A single mom’s unconventional solution to soaring rent costs pushed her creative limits and led her to transform a double-decker bus into a cozy off-grid home for herself and her son, and she documented the unique journey on social media. Her groundbreaking project has already inspired thousands of admirers.
Jazz, a 25-year-old mother, bought a green double-decker bus for herself and her five-year-old son to live in and save some money. She reportedly acquired the old rusty bus, which she’s named Clover, from a man in Cornwall, UK, after he had become too sick to drive it.
Highlights
- A 25-year-old single mom is transforming a double-decker bus into a home to escape high rent.
- The bus named Clover was bought from a man in Cornwall, UK, marking the start of the transformation.
- Jazz plans off-grid living, adding solar panels and creating a modest home with two bedrooms and more.
The resourceful parent is currently planning to repurpose her retro vehicle into a real house on wheels and is in the process of finding ways to generate electricity and create a water supply.
Jazz, a 25-year-old mom, is transforming a double-decker bus into a cozy off-grid home for herself and her five-year-old son
Image credits: jas_in_a_bus
Image credits: jas_in_a_bus
Jazz has shared an insight into her bus refurbishment journey via videos posted to her TikTok channel @jas_in_a_bus, which has often gone viral.
Earlier this week, Jazz posted a video that racked up nearly 350,000 views, which showcased a compilation of clips where she was building, remodeling, demolishing, and assembling pieces for her and her son’s future home.
She captioned the video: “The double-decker bus build is back on track for 2024 - I promise!!!”
“After a wobbly head and sheer exhaustion trying to do too much at once, I’m so excited to get back into bus-building life!”
Jazz acquired the old rusty bus, which she’s named Clover, from a man in Cornwall, UK, after he had become too sick to drive it
Image credits: jas_in_a_bus
Image credits: jas_in_a_bus
The self-proclaimed “single mumma” has amassed nearly 63,000 followers on TikTok, with many who have witnessed her bus renovation journey from the beginning, which started three years ago.
However, when Bertie reached school age, the determined mom decided the duo needed to settle down, as per the British tabloid.
For the past year, Jazz has reportedly been working on her bus by herself while her son was sometimes asleep. The ambitious mom has picked up many building skills and DIY (Do It Yourself) tricks from her project, such as using angle grinders, tools she “doesn’t even know the name of,” and using her whole body weight to screw screws into the metal bus, The Sun Reported.
Jazz and her son Bertie traveled around and saw the world in a camper van, but when Bertie reached school age, Jazz decided the duo needed to settle down
Image credits: jas_in_a_bus
Image credits: jas_in_a_bus
In a previous TikTok video, Jazz admitted: “It’s been slow progress, but I’m enjoying the ride so much, and I’m so proud of what I’ve done so far.”
Another video saw the busy mom revealing that she was working on the bus using entirely free materials. Some materials have been donated to her, and other things she has found lying around in a scrapyard, as per The Sun.
Jazz has been reportedly aiming for the total cost of buying and renovating the bus to come to just £8,000 ($10,081), a total price that falls below the average cost of renting a house in the UK for a year.
Jazz has picked up many building skills and DIY (Do It Yourself) tricks from her project
Image credits: jas_in_a_bus
According to HomeLet, the average monthly rent in the UK for January 2024 is £1,260 ($1,587.5). Excluding London, the UK average is now £1,059 ($1,334.4).
Jazz has also informed her thousands of fans that she had planned to add solar panels to the top of the bus to power her modest home on wheels.
Nevertheless, her construction project is far from finished, as she reportedly intends for her final result to include two bedrooms, a work-from-home space upstairs, a kitchen, and an open-plan seating area.
Converting double-decker buses into a house has become somewhat of a popular choice of housing for some people.
The self-proclaimed “single mumma” has amassed nearly 63,000 followers on TikTok
In 2020, Lamorna and Gareth Hollingsworth bought their 25-year-old bus for £5,000 and spent two years turning it into a home.
After spending a total of £28,000 ($35,285), the motivated couple ended up with an elaborate, eco-friendly modern house.
“It doesn’t feel squashed. It doesn’t feel like a tiny home or a small caravan. It’s a good amount of space,” Lamorna told The Standard.
Since the refurbishment, Lamorna and Gareth have reportedly stayed on the same farm outside Hereford, UK, to be close to family, where they pay a small rent.
“It’s a really lovely area. There are lots of beautiful walks; it’s great for dogs; you have the freedom of being able to nose around all the fields. I like to paddle board, and we’ve got the River Wye round the corner,” Lamorna told the publication.
"Bus life is the best life," a TikTok user commented
