Train Life

A student, who is so fed up with landlords, chooses to live on a train.

16:24 26 August 2015

23-year-old German student Leonie Müller has given up her permanent residence in spring following a dispute with her landlord. She now lives on a train.

 

She said: "It all started with a dispute I had with my landlord," 

 

"I instantly decided I didn't want to live there any more - and then I realised: actually, I didn't want to live anywhere any more."

 

She pays £240 for a nationwide monthly season ticket on the railways. With her are all her possessions including clothes, table computer, studying materials, and a sanitary bag. She uses the train’s on-board bathroom to wash her hair.

 

"I really feel at home on trains, and can visit so many more friends and cities. It's like being on vacation all the time," she said.

 

"I read, I write, I look out of the window and I meet nice people all the time. There's always something to do on trains."

 

She documents her nomadic experiences, which are also the subject of her undergraduate dissertation.

 

"I want to inspire people to question their habits and the things they consider to be normal.”

 

"There are always more opportunities than one thinks there are. The next adventure is waiting just around the corner - provided that you want to find it."

 

Meanwhile, she often sleeps at the apartments of boyfriend, mother, grandmother, and friends.

 

"Normally, we would have to have a long-distance relationship, but living on a train enables me to see him all the time," she said of her boyfriend.

 

"Most of my friends really like the idea, although some consider it to be quite adventurous.

 

"Others, however, have reacted more negatively: they feel offended by the fact that I question the ordinary way of life and living."