An ex-Andover couple have swapped Hampshire for New Hampshire as they take remote working to extreme lengths
Natalie and Laurence Warriner, originally from Hurstbourne Tarrant, made the decision to live life on the open road, living in an RV as they travel across America. The couple document their adventures on their YouTube channel with a community of followers, but still miss some of the comforts Britain has to offer.
"We loved our time in Andover and still visit every opportunity we can,” Laurence said. “We still have some very close lifelong friends there and think about the area often. We especially miss Kebabs and the English Chinese food!”
The pair originally lived in Hurstbourne Tarrant, and later Weyhill and Anna Valley, where Laurence worked as an IT security engineer, while Natalie worked as a pet sitter as the owner of ‘Chilled Dogs’. When Laurence was asked to relocate to the USA, the couple were initially unsure over whether to go.
" We were very unsure about it for so many reasons, but my brother said ‘You only regret what you don't do and if it doesn't work out, you can come home’,” Laurence said. “I've always remembered that, and whenever we face a tough choice, I always come back to that.”
He and Natalie decided to take a leap of faith and make the move, deciding to become ‘digital nomads’ as they live life on the road.
"We have had a lot of opportunities where the easy choice is to say 'no', but we've learnt that the ones that take a bit more effort are usually the most rewarding,” Natalie said. “Thanks to all the latest technology, we can now work anywhere. We bought a 37-foot Grand Design caravan and a Ford F250 truck to pull it.
“It's very different from the caravans you'll find in the UK. It has two bedrooms, a bathroom, a large living area with a dinner table, a kitchen island, reclining seating and a 37 inch TV. Not that much different from our flat in Hurstbourne Tarrant!"
The couple then begun travelling around the states and began documenting their adventures on their Brazen Brits Youtube channel.
"We started the channel so that friends and family back home can see our travels, but it quickly grew into a popular resource for other RV'ers,” Laurence said. “We now have a loyal online community that we meet up with in person on our travels and we really love filming and documenting the good, the bad, the funny, the ugly and the awesome".
They have travelled far and wide around the continental United States, including visits to Ernest Hemingway’s house in Key West, to The Alamo in San Antonio. Their favourite spots, however, are the lesser-known sites.
“Our favourite place was Bay St.Louis in Mississippi, between New Orleans and Pensacola. It was such a quaint little place with a fantastic beach and lovely people.
“It was one of the hardest hit places by Hurricane Katrina back in 2005 and it was surreal to see the impact it had and how they are still recovering and rebuilding to this day.”
Life on the road has its challenges, however, with a constant hunt for power and internet connection.
“If we stay at a place without this, we have to spend the day in a Walmart parking lot or a Starbucks to use their Wi-Fi,” Natalie said. “We also had an issue with our fridge and it took us two months to find a place that could fix it quickly. The trailer is our home, so we can't be without it for weeks to get things fixed.”
There has also been danger and tragedy in their journey, such as being robbed in Houston, Texas or losing a member of the family in Tampa.
“Our 14-year-old Doberman, Roxy, fell ill in Tampa in January this year and unfortunately passed away. It was very hard to leave the area without her....it was like we were leaving her behind.”
Covid also caused a change to their plans, with the couple deciding to buy a permanent base they can go to when needed.
"Full time RV life is such a cool way to live, but Covid took away some of the fun for a little while,” Natalie said. “We definitely plan to continue RV-ing, but we will travel the northern states in the summer, then when it gets too cold up there, we will explore the Southern states in the winter, but also have a homebase to go to do maintenance on the vehicles or if another pandemic hits.”
If you would like to follow their adventures, you can visit: www.youtube.com/BrazenBrits
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