'I was sick of paying rent on a disgusting 'shoebox' flat - now I live in my £800 Ford Fiesta'
24.10.2023 - 14:21
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A man has ditched his 'shoebox' flat and is now living out of his car after being 'sick' of paying extortionate rent in the cost of living crisis. Yavor Dantzarov, 33, was renting a tiny flat in south London for £600 a month before he decided to convert his Ford Fiesta into a home.
Yavor, who is a HGV driver, sourced his second-hand car on Facebook Marketplace for £800 and spent less than £1,000 kitting it out with everything he needs. After living on the road for the last six weeks, Yavor has now said he will 'never go back' to renting a property.
The 'nomad', who also goes by the name of Jesse James, bought a gym membership for £23 per month which gives him 24-hour access to hot showers and toilets. Yavor cooks his meals out of his car by using a gas camping stove and sleeps on a bed in his boot.
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Yavor, who has already visited more than 70 places across the south of England in his camper-car, told PA Real Life: “I’m a driver in my soul… I just like to drive and be on the road. No more houses for me, I’m finished with that. For me, having four walls around you is like a prison and you have to pay for this – no thank you.”
Yavor moved to London in June 2023 after work started drying up in Eastbourne and he found a “shoebox” room. “I found this disgusting room in Kingston upon Thames for £150 per week,” he said. “It was just a shoebox”. But he did not sign a formal tenancy agreement and the landlord asked Yavor, who is originally from Bulgaria, to move out just a few months later.
“I started looking for another room but I didn’t have the