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jelunga

By jelunga
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NB Alnwick Veteran II

NB Alnwick

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:cheers: The other half and I are going to sell the house and live 100% on a canal boat. Does anybody have any thoughts to share on how you cope when age sets in. By age I mean 65 +.

Any body know of a Viking Funeral Director?

 

Good luck with your venture and we certainly hope you will not be needing a funeral director for a long time!

 

Selling the family home is a big step - we intended to do it but after our first year afloat and a few simple calculations we quickly realised that living a boat can be a very expensive business. We decided, therefore, to keep the house and we certainly wouldn't advise anyone to sell their land based property because, from an investment point of view, a boat (however splendid) is no equal to a house and what could you do if you should ever become incapacitated or ill to the extent that you are not sufficiently fit to enjoy boating?

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sueb Veteran II

sueb

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:rolleyes: The other half and I are going to sell the house and live 100% on a canal boat. Does anybody have any thoughts to share on how you cope when age sets in. By age I mean 65 +.

Any body know of a Viking Funeral Director?

 

Some cope well, some badly. We have known elderly people on sinking boats because their investments haven't kept up with inflation. Boat maintenance is expensive. Keep the house, let it out, get lodgers.

Sue

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NB Willawaw Experienced

NB Willawaw

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If your mortgage is paid up, another way round it is to sell the house and buy a small(er) apartment.

The difference in value can then be used to buy a boat.

Friends of ours have done this and they live in the apartment through the

grotty winter months and on the 50ft boat for the rest of the year.

 

I would agree with the others about not giving up your bricks and mortar investment.

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jeb Collaborator

jeb

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If your mortgage is paid up, another way round it is to sell the house and buy a small(er) apartment.

The difference in value can then be used to buy a boat.

Friends of ours have done this and they live in the apartment through the

grotty winter months and on the 50ft boat for the rest of the year.

 

I would agree with the others about not giving up your bricks and mortar investment.

 

Agreed again, our plans are very similar ie: sell the present home buy a smaller one and rent it out. Obviously depends on peoples circumstances but having 1000s in the bank earning next to nothing compared with bricks and mortar + rentable value , if things dont quite work out getting back on the property ladder could be almost impossible.

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Noah Collaborator

Noah

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Hi Jelunga

 

We have been thinking of doing just that for a few years. Some say to us “just do it!” and I think they are probably right. There is a very real risk of getting old and wishing that we had!

 

We have a small house and would not be able to downsize and fund a larger, live-aboard boat. So, in another 5 years (no longer!) we plan to sell-up and live-aboard with no desire to be enslaved again to the “property ladder.” Maybe we will build a boat that is as future-proof as possible so that there would be no great problems in the case of possible ill-health. Consideration would also have to be given to mooring site if cruising becomes limited.

 

Noah

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Maffi Rising Star

Maffi

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Hi jelunga

 

I will let you know, possibly sometime in the next 25 to 30 years.

 

Oh!!! by the way have sold house, do not own any property and waiting for boat to be built.

 

Mad probably. :rolleyes:

 

 

Then I must be mad too! B)

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Bones Veteran

Bones

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Then I must be mad too! :rolleyes:

 

I don't think there is any doubt about that is there.

 

I have seen plenty of older people living on boats, but I don't know how they get on continuously cruising. I suppose with all things you can never guarantee your health. I don't have bricks and mortar either, but nor am I old. I do suffer from endless disorders, but tend to ignore them if I can.

 

I did go to a leaving do on Saturday for a chap that has had to give up boating due to ill health, but he is being housed. This isn't the first time something like that has happened, nor will it be the last. I have no idea what I would do if I found I couldn't live aboard any longer - but I find the best way of dealing with it is to bury my head in the sand and just get on with living.

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1066 Community Regular

1066

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B) The other half and I are going to sell the house and live 100% on a canal boat. Does anybody have any thoughts to share on how you cope when age sets in. By age I mean 65 +.

Any body know of a Viking Funeral Director?

 

It sounds like a great idea, but the reality could be very different. Like many others have said, live on the boat but don't sell the house. That could be a big mistake :rolleyes:

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blackrose Veteran II

blackrose

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It sounds like a great idea, but the reality could be very different. Like many others have said, live on the boat but don't sell the house. That could be a big mistake :rolleyes:

 

I've never owned bricks & mortar, so for me living on a boat didn't involve giving up or selling anything.

