We’ve all had those days at work when we just want to call it quits and live a different life. Well, one Australian man did just that after he decided that the corporate life wasn’t for him anymore. Call it a mid-life crisis, an epiphany, or whatever you’d like, but in 2014, Rich East knew that he needed a new life.

His new life was going to be pretty simple. It was just going to involve himself, his cat, and his van.

To make this happen, East knew he had to make some major changes in his life. He certainly had to downsize and figure out what was truly important to him. That means not only quitting his job but also selling his house and getting rid of many of his possessions. If it doesn’t fit in a van, it certainly can’t come along.

East figured that if he could just live simply and travel with his cat that would give him time to figure out what he wanted to do with his life.

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While he got rid of pretty much everything, his black cat Willow had to make the cut. East had adopted him just before he started planning his trip. East says he made a promise to never leave her, so even if he didn’t have a house, Willow was going to go wherever he went.

Willow has to get used to being on the road. The only life she had known was being a house cat. But, when you’re not going to have a house, this is no longer an option. So, East started taking her out for little weekend jaunts as he planned his next steps. Eventually, Willow started going out in the van to get used to the new life she was going to have.

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East says that by the end of 2014, they were living in the van fulltime and ready to take on the open road, wherever it was going to take them.

Willow has taken to the road life pretty well. Although they spend a lot of time in the van, she still likes to explore. She enjoys napping and wandering off. But, don’t worry, East Has a tracking collar just in case Willow gets a little too adventurous.

If you were thinking that this van life thing was just a fad, think again. It’s been almost six years since they’ve been on the road. During that time they’ve traveled all over Australia. They don’t plan on stopping anytime soon either.

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East has a website set up to chronicle his life with Willow called Van Cat Meow. That pretty much says it all, right?

The website tells the story of East, Willow, and someone else…East’s girlfriend is on the road with them too. He even proposed to her in 2019. Now, it’s the three of them on the road searching for new adventures.

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East just finished a new project that will take them on new adventures. In December of 2019, he finished their new van. He was worried that Willow wasn’t going to get used to it, but she’s getting used to it just fine.

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Another cool thing that East has done…he’s written a book about his adventures simply called “Van Cat Meow”. It seems as though East has settled in just fine in his new life, in his new van, with his cat and soon-to-be wife. His life seems to be the real cat’s meow.

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Source: Van Cat Meow