I’m a mum-of-three & moved out of my 3-bed to live in a Scarborough caravan – bills are £58 a month & we get free WiFi

LIVING in a cramped caravan with three young kids might sound like a nightmare, but for one mum it's the dream life she's always wanted.

Kym Graham, from Newcastle, decided to move her family out of their plush three-bed house in Durham and into a caravan in Scarborough back in March.

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Speaking to Fabulous, Kym, 31, explained that her and her partner Rhys Hunter, 28, decided to make the move with their little ones Willow, seven, Cruz, one, and Remi, five months, when they realised how much money they'd be saving.

"It works out way cheaper than living in a house and we get to have our dream life by the sea," the mum said.

"Not only that, but every time we used to travel to the caravan we felt so relaxed and never wanted to leave.

"The kids love it and so do the dogs with the nice beach and surrounding areas."

Although the fees for having a caravan on the site have gone up in recent years it still works out loads cheaper for the family overall.

"Ground fees have gone up but are still manageable at £6,200 a year, which they offer monthly payments for," Kym said.

As for the rest of her bills, they don't come anywhere near what she was paying in her home back in Durham.

"For the all of last year the caravan bills were £700 - that's £58 a month" she said, "the site also provides Internet for us as part of the deal when we bought the caravan. So, that's all we pay for bills."

According to Numbeo.com the average cost of basic bills (gas,electric, water and council tax) in Durham works out at £260 per month, saving Kym and the family nearly £2.5K a year.

Avoiding hefty TV packages and sticking to watching Netflix has also helped the family save even more cash, she added.

Kym and Rhys bought the caravan, which boasts three bedrooms, plus a lush sofa bed in the living room for guests, on finance for £37,000.

They've been paying £500 per month over the last five years to pay it off and have just two years left to go before it's completely paid off.

The mortgage for their house does work out slightly cheaper at £400 per month, but Kym explained they plan on renting the caravan out to holiday goers, since the family plan travelling elsewhere during the summer.

"We can get anything from £500 to £800 a week so it easily pays off the ground fees," she said.

The couple still own their Durham pad, but are now also planning to rent it out for £600 a month as well.

"We don't want to sell our house as it's always something to fall back on although I have no intentions of going back anytime soon.

"But if you asked my partner Rhys he would he had always loved the caravan life also, who doesn't though," she said.

It's always been a dream for me for when I retired, but there was nothing stopping us doing it now.

Kym Graham31

Downsizing their belongings was a huge task before the move too, and the mum confessed she ended up having to chuck a lot of stuff just to get everything to fit in the caravan.

"The house we have at home is three bedroom, with a massive kitchen, it's completely different to living in a caravan," she said.

"We had to bin a lot of stuff and minimise everything to fit in the caravan but there is more storage here than what you'd think! It's worked out exactly how we wanted it."

There were some concerns about mould and damp in the caravan, which Kym said she was warned about before the move, but so far everything has been smooth sailing.

"We also had someone mention the pipes freezing over in the winter and wished me luck being sarcastic, but we come here in winter and haven't had any problems," she said.

Before the move, one of the mum's main concerns was that her eldest daughter, Willow, would struggle in the new school - but one month in and she's loving full-time caravan life too.

"I knew a few parents on the site who have children who recommended the school to us," Kym said, explaining that the school only holds around 50 children.

The mum recently shared the big move on social media and was amazed by all the positive comments she received - in fact, people even began asking her how they could move into a caravan as well.

"I haven't had any judgmental people commenting on the move, but I've had a lot wishing they could do it.

"And to be honest it's always been a dream for me for when I retired, but there was nothing stopping us doing it now and giving the kids a life and memories that they will treasure forever!"

Having some peace and quiet has also been a welcomed extra to caravan life for the mum, who said she enjoys the simple things more now, like the sound of the rain on the roof.

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