After five months and seven abodes, Tim Lowe moves into his final Lowe Cost Living home – a converted horsebox – as he ends his odyssey around London in search of affordable renting options
Lying awake, shivering in my sleeping bag, I couldn’t help but wonder how on earth I had managed to end up calling a horsebox my home.
It all started about a month ago. I got the idea from a Knight Frank client who suggested – in jest – that I should rent a campervan and tour it around London as part of my five-month investigation testing renting options in Zone 2 for £500 a month. Without looking into the practicalities of living in a van or where I could realistically park it, I called a friend who I had met at a festival selling breakfast out the back of a horsebox that he had welded onto his Transit van. We had jokingly discussed my project at the time and I said that if I got really desperate for ideas I would give him a call.
After six previous rotations and an exhausted list of options, I found myself dialling his number. Luckily he thought it was a great idea and said he had always envisaged his wagon being lived in one day. But there was one major hitch: the van did not meet London’s Low Emission Zone standards and was subject to a £100 per day charge every time I moved it within the M25. Although he agreed to rent me the van for a nominal fee, I knew it was going to be tough to keep it under £500, and I hadn’t even factored in fuel or insurance.
My next challenge was working out where I was going to park it; paying for parking was out of the question, while parking for free on the street threw up security and sanitation issues, as the van didn’t have a loo. After an abortive attempt to stay in Elephant and Castle, and with time ticking away, a friend kindly agreed to allow me to use his development site near Stoke Newington, N16. In return for providing some security, he agreed to let me park there for free and gave me a key to one of the flats due to be demolished, which had a toilet and a shower.
All set, I made the trip over to Kensal Rise, N10, to pick up the van and find out what I had got myself into. In all honestly, I was delighted. Calling it a horsebox doesn’t really do it justice; think more along the lines of a gypsy wagon. With its wooden shutters and drop-down patio it was like being transported to a different era.
Inside, the wagon was spacious, with chairs, a table and a double bed which extended over the top of the van. In terms of power, there was a mains socket and two lights, which though dim were perfectly functional. I was given a heater and selection of blankets as well as a lifetime’s supply of muesli to keep me going.
The only problem was the lack of a lock on the side hatch. My solution was to unscrew the handle and wedge in a jam jar lid to prevent anyone prising the lock open. Unfortunately, on two separate occasions I slammed the door shut without thinking, leaving the handle inside. This resulted in me unscrewing all the wooden panelling on the back doors to get back in.
As it turns out, if you look confident enough nobody questions your motives, even if you are breaking and entering in broad daylight on a busy street wearing a black hoodie.
With the van fully loaded, I made the journey across London to my new home. Twenty minutes in and seemingly at ease with my new motorhome, the side hatch flew open and to my horror the spare wheel came crashing out, careering across a busy junction and halting all traffic in its way. My natural reaction was to swerve into the layby, unaware of a cyclist coming up the inside, who had to make an emergency exit off his bike and onto the pavement. Chasing after a rolling tyre while having abuse (quite rightly) hurled at me was not how I envisaged my journey would start.
Sleepless nights
The development site in Stoke Newington was outside some soon-to be-demolished homes. Although it was secure, my main problem was its proximity to one of the busiest A-roads in London. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but when you are sleeping in a van with paper-thin walls the noise becomes intolerable and after my third consecutive sleepless night I knew I needed to relocate.
I had to find a quiet street where I could get some sleep and, after a protracted search, I parked up a distance away and climbed through the hatch into the back as subtly as possible. At last, some peace and quiet. But my tranquillity was short-lived. It seems that in early November it is perfectly acceptable to let off fireworks at any time and in any place – even on a quiet residential street. Awoken to a barrage of explosions, I was forced to grin and bear it, but I told myself there and then that I had to find another site or abandon the van completely.
After making a few enquires at Knight Frank, developer Derwent London very kindly gave me permission to use a space on one of its car park sites in Marylebone, W1, which happened to be a five-minute walk from work. Not a bad commute at all.
Fortunately, the space provided was off-street and was considerably quieter than my last location. As the wagon wasn’t the most secure, I made a real effort to befriend some characters who ran a car showroom nextdoor. Although surprised at my choice of accommodation, they kindly agreed to keep an eye out.
One of the main advantages of my latest base was its proximity to my office. Not only did this allow for more sleep than usual, it also meant I could use the facilities. Quite what the security guards thought when they saw me turning up in the early hours to have a shower I will never know.
And they weren’t the only ones on my case. On numerous occasions I was spotted by colleagues as I attempted to make a surreptitious exit from the side hatch. I would then have to engage in a fairly awkward conversation as to why I was living in a horsebox. Not ideal conversation when you have just woken up.
Easy living
The reality was that I genuinely enjoyed my time in the wagon and found it very easy to live in, once I had got rid of the noise issues. I am not sure whether I could do this full-time and I really don’t think this is a permanent solution to the lack of affordable rental options available for someone in my position, but it does highlight that if you are prepared to rough it there are always options. And if your house is on wheels you can cherry-pick your location.
Sadly, my gypsy wagon marks the end of Lowe Cost Living. For the past four months I set out to investigate whether it was possible to live in central London for less than £500 pcm and I am pleased to say it is.
| The Lowe Down |
|---|
| Model: Gypsy wagon |
| Location: Elephant & Castle/Stoke Newington/ Marylebone |
| Nights stayed: 15 |
| Travel time to work: 2 minute walk once I moved to Marylebone |
| Sleepless nights: 3 |
| Lowest temp: 0 degrees |
| Number of times broken in to find my keys: 2 |
| Highpoint: Location was awesome |
| Lowepoint: Bumping into work colleagues first thing in the morning and explaining what i was doing. |
| Score: 6.5 |
I will be back in the new year with the next stage of this project. In the meantime, you can check out further updates on Twitter – @lowecostliving
