Preparations

11th August 1999

We first thought about this venture a few years ago but family matters forced us to postpone it and at one stage we abandoned it when we thought we had a meaningful chance to reshape our business.    When this fell through at the end of 1998 we returned to our plan.   The plan was to be nomads for a while renting out our house and living in a caravan.  The idea is see as much of the UK, Europe and the world without winding up totally penniless.

We had been thinking of doing this adventure on and off over the years, but the idea gained an added impetus at a Catalan beach bar, one holiday, where we watched a 'spectacle' which described a man who wanted to take off with the minstrels but could not because of  'son maison et ses medicaments'.   How true this is.    Our increasingly complex life makes it difficult to leave one's home for more than a few weeks.  Our health is good, but none the less, our doctor and dentist expressed concern that they may not see us for our check-ups for some time.  

There are, however, real difficulties and the European Union really ought to take to task the governments and corporations that do not follow either the spirit or the letter of the various treaties that are supposed to guarantee freedom of movement of the citizens of Europe.   To take just one example, EU law requires car insurance to be valid to the minimum standards required by each country, which is effectively third party.   Try, however, to get third party cover.    No company offers it these days and almost all will not cover periods in excess of six months, effectively thumbing their nose at EU law.   Also, while you can buy very cheaply annual multi-trip insurance, you have to return to the UK every 30 or 60 days.   These arbitrary rules, which cannot directly effect the risk, are there simply to prevent the companies from insuring people who are exercising their right to travel in Europe for extended periods.

There are other small details like the MOT test.   If one wants to be strictly legal and keep one's car taxed, how for instance do you get an MOT certificate in Sicily?      If you want to receive rental income gross, you have to give a foreign address which has to be a permanent address.    For some, who would not be liable for tax, the withholding of income as a consequence is an unfair burden.   In our case, we still have some trustee duties which require regular actions that we have had to organise.   At the practical level, we have had to arrange banking and credit cards to be automatic, as there is nothing worse than being impecunious in some remote village.  

Preparing for the actual journey was more straightforward.  We swapped our car for a more recent specimen with air conditioning, as we had found summers in southern Europe while towing a bit unbearable.   Though only 29,000 miles young, the car had a number of problems that needed sorting before we left, including the air conditioner, which packed in the first day it got hot, and an alternator which had a fault that we learned was common to all that production series.   We fitted a solar panel to the caravan, which we hope will enable us to stop at remote locations and stay electric.  

Last updated: 18/03/01