My name is Jess Van Den, and I believe life is a Grand Experiment.

Without realising it, I was experimenting on myself throughout my teens and 20s. Trying new things, living in new places, completing 3 degrees because there was so much to learn and I couldn’t decide what I wanted to DO with my life. (Still don’t – and HOW much fun is trying to find out?).

I’ve ended up (so far) living a bit differently to most: my husband and I spent 7 years living in 2 rooms in a converted shed on the same property as my parents (before buying our dream home in the Sunshine Coast hinterland); we fitted out our own campervan and have travelled all over Australia in it; we’re self-employed; we live simply yet fully; we never (again) want a mortgage. In short – we’re learning that you don’t have to follow the well-trodden path to be fulfilled. In fact, it might just be better not to…