00:00I wanted to get out of the rat race, basically.
00:032020 was quite a negative experience for a lot of people,
00:07but I turned it into a positive.
00:09I had an awakening, if you like, which I'm still going through now.
00:12It's not an overnight thing.
00:14And I learnt, let's just say, a lot of things in the world
00:17are not as it seems and not as we are told.
00:19So I knew that there was a better life out there
00:21and I wanted to find that and I wanted to live that.
00:25I was the same as everyone else.
00:26I was in a job I didn't like.
00:29I was in a life that I didn't like
00:31and I knew that there was something better out there.
00:33So I prepped for two years for this and here we are.
00:37While van life may seem like the ultimate escape,
00:41a peaceful, back-to-basics way of living,
00:44it comes with its own set of challenges.
00:46It's not always easy and as Hayley often shares
00:49on her YouTube channel, Queen of Freedom,
00:51this lifestyle isn't for the faint-hearted.
00:54It can be a challenge not having the space.
00:56Obviously, not having, just not having the things
01:00that you're that used to having in a house.
01:02It takes some adjusting.
01:03Winter, winter's a challenge.
01:06I've done all four seasons now.
01:07I mean, I'm in like my second summer.
01:09Winter is a bit of a challenge.
01:11First thing on the morning, it's cold.
01:13You see your breath.
01:14You've got freezing fingers.
01:16But we've got a diesel heater.
01:18So people say, well, how do you cope?
01:19Well, I do the same as what you do.
01:21I put my heating on.
01:21But the first thing on the morning
01:23when your heat's not been on,
01:24your insulation's wore off.
01:26It's a bit nippy.
01:27It's a bit nippy on fingers
01:28and a bit nippy, you know, you see your breath.
01:30So that's an experience.
01:31But with sacrifice comes reward.
01:34The freedom, the connection in nature
01:36and the unexpected discoveries along the way.
01:39The positives of living,
01:40there's absolutely loads of positives.
01:42Being able to travel, meeting people,
01:46being able to just, if you don't like where you are,
01:48you can just go, you can just drive off
01:50and just living and just seeing the country
01:54or the world, just living, basically.
01:57Having that time, having that freedom
01:59to be able to do that,
02:01not being stuck in that, you know,
02:03everybody's stuck in again,
02:06conditioned to believe that's how we're meant to be.
02:09There's so many, so many positives.
02:12The North, the community of North Shields
02:14or the North East,
02:16the people are amazing.
02:18You know, like I said,
02:19I was, when I first came here in particular,
02:22I, obviously, I'm not local.
02:24That didn't matter.
02:26You know, I was welcomed here.
02:27I was, I was welcomed here like I'm one of the,
02:29and every time I come back here,
02:31you know, I'll see people that I know
02:32and it's like I've just been here forever.
02:35The vibe and the energy of this place
02:36is just beautiful.
02:39I love it.
02:40We go through school,
02:41we go through uni or whatever,
02:43we get a job, we pay the bills,
02:45we retire and die
02:48without doing the things
02:50that actually we wanted to see.
02:51I didn't want to be one of those people
02:53sat in a nursing home
02:54or sat there at 70-year-old saying,
02:57I wish I'd done that.
02:58I wish I'd have seen that.
02:58I wish I'd have seen that.
