I’m not sure Theo and Bee need much of an introduction as most people who have any interest in vanlife will have probably seen many if not all of their videos via their YouTube channel, Facebook, Instagram and Website all under the name The Indie Projects. We’ve been lucky enough to cross paths many times with these two and are pleased to consider them friends, so much so we took advantage and asked them to do an interview with us!
Who are you?
I’m Bee, and together with my partner Theo we live and travel in our van and our boat which we document through The Indie Projects
Where are you from originally?
We’re both from Birmingham UK
What type of van do you have?
Currently we have a VWT4 converted LWB which we’ve had for four years now. This year we are planning on buying a bigger van to convert for full-time living again
How long have you had it?
4 years
What do you call you van?
Our van is called Belthy; Stealthy Betty 😉
What is it that drew you to travelling in your van?
We bought our van with the sole purpose to live and travel for as long as we could, it was a means of freedom for us and was our first proper home.
What’s the best thing about living/travelling in your van?
It’s got to be the freedom to travel where you wish, for as long as you feel. We fell in love with Scandinavia and ended up spending a month travelling through Denmark, 4 months in Norway, and a month in Sweden. If we’d had to stay in hotels or AirBnb’s we never would have been able to travel for so long!
What’s the hardest part about living/travelling in your van?
For me it’s got to be the robbery aspect, as in you’re travelling in your home which means it’s vulnerable. We experienced a break-in during our time in Granada back in 2014, just before Christmas, and they totally trashed our van as well as stealing pretty much everything! Robbery is a fairly common aspect with vanlife, as once people realise you are in a motorhome/campervan it is clear there will be potentially valuable items inside :/
What would you be doing if it weren’t for vanlife?
Living on our plot of land in Portugal probably, growing food and building composting toilets!
What’s you favourite feature of your van?
The bed! A comfortable nights sleep is so important and our full-sized bed is perfect
What was the biggest surprise about vanlife?
How quickly you adapt to living in such a small space
What advice would you give to anyone thinking about getting a van of their own?
You need less stuff than you think you do, and this applies to everything: shoes, clothes, cutlery, cups, plates… anything! You can have you van as basic or as glamorous as you like, there;s really no right or wrong way to go about it; you’ve just got to give it a go!
Here’s a taste of their YouTube channel with the video of when we met Theo and Bee for the first time:
If you don’t already you can follow the adventures of Bee and Theo on their YouTube channel, Facebook, Instagram and Website
