routine for the children, tackle bills, organise our finances – and even maintain an intimate relationship in such a small space.
‘To us, there’s nothing like this lifestyle. We wouldn’t change it for the world.’
The Bachowski family are still Florida for now but the couple plan to continue travelling around the States with their children before hoping to one day – depending on pandemic restrictions – going further afield and touring through Europe.
Jake and Gianna plan to buy some land for a more permanent base when the girls reach school age – but have vowed to keep their bus so that they can travel in their free time.
They also hope to open a homestead where they will host other travellers but, for now, they are enjoying making priceless memories and teaching their daughters about the world.
Jake said: ‘The girls are exposed to all sorts of different cultures, languages, religions and so on. We hope it’s teaching them that the world is vast and you must treat everybody you meet with kindness and respect.
‘They are such happy children. We take them to a different playground every single day, and seeing their joyful faces is one of the best things about this life.
‘People sometimes think it’s an isolated life and ask how we make sure the girls are socialising, but there is such a friendly community of other van families.
‘We’ve made lots of friends and found a sense of community that we never really had before.
‘People can search their entire lives to find a sense of belonging – and here, we have it.’
And Jake, who wants to encourage anybody else thinking of living off-grid to do as much research as possible before making their decision, believes that post-pandemic there will be a surge in people wanting to live more self-sufficiently.
He concluded: ‘People don’t need or want to be in big cities anymore. We yearn for natural beauty and the beauty of humans.
‘In the van, we are self-contained, so feel very safe – plus, there is nothing like waking up in nature.
‘There are days that feel challenging, like when we have to hunt for water or find somewhere that’s safe to park up without risking a knock on the window from someone telling us to move along.
‘But regret is the worst feeling in the world, so we had to take a chance – and now we’re following our dreams.’
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