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.
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.
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FunTranscript
00:00My name is Maciek and I live in Penzance in my Fiat 500.
00:04I came to Penzance last year so I left Northampton where I lived for 10 years.
00:09My landlord was not happy with me because I complained about a few things like there was
00:14noise in the house and people would start cooking at 3 a.m. for a few hours.
00:22They would slam the door at 2-3 a.m. so I complained about things like that
00:27and my landlord sent me an email saying that he's fed up with my complaints
00:31and he wants me to move out within three months.
00:34First I got worried but then I thought it's a good opportunity to change something in my life.
00:40First time I came to Cornwall over a year ago I already knew how beautiful it is here.
00:48I thought it would be a good opportunity.
00:51Instead of being worried that I cannot stay in that house anymore
00:54I thought I'll just move out and come here.
00:57When I came here I didn't have any plan.
00:59I didn't know anyone here.
01:01I didn't book anything.
01:03I just came to Cornwall and then I googled the first campsite that I could find in the area.
01:09First I slept in my tent.
01:13I went through two tents.
01:15I worn out one of them, I threw it out, then I bought another one.
01:19I wanted to find a place to live like a studio flat or room in a shared house.
01:24I saw a few properties and they were terrible.
01:28They were really expensive and untidy and I didn't like them.
01:34I was just fed up with it.
01:36I just gave up.
01:38It was raining a lot, it was colder and it was windy so sleeping in a tent was not pleasant.
01:46I started sleeping in my car and I realized that I didn't need the tent at all.
01:51I've been working for Uber Eats for about two years now.
01:55I didn't have to look for a job here because I have Uber Eats account.
02:00From the first day when I came here I was working so that made it much easier for me.
02:04I still have to pay mostly for petrol and insurance.
02:08These are the biggest costs and maintenance of the car but you do it every few months.
02:14Because I don't cook food I usually eat takeaway.
02:17It's usually about 10 pounds per day what I spend on food.
02:20But I also eat only once a day which most people cannot imagine and to me it works.
02:28I'm not hungry.
02:30People think that I'm starving but I'm not.
02:33I feel comfortable this way so that's more than enough for me.
02:37In general I like life to be simple so the whole idea of minimalism is close to reality.
02:46It's close to my heart.
02:49Life is much easier and I'm happier.
02:51I don't get attached to material things as much as most people.
02:55I don't have a big TV or nothing like that and it also frees your mind.
03:00You can be focused on other more important things that are important to you or are important in life.
03:07Things that make you happy rather than collecting things that most of the time you don't even use.
03:15you