Work Life Balance?

[wheezing donkey]

The flipside to that is, if I - and I suspect a lot of people - waited til I picked up the necessary know-how to convert a van, it would put off the lifestyle change for years.

We could all learn how to build our own vans from scratch, couldn't we? Where do you want to stop - smelting your own metal?

Now to me £5,000 for a S-H VW T4 would not be extravagant or a waste, given that I don't own a car full-stop and never have done.

Adrian, that's what I paid for my 3 year old Peugeot Expert HDI with just 30,000 miles on the clock. And there's nothing super-skillful about the way that I've adapted it, just a bit of ingenious/alternative thinking.
BUT if we are going to be realistic ( and I'm not intending it as derogatory criticism ) in order to turn your back on a "money centred life-style" you do need practical skills.....service the van when there isn't a bucketful of cash to throw at the local garage......plumbing and electrics around the house rather than throwing a bucketful of money at local tradesmen ...etc..etc. Without being prepared to get your hands dirty, "dropping out of the rat race" will remain just a dream.
Plus, I've always got a kick out of what mid-West ranchers refer to as "doing a lot with a little"
Ian.