slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
It's simply wonderful if you adore condensation.
Does anyone live on a boat...
- Thread starter Hitchington
- Start date
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OP
OP
Hitchington
Lovely stuff
- Location
- That London
Cheers everyone, some food for thought there. I just looking at options and fed up with renting (landlord just increased my rent by £150 month). Buying a flat is not an option (I work in London) but a boat may be the answer...
Get a job somewhere else? We have housing of all types at sensible prices up here, real countryside, and plenty of canals and marinas if you still want to live on the water.
What is it that you do?
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
In Bordeaux I lived on a very decrepit Brixham trawler yacht. The point being that our neighbours were all people who worked in Bordeaux but couldn't/wouldn't pay for a flat. Most lived on large, rather elderly, gin-palace style motor yachts. One guy 'commuted' from Alsace in a very expensive car (make now forgotten), another who was a lorry driver had a 1950's Cadillac. It was a remarkably close-knit community and probably much more sociable and fun than flat-living.
OP
OP
Hitchington
Lovely stuff
- Location
- That London
I work in social services as an outreach worker supporting adults with autism. I have thought about moving up North (my Granddad was from Yorkshire so I do feel an affinity with it) but my kind of job is very low paid and I would be earning less than 2 thirds of what I earn working in London... but I haven't shelved the idea completly.
Saluki
World class procrastinator
- Location
- ...Norwich over the water.
Check the bilge regularly (build up of gasses and what not), make sure that you have a multifuel burner (Morso Squirrels are the weapon of choice in a narrowboat) and go and join a narrowboat forum too. They are full of excellent advice, www.justcanals.co.uk is a fairly good one.
Make sure your wellies don't leak too and you will be fine. There is a great site for furniture for getting into narrowboats. Boat doors are pitifully narrow so you could try somewhere like www.nabru.co.uk as they make furniture to fit. I would go and live in a narrowboat in a heartbeat if I had the money. I would also continually cruise so as to avoid the old council tax payment. Don't forget you need a licence from British waterways, they are around £700 a year or so, depending on boat size.
Make sure your wellies don't leak too and you will be fine. There is a great site for furniture for getting into narrowboats. Boat doors are pitifully narrow so you could try somewhere like www.nabru.co.uk as they make furniture to fit. I would go and live in a narrowboat in a heartbeat if I had the money. I would also continually cruise so as to avoid the old council tax payment. Don't forget you need a licence from British waterways, they are around £700 a year or so, depending on boat size.
Spinney
Bimbleur extraordinaire
- Location
- Back up north
Nooo - it's horrible up north. You don't want to move up north...
[don't encourage people! we don't want more people cluttering up the beautiful countryside, clogging up the roads....]
dan_bo
How much does it cost to Oldham?
Yeah. Don't do it. It's haunted. And the drains STINK.
OTOH houses and flats (and most other things) are less than two thirds the price of those in London. IIRC surveys regularly show that you have the highest overall quality of life here in Yorkshire - if you have a job.
Andy_R
Hard of hearing..I said Herd of Herring..oh FFS..
- Location
- County Durham
Don't forget the whippets, ferret racing, clogs, lard sandwiches(we're posh), flat caps, coal mines, cotton mills, gas lamps, dial-up internet(have I mentioned we're posh),
AnythingButVanilla
Über Member
- Location
- London
I'd love to live on a houseboat, especially one of the huge ones on the river by the park in Putney, but I refuse to be cold, I don't think the cat would like it. Would I still be able to have my broadband, where would I keep the bikes and what about a real toilet?
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Folding bike.
I bet the cat would love it, so many good prowling opportunities.
Nicola P
Member
You may have probs getting a mooring - they do not automatically come with the boat - often the mooring is not for sale and you have to BID to British Waterways when one becomes available.
We found that mooring costs and licencing (you need licences for both river and canals if you want to use either) was equivalent to council tax and rent for dry land.
The main consideration is making the space inside work for you - you live a very lean and uncluttered life in that respect and tidy up after yourself the whole time.!!!! And you have to get on REALLY well with someone to share such a confined space,,,,,, or live on your own
.
Maintaining the upkeep of the thing - you have to keep on top of that.
Security can be an issue too, but l guess that is a consideration wherever you live.
It's a lovely way of life but be aware the waterways are getting busier and busier every year and I can see it's going to become less and less the cheaper option. I don't want to **ss on your fireworks but you do need to be aware. That said, there is nothing like being out in the fresh air, in good weather you almost live outdoors and you see stuff that most people don't even know about, and you can meet some great people - boat folk tend to look out and look after other boat folk!
Good luck!
We found that mooring costs and licencing (you need licences for both river and canals if you want to use either) was equivalent to council tax and rent for dry land.
The main consideration is making the space inside work for you - you live a very lean and uncluttered life in that respect and tidy up after yourself the whole time.!!!! And you have to get on REALLY well with someone to share such a confined space,,,,,, or live on your own
.Maintaining the upkeep of the thing - you have to keep on top of that.
Security can be an issue too, but l guess that is a consideration wherever you live.
It's a lovely way of life but be aware the waterways are getting busier and busier every year and I can see it's going to become less and less the cheaper option. I don't want to **ss on your fireworks but you do need to be aware. That said, there is nothing like being out in the fresh air, in good weather you almost live outdoors and you see stuff that most people don't even know about, and you can meet some great people - boat folk tend to look out and look after other boat folk!
Good luck!
