Caravan Life and Travel Experience in the Context of Home and Identity: A Phenomenological Analysis

The main purpose of this thesis is to understand and explain the essence of caravan living and traveling experiences. In this context, it is aimed to make sense of the elements that are effective in caravan living and travel experiences and how these elements affect the experience; to convey how the caravan living/traveling experience in relation to the home phenomenon constructs the identity of the caravanner from the perspective of the caravanners. Phenomenological research was conducted to explore meaning. The phenomenon addressed in this thesis is the caravan living/traveling experience. This experience refers to the experience of caravanners who use their caravans as a home during their short-term travels or who live entirely in a caravan without a fixed home. Therefore, this thesis aims to understand and interpret the common meanings of living in a caravan. In the research, it was determined that the elements explaining the nature of the caravan experience based on the experiences of the participants were divided into two as "caravan experience as a lifestyle" and "caravan as a place". The experience dimension consists of "financial requirements", "work life", "caravan living/travel obstacles" and "caravan knowledge and skills", while in the space dimension, the caravan is discussed in terms of "physical", "social" and "psychological" aspects. It was understood that the elements explaining the caravan identity as a lifestyle ideology are "freedom", "minimalism" and escape from the city to nature", while the features representing the construction of the caravanner identity as a social identity are "gender", "others among us", "caravanner behaviours", caravanner stereotypes" and "formal identity rejection".