To rent or not to rent

So we are currently paying 1500zł in rent per month for our dingy smelly dark old apartment in Warsaw, when we have a perfectly good piece of property out in beautiful Łomianki.

In the short to medium term we were planning the purchase of a vehicle. We currently have a beautiful 1992 Honda Del Sol.

But it's a two seater and not being able to give someone a lift, transport anything more than two bags of groceries and not even take it for long drives (it's only as comfortable as a matchbox car can be) is starting to be a niusance. In the event of any familial growth, it's also not going to be big enough.

Besides, I am going to need a vehicle the minute we move to Łomianki, if not sooner, as regular trips to the building site are going to be necessary and husband and I don't work the same hours

I'm thinking to stick with Japanese makes, perhaps Toyota Avensis Verso, Avensis or Corolla Verso?  Basically an MPVish model.

In the medium to long term we were also planning the purchase of a caravan. We love travel, but it's expensive, and opting to DIY some meals is a great way to save money. Fuel costs often equate that of flights, having a car when you get whereever you're going is super comfortable, generally there are huge benefits.

However, if we push the purchase up a few months, or indeed both purchses, could we live on site and not pay rent to some random guy who happens to have inherited this dodgy apartment after his dead mother?

Certainly, if we were to do that, then the caravan would pay for itself. They're only about three month's rent-worth.


We'd probably want one with a self-contained bathroom if we were to live in it while building, possibly not if only for tourism purposes, a functional kitchen and a heather, and at least a 4 berth, so while living there we can have designated dining and sleeping areas and when travelling it can accommodate our family and friends and in future offspring.

The main risk is that we don't finish the build before winter. It gets too cold here to live in a caravan. Or so my husband thinks. I mean, they are fitted with a heater, and how long would it take to heat that little space... but if we weren't able to stay there, where would we go?

But I'm obviously hopeful we'll move in sometime during autumn...

So we continue to ponder this. Perhaps when plans are done and we actually start building we'll have a better idea of when we might finish the house and be able to move in. Then we can make a more informed choice.