A Woman Built the Most Unconventional Home for Retirement — These Photos Will Make Your Jaw Drop

For working millennials, living in a tiny house may seem a more viable and affordable shelter option considering the skyrocketing home prices. Though it takes a lot of time and energy to downsize, it requires less money to convert a vehicle into a compact home or to create a mini abode that you can attach to your car than to pay rent or buy a house.

However, for retirees, it may sound crazy as most of us imagine them living in a comfortable nursing home surrounded by lush greenery. Sure, old people love to travel and backpack around places they’ve never been to, but they always have a reliable home they go to when the adventure ends that’s usually filled with knick-knacks or macaroni artworks from their grandkids.

But, Keri Gailloux is going against the norm, and for her, retiring is best lived with her dog Rhodie in a school bus – one that is converted into a tiny house on wheels.

For someone in their 60s, this adjustment may seem hard but Keri grew up in a military family so she is used to traveling, moving in and out of towns, and living in a limited space. She took this lifestyle change as going back to her roots.

The interior of the skoolie is warm with wooden floors and furniture

Before deciding to live on the go, Keri had to familiarize herself with living in a tiny house because she wanted to keep minimal belongings to be more space-efficient. However, she finds having an attached home to her car inconvenient.

So instead, in 2018, she shelled out $45,000 and with the help of a builder, they converted a school bus into a home fit for her lifestyle of living on the road.

On the outside, the vehicle-turned-house appears like a typical school bus: it is yellow with the signature black lines but they cover the label school with duct tape. As a tradition of the tiny house movement, Keri named her bus If Wishes Were Horses, which she wrote over the plaster.

Keri makes sure that everything in her bus has a purpose like this work table that also serves as a kitchen table

The inside is a different story. It has Marine-grade wooden floors and light-washed wooden cupboards, drawers, and countertops that come with specialized hardware that keep everything in place whenever the bus moves.

Upon entering the skoolie – as the community calls them — you would be greeted by the warm ambiance exuded by a soft sofa where you can comfortably read a book while drinking your hot tea.

The bus also features a full compact kitchen. With the impeccable craftsmanship inspired by other tiny houses, the retiree made sure to save space by opting for a pull-out refrigerator drawer and utilizing her work table as a kitchen table.

She even has a heater in the kitchen perfect for traveling in winter.

The bus even has a compost toilet and shower

The skoolie also has a compost toilet, a shower, and a sink, which is considered a luxury for vehicular homes. At the rear end of the bus is Keri’s bedroom that has an elevated bed frame, which doubles as storage for her clothes.