‘I quit home and job to live in car and I’ve never been happier’

A man who quit his job to live in his car full-time and travel across the UK says his life has “improved hugely”. Maciej Bober, 41, lived in Northampton for 10 years and paid £550-a-month to live in a house share.

After working “a lot” of different jobs in 10 years, losing his dad, in 2017 and struggling to hold down a relationship – he realised he wanted a change. He took a job as an UberEats rider earning £300-400-a-week – and drove on a whim to Penzance, Cornwall, on the night of June 1, 2023.

Since then, he’s not had to pay a penny in rent by moving into his Fiat 500 – which he parks up on side roads and car parks. He still works as an UberEats driver wherever he goes – earning “enough to pay for his needs.”

All his possessions are stored in the boot of his car – while his pay goes on car insurance, food and a £45 gym membership, just so he can use the shower. He mostly eats takeaways – for “convenience” – but also buys bread to make sandwiches.

Maciej says he’s made lots of friends in the Cornish town and he’s “happier and less stressed than ever”. Maciej, from Gliwice, Poland, said: “Living in my car makes me feel free – and to me, freedom is the most important thing.

“I don’t need to pay rent and I can live wherever I want. When I decide to leave Penzance, I can just go – I’d love to live in Glastonbury for a while, or somewhere in Devon.”

Maciej says he always disliked the “greyness” of Northampton. He claims his seven housemates often kept him up at night and he felt the area was unsafe. On March 2, 2023, he was asked to leave by his landlord via email.

He decided this would be the best time to uproot his life and leave the town for good. “Northampton is a depressing place,” he said.

“There’s something about it – it’s quite grey and dirty. It doesn’t have a safe atmosphere either. A few things happened in my life that were quite traumatic to me – I had a few heartbreaks and my dad died.

“It got to the point where everything about Northampton reminded me of depressing things. I was living in this eight-bedroom house – and one day my landlord contacted me and told me I needed to move out.

“I thought ‘perfect, I’ll pack my things and leave’.”

Maciej had been to Cornwall for holidays throughout early 2023. He’d visited Bodmin, Saltash, Newquay and Truro but says Penzance was “by far” his favourite town.

After packing up his life, he travelled down to Penzance, the same night and pitched a tent. He lived at different campsites for six months – before realising it’d be cheaper for him to stay in his car.

“I decided I spent so much time in my car, it would make no difference if I sleep in it too,” he said. “With everything, there are good sides and bad sides – but my experience has been mostly positive.”

Since moving, Maciej has gone on a number of “adventures” while living out of his car – including climbing up Land’s End and travelling from campsite to campsite. He said: “I’ve met a lot of great people here, I even dated someone on the campsite for a while.

“My friend from Truro, a climber, took me to Land’s End. It was beautiful.”

Maciej’s next destination is set to be Glastonbury next winter. “Winter here is unpleasant,” he said. “It’s windy and there’s a lot of rain.

“Before next winter I might go to Glastonbury – somewhere not quite as windy. I love the atmosphere there – so maybe I’ll stay there.”