On having a space to myself
“I’m gonna buy me a caravan” are words I never thought I’d here myself think, never mind say. But that’s exactly what I’m considering doing. Why? It’s all about having a space to myself. :p
The housing market in England, as you may or may not know, is a little crazy at the moment. House prices are at an all-time high and (in my opinion) most houses are vastly overpriced. The chances of Hannah, Ben and I, therefore, getting a 3 bedroomed house with a study in a decent area for the amount we can afford are nigh-on zero.
(click to enlarge)
Which is where the caravan comes in. We’re not talking your common-or-garden caravan here. Oh no. The advert above (found serendipitiously in the magazine of The Guardian, which I hardly ever buy) includes a competition to win an Airstream trailer. This brought back memories of Kathy Sierra’s blog post back in 2006 about productivity and happiness. Within that post, she showed her readers her Airstream and waxed lyrical about how wonderful it was:
Finally, after two years of looking (and saving), I found and bought a vintage 1966 (recently restored) 23-foot Silver Streak trailer. (Silver Streak is a “fork” of the original Airstream.) This is my new baby, with my dog Clover in the doorway:
And it’s perfect. It’s parked exactly two feet away from the side of the house (a house I share with my horse trainer and his wife), and the wifi from the house works beautifully. I haven’t felt this good working in years.
I don’t think I need a 23-footer. We’re unlikely to have the space on the drive of our next house – if we even have a drive – to accommodate such a behemoth. I think they do smaller ones, but even so I’d better get saving…
Whilst I love my family to bits and enjoy very much the time I spend with them, I have to be able to spend time on my own. How else would I be able to churn out these blog posts? 😉
Ooof… that's a down payment or three right there!
Love the caravan. Reminds me of the Brad Pitt movie "Snap" with the gypsie caravans. Cheers!
I can relate.
We are in the process of buying a caravan at the moment, This is because we are about to start to build a house. Though I think youmay have inspired me with what to do with the caravan when the house is finished.
I can relate. I remember being jealous of your loft converted study when you posted your ‘video diary’ of a day in the life of DB. Not having anywhere to retreat to and having two young sons myself (the eldest being slightly older than Ben) my productivity at weekends as dipped to zero before the boys’ bedtime. As a result I tend to work till very late (or early depending how you look at it).
Caravan sounds like a great idea, pity I live on such an incline! Mind you, for that sort of money a good shed at the end of the garden might do just as well…