{"id":2422,"date":"2026-08-01T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/?p=2422"},"modified":"2026-07-31T17:51:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T16:51:58","slug":"they-swapped-a-naas-mortgage-for-a-secondhand-campervan-and-have-been-working-from-coast-car-parks-since-april","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/they-swapped-a-naas-mortgage-for-a-secondhand-campervan-and-have-been-working-from-coast-car-parks-since-april\/","title":{"rendered":"They swapped a Naas mortgage for a secondhand campervan and have been working from coast car parks since April"},"content":{"rendered":"

They left a neat<\/strong> semi\u2011detached life in Naas for a scuffed<\/strong> van with curtains that don\u2019t quite meet.
By April, the engine cough had become a ritual<\/strong>, and beach car parks their workflow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They say the first morning on the road<\/strong> tasted like a school holiday<\/strong>.
Salt on coffee, gulls on the roof<\/strong>, and Slack pings like wind\u2011chimes on a laptop<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted tide tables<\/strong>, not TV guides<\/strong>,\u201d says Aoife, a product designer with a soft<\/strong> Kildare lilt and a hard<\/strong> stop for 10 a.m. stand\u2011ups.
Cian, a data analyst<\/strong>, waves a mobile hotspot<\/strong> like a talisman.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why they left a steady address<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The pandemic made remote work<\/strong> feel less like a perk and more like a passport<\/strong>.
Rent crept up, the mortgage offer<\/strong> felt like a leash, and Sunday nerves<\/strong> became a weekly guest.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They pencilled a budget<\/strong>, crossed out three holidays<\/strong>, and hunted for a van that felt more sturdy<\/strong> than romantic, more fixable<\/strong> than flashy.
A 2007 Fiat Ducato, long in the tooth<\/strong> and short on sensors<\/strong>, winked back from a classifieds page.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t chase a Pinterest dream<\/strong>,\u201d Aoife says, \u201cwe chased a daily rhythm<\/strong>.\u201d
That rhythm involved spanners, tea, and YouTube saviours<\/strong> who make broken water pumps sound poetic<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Working from the water\u2019s edge<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Weekdays begin at dawn<\/strong>, with tide checks and coffee so strong<\/strong> it can file paperwork.
They park by piers from Courtown to Clifden<\/strong>, scouting for a mast with bars<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cian measures latency like a sommelier<\/strong>, sniffing the air for a four\u2011bar bouquet<\/strong>.
Aoife slides into Figma with wet hair, a towel doing HR<\/strong>, a hoodie doing PR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Their colleagues know the backdrop will be either mist<\/strong> or laundry, both briefly mute<\/strong> at 59 minutes past.
\u201cSorry, a cormorant just landed<\/strong> on the mirror,\u201d she once said, and the sprint review<\/strong> laughed in emojis.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The van and the numbers<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

They paid less for the vehicle<\/strong> than a Naas deposit\u2019s whisper<\/strong>.
Insulation and electrics ate weekends like a hungry<\/strong> dog, but kept nights quiet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Inside is a small galley<\/strong>, a fold\u2011down desk, and a battery bank that feels like a secret<\/strong> superpower.
Solar handles bright days<\/strong>; a diesel heater forgives rain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Monthly outgoings are narrower than a lane<\/strong> in Dingle: fuel, data, and the occasional garage<\/strong> bill.
Groceries come from village shops<\/strong>, and splurges from seaside bakeries<\/strong> that ambush resolve.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Friction, and why it didn\u2019t win<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Rain rewrites plans<\/strong>, and crosswinds make typing a sport<\/strong>.
Some car parks carry signs that sound more stern<\/strong> than civic, and they listen, then move<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Not every harbour loves a long\u2011stayer with fairy lights<\/strong>, so they keep stays short<\/strong> and bins shorter.
\u201cLeave it tidier than you found<\/strong> it,\u201d Cian says, pocketing a stray bottlecap<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There are real lows: a burst hose<\/strong>, a power hiccup five minutes before a demo<\/strong>.
There are real highs: porpoises drawing brackets<\/strong> around their Monday, otters setting the agenda<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Daily kit that keeps them moving<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n
  • A roof panel<\/strong> for sun, a diesel heater<\/strong> for rain <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Two pay\u2011as\u2011you\u2011go data plans<\/strong>, plus a directional antenna<\/strong> <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • A torque wrench<\/strong>, gaffer tape<\/strong>, and too many fuses <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Refillable water jerrycans<\/strong>, and coffee so serious<\/strong> it deserves a pilcrow <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • A folding bike<\/strong> for towns, and a patience quota for queues<\/strong><\/li>\n

    \n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Places that held them<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They learned the curve of the Beara<\/strong>, the sound a Donegal gale makes on a metal skin<\/strong>.
    On Achill, they found a midweek silence<\/strong> that turns meetings into monks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    In Clare, a surf shop<\/strong> let them borrow a socket and sold them a story<\/strong>.
    In Wexford, they traded a spare butane can<\/strong> for two mackerel and a local forecast<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cWe thought we were escaping a place<\/strong>,\u201d Aoife admits, \u201cbut we were really escaping a pace<\/strong>.\u201d
    A slower one found them among samphire, slips, and the gold hour<\/strong> that turns bumpers into bronze<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Boundaries, new and necessary<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Work still needs fences<\/strong>, even when the view is an open door<\/strong>.
    Noon swims only follow shipped tickets<\/strong>, and Fridays resist sneaky meetings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They learned to write out a plan<\/strong> on a paper map with a bold arrow<\/strong>: signal here, sleep there.
    They learned to log off with deliberate care<\/strong>, because the internet rarely does<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    What the future might look like<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They don\u2019t picture a forever odyssey<\/strong>, or a rush back to predictable postcodes<\/strong>.
    Maybe a small plot<\/strong> with room for a van and a compost dream<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    For now, the wheels keep their calendar<\/strong>, and the coastline keeps their compass<\/strong>.
    \u201cHome,\u201d Cian says, \u201cis a map with creases<\/strong>, a kettle with miles<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They won\u2019t evangelise the whole country<\/strong> into vans, but they\u2019ll defend the right to try something odd<\/strong>.
    To pick a different mortgage: one paid in diesel, salt, and a string of sunrises<\/strong> that balance the books<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2422"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2461,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2422\/revisions\/2461"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}