Bradley Williams “absolutely hated” his first job after graduating from college.
The 28-year-old said the office environment wasn’t for him — and he quit in three months.
Williams’ girlfriend, Cazzy Magennis, had just finished her degree on the University of Exeter, where they met. While their friends were starting their careers in London, Williams and Magennis were unfazed by the social pressures to settle into corporate jobs.
As a substitute, they decided to backpack to South America, they told CNBC.
An incredible 4 months followed — they camped overnight within the Amazon rainforest, went paragliding in Bolivia, surfed in Peru and saw the Iguazu Falls in Argentina — which they chronicled on a blog called Dream Big Travel Far.
Cazzy Magennis on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Source: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
But their money quickly ran out, Williams said.
The couple began doing freelance copywriting to make ends meet, which raked in between $1,000 and $1,500 per thirty days each, Magennis said. It was enough to permit them to backpack comfortably through Southeast Asia for 18 months, she said.
They continued to blog, sharing travel suggestions, itineraries and sample packing lists with their audience. Eventually, they stopped copywriting and dedicated all their time to the blog.
Now, the location draws a mean of 250,000 monthly visitors and is on target to earn six figures in annual revenue soon, she said.
“It is a numbers game. You’ve to be getting hundreds of individuals reading your content before you truly begin to make any money,” Williams said in a YouTube video about how they generate profits while traveling.
Their primary revenue streams from their travel blog are promoting and internet affiliate marketing, Williams said within the video. They receive a commission when readers book tours or hotels via links on their blog, he said.
“It’s grow to be too big for us to administer on our own,” Magennis told CNBC, adding that seven contributing writers help manage the blog.
The couple also has a YouTube channel, but within the video Magennis said the couple don’t make much money from it.
“We now have made … $382.85, so take from that what you’ll,” she said on the video with amusing.
When Covid hit
When Covid hit and travel got here to a halt, the blog — their only source of income — took a success.
“Income type of just went off a cliff,” Williams said. “All the things form of dried up.”
The couple returned to freelance writing to make ends meet, he said.
“The advantage of having our business as a blog is that there are no big traditional expenses, like rent,” Williams said.
To get monetary savings, the couple spent several months living with their families in Northern Ireland and England.
During a four-month stint with Williams’ parents, they launched into a recent project — converting a van to live in once borders reopened.
A custom-built van
The couple needed a van that they may use to drive world wide, in keeping with their blog.
To design it, they turned to online advice. “We took inspiration from the numerous dozens of van tours we watched on YouTube,” Magennis said.
Bradley Williams and Cazzy Magennis said they spent three and a half months renovating their campervan.
Source: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
The van, which they named Helen, has lots of the utilities of a daily home.
It houses two beds and a seating area for 4 people, plus a shower, toilet and kitchen area. A 480-watt solar panel on the rooftop powers the electricity.
The kitchen area within the couple’s campervan.
Source: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
“Most nights we cook within the van,” Magennis said. “We now have an oven in here, so we are able to cook all the pieces that you just would in a house.”
The route
A map on the couple’s blog shows the couple’s planned driving route. After they spoke to CNBC, they were in america.
Williams and Magennis’ route for 2021-2023 is shown along the green lines, with the red arrows noting the direction they intend to follow
Source: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
To traverse oceans, the couple fly and ship their van across countries.
The couple modified course and at the moment are avoiding Russia in 2024.
Source: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
The couple desired to travel through Russia however the war thwarted their plans, Magennis said.
In one other change, they now plan to ship their van from South America to Australia, where they’ll travel before exploring Asia.
Finally, they’ll finish the route in Europe, where they began, she said.
Best and worst parts of van life
The perfect parts about living in a van is that it encourages a minimalistic lifestyle, Williams said.
“You possibly can’t have ten pairs of shoes and 7 coats — you will realize that you just don’t really need that much,” he said.
They love that their home moves with them, he said.
“We may be parked up at the sting of a cliff in the midst of nowhere, but once we shut the doors and put the heater on … it’s a very cozy space to be in,” Williams said.
But van life has its downsides too, he said.
“Should you’re on your individual and you are not very sociable, it might probably grow to be quite lonely,” he said.
“Sometimes Instagram paints this picture of van life … like every night you will be by this amazing beach with the sun setting … but a whole lot of times it’ll be howling rain outside,” he said. “Or your van breaks down and you have got to get repairs done.”
Bradley Williams and Cazzy Magennis outside their campervan.
Source: Bradley Williams, Cazzy Magennis
The couple estimate that they spend not more than $2,000 annually on van maintenance.
Dangers lurk on the road as well. They’ve had their vlogging equipment, projector and clothing stolen while the van was being shipped from the U.K. to Canada, he said.
Someone attempted to interrupt into their van at midnight, he said. Fortunately, the intruder scurried away when Williams got here out of the vehicle, he said.
They encourage people involved in van life to try it out first before committing to it full time. “It really is not for everyone,” Williams said, adding that some people may feel claustrophobic.
“We all know we find it irresistible because we did a couple of other van trips beforehand,” he said.
His top tip? Hire a van first, then “just give it a go.”
