I choose to live on trains rather than pay rent – there’s a huge downside

A SAVVY traveller has managed to save hundreds on rent and expenses after deciding to swap his home for overnight trains.

For the past two years Lasse Stolley, 17, picks his night train and waits for it to swing him across Germany as he sleeps.

The young man realised his life on tracks costs him less than renting and he manages to get food for free, but he later found out a huge downside to it.

Having grown up in a village in the north of Germany, Lasse has always enjoyed travelling to Scandinavia with his parents and going on nature tours.

He also had a lifelong passion for computer programming and taught himself all the skills needed during the pandemic.

In the summer of 2022, Lasse was going to begin an apprenticeship as a software engineer after graduating from high school.

But he soon had to find a replacement plan after the programme had to be cancelled a few weeks before it was scheduled to start.

A few weeks prior, Lasse had watched a TV report about someone who lived on a train and it was enough for the thought to never leave his mind.

The teen loved the idea of being able to travel anywhere in Germany every single day.

So Lasse was onboard his first train on August 8, 2022, and never looked back.

But the young German’s family did not share the same excitement for his new lifestyle.

They were concerned that Lasse might not be able to sleep through the night, that he would be by hilself or that it could be a dangerous adventure.

They were still sceptical for the first few months, when hardly anything worked out, Lasse admitted.

He revealed that he would often go back to his parents’ house since he was too exhausted and stressed out from planning everything and couldn’t sleep.

But now that everything sorted itself out, Lasse’s family have been quite helpful.

Talking about how he has a different adventure every day, he told The Guardian: “I have the freedom to decide where I go every day, and can visit my friends who live all over Germany.”

But the German teen traveller, who works 10 hours a week as a software developer, revealed the huge downside of his life on tracks.

He said: “Living on the train means I have to do without some things that I used to take for granted.

“I don’t have privacy. I have also had to reduce my possessions so that everything I own fits into a 30-litre backpack.

“But the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

“All in all, taking into account general living expenses, my lifestyle on trains costs less than €10,000 a year.

“That sounds like a lot at first, but it’s very cheap compared with the costs of renting an apartment.”

By then my family was getting a little suspicious.

They were concerned that Lasse might not be able to sleep through the night, that he would be by himself or that it could be a dangerous adventure.

They were still sceptical for the first few months, when hardly anything worked out, Lasse admitted.

He revealed that he would often go back to his parents’ house since he was too exhausted and stressed out from planning everything and couldn’t sleep.

But now that everything sorted itself out, Lasse’s family have been quite helpful.

For Lasse, a normal day entails taking an overnight InterCity Express train that arrives at a city between 6 and 8am.

He starts by having breakfast at the guest lounge of the train company, such as croissants, muesli or cake.

After that, he’ll quickly wash in the lavatory or take a shower at the local swimming pool.

He’s then ready to select his destination looking at the trains leaving that day.

Lasse explained, however, that despite living on trains, he spends a lot of time going on outdoor adventures.

He might spend the day visiting a city, going for a walk in the highlands, or going to a Baltic Sea beach.

The 17-year-old also enjoys travelling to new places and going on hikes in the Alps, especially in the summer.

He particularly enjoys being in Berlin as the city is “full of variety and there’s always something going on”.

He’ll have dinner in the Deutsche Bahn lounge after which he’ll wait for the train that will take him to his destination in Germany while he goes to sleep.