My international summer romance wasn’t supposed to end – now we’re married and live in a bus traveling around the US
TWO adventure seekers have revealed how their holiday romance turned into living in a school bus together.
Andrea, 24, from Puerto Rico, and Lewis, 26, from Ireland, have visited over 20 countries.
The married couple has garnered over 1.67 million subscribers on YouTube, where they share a glimpse into their lives.
Speaking to The U.S. Sun, they shared their unconventional living arrangement.
LOVE AT FIRST BITE
Lewis and Andrea were just teenagers when they met on vacation in Florida in 2014.
“While eating lunch by the hotel pool, a seagull swooped down and stole Lewis’ cookie mid-bite,” Andrea said.
“Seeing this, I burst out laughing.
“My friend noticed and forced me to go up to Lewis and introduce myself.
“From that moment on we had the summer romance of our dreams, until two weeks later when Lewis went back to Ireland.”
After their chance encounter, they spent four years in a long-distance relationship.
HOME ON WHEELS
The couple tied the knot last year at an outdoor ceremony in Mexico.
They felt like their money was “going down the drain” when they settled on renting an apartment together in Florida for $1,600 a month.
Having been wowed by bus lifers on social media, they began to put their money towards embracing the nomad lifestyle.
“We had always been into traveling so this just sounded like the perfect journey for us to see the States,” Lewis said.
“We wanted to decide which state we would eventually raise our kids in.”
They also thought it would be a good way to save money, so they could invest their monthly rent into something they could own.
We couldn’t live in one another’s countries for the first chunk of our relationship.
Lewis Kelly
The pair were “like a deer in headlights” as they had no prior DIY experience when they began renovating their school bus in 2022.
“We haven’t added up the total cost we’ve spent over the last three years but it has definitely gone above the $60,000 mark,” Andrea said.
“Which over three years comes out to about $1,600 per month.
“However, now that we’re finished, we have $0 rent every month.
“We know many people who have done it in $5-10,000, though, it just depends on what you want to do with it.”
“It is like a blank canvas and it can be as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be,” Lewis added.
GLOBE TROTTING
Family and friends weren’t surprised by the couple’s decision to move from an apartment into a bus.
In their six years spent dating, they visited over 20 countries together.
“Coming from a long-distance relationship meant we had to constantly move around as we couldn’t live in one another’s countries for the first chunk of our relationship,” Lewis said.
They now travel across the US in their bus for two to three months at a time.
Currently, the vehicle has been parked on Andrea’s dad’s farm in Puerto Rico while they venture internationally.
“We will always have our bus no matter what, but we definitely plan to get our own place in the future,” Lewis said.
“Just like we designed and built our own bus, we’d love to build our own house.”
NOT A SMOOTH RIDE
The couple regret not installing more insulation and a second AC unit into their bus.
However, it isn’t the only challenge they’ve had to overcome as bus lifers.
“A lot of RV parks are unfriendly with self-renovated school buses,” Andrea said.
“It can be quite hard sometimes to find a site that will accept us.
“Luckily most campsites do accept us, which we like a lot better anyway.”
Lewis said many people don’t consider a renovated school bus to be a real home, but he has “never” lived anywhere that feels more like home.
“It is our creation from scratch and we absolutely love it,” Lewis said.
“People also ask about safety a lot, however in our two years of traveling around, we have never been in any unsafe situations.”