Retired couple move into tent for the summer to avoid cost of short-term renting

A retired couple have moved into a tent for the entire summer to avoid the cost of renting a home.

John and Paula Dempsey recently sold their house in the Scottish Highlands and are moving 500 miles away to Deeside.

But with the house not ready until September, the pair have decided to go camping in France near the Spanish border to avoid the expense of short-term renting.

John, 73, and Paula, 66, lived in Scotland for 17 years but have downsized to a to a three-bedroom home at Countryside’s Dutton Fields development in Deeside.

Paula, who previously worked for the NHS as a paramedic, explained: “We were ready to downsize as we’re increasingly aware we’re getting older and need to start looking towards the future.

“Our newer home will be warmer, more energy and economically efficient and closer to local amenities, so we can enjoy our retirement”, Paula said.

The couple wanted to move closer to their children who are based in Lancashire and Devon.

John, a retired health and safety consultant, added: “We’ve been living in Scotland for 17 years, so when we started looking to downsize it was everywhere from Glasgow all the way down south. We were actually looking for about nine months, but when we saw Dutton Fields we knew it was just right for us.”

In light of rising energy bills, Paula added: “The soaring cost of energy prices mean it was definitely the right decision to move to a new-build with plenty of insulation. Compared to our former Edwardian house in the Highlands, we’re fully expecting our fuel bills to be significantly lower.”