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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
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Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nA doctor who felt the post-pandemic stress of his profession was “going to kill him” has sold his home and belongings to travel the world in a campervan. <\/p>\n
Gary Grant, 47, made the radical shift after experiencing severe burnout as a GP. <\/p>\n
He had lived alone in a Lytham St Annes rental property since his 2021 separation from his wife, where co-parents two young children. <\/p>\n
While patient contact was “rewarding” after becoming a GP in 2008, the pandemic’s aftermath brought long days of “complicated” cases. “Skyrocketed” hospital waiting times left him returning home “exhausted” each night.<\/p>\n
Mr Grant said it got to the point where he felt the stress of the job was \u201cgoing to kill (him)\u201d and he eventually thought \u201csod this\u201d before deciding to leave his rental property, sell his belongings and his car, and buy a converted minibus \u2013 where he now lives.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Mr Grant said the pandemic made an already stressful occupation virtually unbearable (Collect\/PA Real Life)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nOver the last four months, he has been sharing his travels on TikTok, as he visits a host of destinations using the money from his sales.<\/p>\n
He has explored Europe with his children and embarked on solo trips to Qatar, Greece, Turkey and Bali, to name a few.<\/p>\n
With another trip on the horizon to the US, Mexico and Guatemala, Mr Grant said his perspective on life has shifted and he now feels \u201cliberated\u201d and \u201cfree\u201d from the constraints of working life \u2013 and he says he will \u201cnever\u201d regret his decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fully aware of how midlife crisis this sounds, the deluxe midlife crisis at the elite level, but it has been very, very liberating,\u201d Mr Grant told PA Real Life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been about getting away from a life that had become a constant stress and finding a way out, even if it seems quite radical.<\/p>\n
\u201cShortly, technically, I\u2019ll be homeless and jobless, but that\u2019s not scary because I feel free.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I\u2019m based wherever my campervan takes me and I\u2019m not going to regret doing this because I\u2019ve had so many incredible, life-changing experiences already.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he fell into medicine \u201cby accident\u201d in 2008.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always been tough and the NHS has always been on the verge of crisis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe patient contact was rewarding and I think speaking to people like a human being is the important part of being a doctor, I enjoyed that aspect of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Grant said after the Covid-19 pandemic the role of a GP became \u201cridiculously tough\u201d for many around the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe demand is rising at the same time as there are fewer of us in the industry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Mr Grant said his mental and physical health was at breaking point before he embraced a life on the road (Collect\/PA Real Life)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cWaiting times for hospitals after Covid skyrocketed so we ended up seeing really complicated things that specialists should be seeing, but we were left trying to deal with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople\u2019s mental health also took a hit and trying to help someone in 10 minutes, it was very hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
With this, Mr Grant said his days became longer and longer until he was the last person to leave, when the cleaner would knock on his door.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would get home, totally exhausted, and get up and do it all over again the next day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the morning I would think, \u2018right, come on I can do this\u2019, but by the afternoon I would say to myself \u2018the stress of this is going to kill me\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
In December 2024, Mr Grant\u2019s GP surgery gave him some time off work and he found the experience \u201cfreeing\u201d.<\/p>\n
While he said his GP practice in particular were \u201cvery supportive\u201d and \u201ctried to offer me the best working environment possible\u201d, being removed from the demands of the role made him feel like \u201ca different human being\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Grant is a different person to Dr Grant and the job pressure being removed made me question how I could do things differently,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He made the decision to step back from his job officially on December 6.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought \u2018why am I sitting here stressed out of my brain four or five days a week, doing a job that I no longer like?’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Mr Grant in his \u00a310,000 campervan, which he bought with the proceeds he earned from selling his life\u2019s possessions (Collect\/PA Real Life)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cI just thought \u2018sod this\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
He moved out of a property he had been renting, and he sold his furniture, his car and most of his non-essential belongings \u2013 opting to keep items like clothes and photographs.<\/p>\n
He bought a converted minibus for \u00a310,000, in which he is based when in the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t even contain a toilet, I\u2019m a 47-year-old man and I use a potty and shower at the gym,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In January this year, he took the campervan to visit seven European countries in seven days with his children, which included Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and France.<\/p>\n
He has also embarked on solo trips to Sicily, Norway, Turkey, East Timor in south-east Asia, Qatar, Greece and Slovakia \u2013 as well as a month-long stint in Bali.<\/p>\n
In the near future, he plans to visit the US, Mexico and Guatemala.<\/p>\n
Mr Grant said he is funding his travels from the sale of his possessions and some savings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever job I\u2019ve got, I will hopefully do it digitally or remotely because the freedom of living in the campervan is incredible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Grant has been sharing his journey on TikTok, under the handle doctorbinfire, where one of his most popular videos, sipping a cocktail on a beach in Bali, gained more than 200,000 views, which he said \u201cblew my mind\u201d.<\/p>\n
Along the way, Mr Grant feels his perspective on life has shifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a doctor, you see lots of tragic and sad things and you realise life is short,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m doing something scary and it might not work out, but I\u2019ve realised life is for living and you shouldn\u2019t feel trapped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a much nicer person than I was last year and I feel free, I\u2019ll never regret doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more A doctor who felt the post-pandemic stress of his profession was “going to kill him” has sold his home and belongings to travel the world in a campervan. Gary Grant, 47, made the radical shift after experiencing severe burnout as a GP. He had lived alone in a Lytham St Annes rental property since his 2021 separation from his wife, where co-parents two young children. While patient contact was “rewarding” after becoming a GP in 2008, the pandemic’s aftermath brought long days of “complicated” cases. “Skyrocketed” hospital waiting times left him returning home “exhausted” each night. Mr Grant said it got to the point where he felt the stress of the job was \u201cgoing to kill (him)\u201d and he eventually thought \u201csod this\u201d before deciding to leave his rental property, sell his belongings and his car, and buy a converted minibus \u2013 where he now lives. open image in gallery Mr Grant said the pandemic made an already stressful occupation virtually unbearable (Collect…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}