kellyllek
Free Member
- Dec 6, 2018
- 1
- 0
- Funster No
- 57,485
- MH
- Roadtrek Class C
- Exp
- 3 years
Hi All! I thought I'd do some thinking out loud and annoy you with it!
Just to preface this by saying that in 2015 I lived in my Roadtrek Class C van for 5 months travelling the US. The first month I was lonely an miserable, but then I adjusted and never wanted the adventure to end. (It did when I ran out gas money!) I know the highs and lows and spent every night on the road alone; not a single night in a campground. There's a lot about the lifestyle I miss, however every time I have a warm shower I don't miss the life at all!
OK the boat idea: I know; it seems like a good idea and a way to save money, but you end up freezing, or paying high mooring costs, or having to find a shower and a toilet, or having to move the boat all the time, or having high repair costs, or all of the above!
I'm having to leave my place in London where I've had a place to stay all my life. I work for myself and don't earn much, but I've been able to maintain a happy and cheap London life All that will soon change and reality will hit! It'll either mean I move far away to find something suitable and affordable, or I live in London in some kind of flat share situation. Whatever I do I'll be getting a full time job, but it is going to be tough to work my butt off and still not afford to have my own space. A flat share is going to run min 500/month and much higher closer to the city. And frankly at my age I'm not too hip on playing roommates!
So I was checking out the boat idea. I see that residential moorings are going for < 10,000/year over in the East side of London. And out west West maybe the same. Yeah not ideal, but compared to a flat share that doesn't seem outrageous. I know nothing about boat living but assume it's like a campground next to the water and you have a communal shower or some kind. But at the same price essentially as a flat share it looks like I would at least have my own space.
Add to that used boats are starting at less than 10,000. I'm sure most cheap boats are hunks of junk. But I feel whatever I end up with probably won't lose all value overnight, and if I can manage the lifestyle maybe I'll upgrade at some point.
My roadtrek van was old as dirt and yet I ended up really happy in it. I don't have a family, so I'm probably better suited for this as an option then most. Ideally though I like the idea of having my own toilet and shower too, and minimal issues with having to access facilities and utilities like water and electric. So if there's a mooring or boat type that allows you to hook all that up like a nice campground would, that be great.
British Waterways Marinas Ltd. seem to have a number of marinas around the country, as well as offering a brokerage service. It looks like they keep a lot of boats that are for sale up in Nothinghamshire, and they have some videos showcasing the lifestyle. https://bwml.co.uk/brokerage/
I thought it maybe worth a trip to check it out, if only to see what a lot of different cheaper boats might offer. I'm assuming I could even rent or otherwise stay in a place a day or two just to get a better idea of what it's like (there's certainly vacation boat rentals elsewhere).
If I want to be in the London area I've no idea the cost in transporting a boat, or what other costs to the authorities might be. But I figure if I went for something really cheap and smaller my risks would be minimal, and the cost of transporting it may be reasonable.
The other option is totally different, but means leaving London. I get a plot of land with permission, and buy a prefab house that I assemble myself. I have some resource, but nothing major and nothing that'll get more than a parking space in London! So really this options is less than ideal, but still may make sense if I'm to leave London.
I could ramble on! But I'd appreciate your initial thoughts. tks!
Just to preface this by saying that in 2015 I lived in my Roadtrek Class C van for 5 months travelling the US. The first month I was lonely an miserable, but then I adjusted and never wanted the adventure to end. (It did when I ran out gas money!) I know the highs and lows and spent every night on the road alone; not a single night in a campground. There's a lot about the lifestyle I miss, however every time I have a warm shower I don't miss the life at all!
OK the boat idea: I know; it seems like a good idea and a way to save money, but you end up freezing, or paying high mooring costs, or having to find a shower and a toilet, or having to move the boat all the time, or having high repair costs, or all of the above!
I'm having to leave my place in London where I've had a place to stay all my life. I work for myself and don't earn much, but I've been able to maintain a happy and cheap London life All that will soon change and reality will hit! It'll either mean I move far away to find something suitable and affordable, or I live in London in some kind of flat share situation. Whatever I do I'll be getting a full time job, but it is going to be tough to work my butt off and still not afford to have my own space. A flat share is going to run min 500/month and much higher closer to the city. And frankly at my age I'm not too hip on playing roommates!
So I was checking out the boat idea. I see that residential moorings are going for < 10,000/year over in the East side of London. And out west West maybe the same. Yeah not ideal, but compared to a flat share that doesn't seem outrageous. I know nothing about boat living but assume it's like a campground next to the water and you have a communal shower or some kind. But at the same price essentially as a flat share it looks like I would at least have my own space.
Add to that used boats are starting at less than 10,000. I'm sure most cheap boats are hunks of junk. But I feel whatever I end up with probably won't lose all value overnight, and if I can manage the lifestyle maybe I'll upgrade at some point.
My roadtrek van was old as dirt and yet I ended up really happy in it. I don't have a family, so I'm probably better suited for this as an option then most. Ideally though I like the idea of having my own toilet and shower too, and minimal issues with having to access facilities and utilities like water and electric. So if there's a mooring or boat type that allows you to hook all that up like a nice campground would, that be great.
British Waterways Marinas Ltd. seem to have a number of marinas around the country, as well as offering a brokerage service. It looks like they keep a lot of boats that are for sale up in Nothinghamshire, and they have some videos showcasing the lifestyle. https://bwml.co.uk/brokerage/
I thought it maybe worth a trip to check it out, if only to see what a lot of different cheaper boats might offer. I'm assuming I could even rent or otherwise stay in a place a day or two just to get a better idea of what it's like (there's certainly vacation boat rentals elsewhere).
If I want to be in the London area I've no idea the cost in transporting a boat, or what other costs to the authorities might be. But I figure if I went for something really cheap and smaller my risks would be minimal, and the cost of transporting it may be reasonable.
The other option is totally different, but means leaving London. I get a plot of land with permission, and buy a prefab house that I assemble myself. I have some resource, but nothing major and nothing that'll get more than a parking space in London! So really this options is less than ideal, but still may make sense if I'm to leave London.
I could ramble on! But I'd appreciate your initial thoughts. tks!