 

Although it could be argued that my money would have been better invested in a house or a flat, and that the cost of many land-based mortgages may have actually worked out cheaper that the cost of a London mooring, conversely from my perspective, the idea of either struggling with a lifetime of mortgage debt or have the house repossessed seems like the mad option.

 

I have no kids, am completely debt free and live my life as I want, but I do sometimes wonder what happens when you're no longer fit enough to lift a bag of coal...

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BlueStringPudding Veteran II

BlueStringPudding

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I have no kids, am completely debt free and live my life as I want, but I do sometimes wonder what happens when you're no longer fit enough to lift a bag of coal...

 

I have no kids, am completely debt-laden and live my life as other people dictate, but I don't wonder what happens when you're no longer fit enough to lift a bag of coal... I have never been fit enough to lift a bag of coal. I hack a hole in the bag with a fingernail then scoop out the contents.

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blackrose Veteran II

blackrose

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I have no kids, am completely debt-laden and live my life as other people dictate, but I don't wonder what happens when you're no longer fit enough to lift a bag of coal... I have never been fit enough to lift a bag of coal. I hack a hole in the bag with a fingernail then scoop out the contents.

 

Ok, that's obviously a technique I must learn. :rolleyes:

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Hobbler Collaborator

Hobbler

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I know people in their 70's ,80's and in one case over 90 on canal boats . If any have a problem then I think such is the community spirit among liveaboards they are much more likely to get help than if they lived in a house, where its a fair bet they will not even know their next door neighbour.

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Supermalc Influencer

Supermalc

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I have no kids, am completely debt-laden and live my life as other people dictate, but I don't wonder what happens when you're no longer fit enough to lift a bag of coal... I have never been fit enough to lift a bag of coal. I hack a hole in the bag with a fingernail then scoop out the contents.

 

Not coal, but spuds. Bought a bag a few years ago when I was 'fragile'. Someone lifted in the car, so I got some carriers and put a few in each, then carried them singly into the house. Where I put them back in the bag :rolleyes:

 

Job done without more injury........and I could still eat.

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byewash Explorer

byewash

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Mad here too, no mortgage for the first time in 20 years is very liberating !

Just do it ,this life is not a rehearsal! We are going back to living on board after a break of 22 years and we can'nt wait .Look forward to seeing you all on the cut.

NB. SENZAH ( when its finished) :rolleyes:

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jelunga Influencer

jelunga

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Hi jelungaI will let you know, possibly sometime in the next 25 to 30 years.Oh!!! by the way have sold house, do not own any property and waiting for boat to be built.Mad probably. :cheers:
Yes, the big attraction for us is the lack of ties to house, mortgage, and the conventional world.
Good luck with your venture and we certainly hope you will not be needing a funeral director for a long time! Selling the family home is a big step - we intended to do it but after our first year afloat and a few simple calculations we quickly realised that living a boat can be a very expensive business. We decided, therefore, to keep the house and we certainly wouldn't advise anyone to sell their land based property because, from an investment point of view, a boat (however splendid) is no equal to a house and what could you do if you should ever become incapacitated or ill to the extent that you are not sufficiently fit to enjoy boating?
Thanks for your comments. We can onl;y afford one or the other. The plot is that half the money from the house sale will pay for a boat, the other half to create enough interest to ensure we can afford to maintain it. Our pensions should pay for all of our daily expenses and running costs. Roll on 2009 !!!!
Hi jelungaI will let you know, possibly sometime in the next 25 to 30 years.Oh!!! by the way have sold house, do not own any property and waiting for boat to be built.Mad probably. ;)
Glad we are not the only potential lunatics. I am just fed up with the conventional world of take take buy buy acquire acquire. I am more than happy to stop work, take a lower income, but escape from the pressure and stree of today. So selling the house does not frighten me - we can always live in our caravan for a year if we have to - this will then lets us appreciate the "space" of a narrow boat!!
Hi JelungaWe have been thinking of doing just that for a few years. Some say to us “just do it!” and I think they are probably right. There is a very real risk of getting old and wishing that we had! We have a small house and would not be able to downsize and fund a larger, live-aboard boat. So, in another 5 years (no longer!) we plan to sell-up and live-aboard with no desire to be enslaved again to the “property ladder.” Maybe we will build a boat that is as future-proof as possible so that there would be no great problems in the case of possible ill-health. Consideration would also have to be given to mooring site if cruising becomes limited.Noah
#My view totally. The longer I leave it the less time we will have to see everywhere. Could take years!
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