Living aboard - what's your top benefit

[Capey]

This is not an attempt to pry into anyone else's motives, but I am interested to know what fellow boaters would consider the number one benefit of living on board was. I know about all the financial things but if you did free up some cash, what was the best thing you did with it. If you did it for the lifestyle, what have you gained.

 

Mine was freeing up the funding to put my daughter through her PhD. This way she can support me when she graduates

[Yoda]

This is not an attempt to pry into anyone else's motives, but I am interested to know what fellow boaters would consider the number one benefit of living on board was. I know about all the financial things but if you did free up some cash, what was the best thing you did with it. If you did it for the lifestyle, what have you gained.

 

Mine was freeing up the funding to put my daughter through her PhD. This way she can support me when she graduates

 

You will be amazed how little PhD's earn.

[Jason Wilson and Family]

Haven't done it yet but the advantages I foresee for me and Caitlin are forced simplicity and organization. It also strikes me as a much more calming lifestyle.

Edited January 7, 2008 by Jason Wilson and Family

[honey ryder]

So far I have benefited precisely nothing from living on board.

maybe im slightly better off financially, but thats because Im co-habiting with a partner. my life went from simplicity to complexity with no bounds. living on a boat is definitely not a "simple" life. unless you live in one with no electrics, no heating, no gas and no water. constant cruising and trying to find safe moorings is also an added complication i can live without.

 

I wanted to live aboard because i love living in small spaces and i like the sensation of being on water. I like wide open spaces outside, especially wide open expanses of water. the financial side of it for me is of no interest, i would have wanted to do it even if it was more expensive.

however since there is no water near where i currently work i exchanged my daily 3 minute bike ride to a 3 hour commute from hell in return for living on a boat. this has consequently ended up leaving me with zero quality of life. I also discovered narrowboats aren't very boaty. hence... the dream ended, the nightmare began.

 

I have a new dream, sell the narrowboat, ditch the ditches and embrace the stick and rag brigade and find blue water... not green/brown murky mire. and as for locks...

Edited January 7, 2008 by honey ryder

[Bojangles]

I like the freedom of movement and space. Coupled with solitude or camaraderie when either is wanted.

 

When we were sailing we had the largest swimming pool in the world - the ocean

 

When we're canal boating we have a huge and wonderful garden - the countryside.

 

Best of all, when you don't like the neighbours it's easy - just move on.

 

It's a great life - but don't tell everybody

[Lady Muck]

So far I have benefited precisely nothing from living on board.

maybe im slightly better off financially, but thats because Im co-habiting with a partner. my life went from simplicity to complexity with no bounds. living on a boat is definitely not a "simple" life. unless you live in one with no electrics, no heating, no gas and no water. constant cruising and trying to find safe moorings is also an added complication i can live without.

 

A friend of mine (who used to liveaboard) calls it 'The Toil'. I guess our situation is very different to yours. We have the mooring and we don't have to commute. Boating can be endlessly complicated, I agree, first month of living aboard was hellish, nothing seemed to work and everything was complex. It's like learning to play a difficult instrument. Not like a house where you have nothing to fathom out, it all just works.

 

Anyway. My number one benefit. London was utterly doing my head in. But I still live in London, 10 minutes from the tube station, but I cannot see a single house from my home, just an uniterrupted expanse of sky and nature. I am surrounded by wildlife (last year alone we saw snakes, water vole, pheasants, rabbits, kingfishers, little grebes, herons) and I am no longer woken in the morning by traffic jams or Jehovas Witnesses. It's the best thing about the boat, for me.

[brown]

Living aboard has chilled me out no end, even when the gearbox, engine, electrics are playing up. But the best thing is the court baliffs are having a job to find me.

[Bones]

if you don't like your neighbours you can untie them and watch them float away....

[sueb]

Living aboard has chilled me out no end, even when the gearbox, engine, electrics are playing up. But the best thing is the court baliffs are having a job to find me.

A policeman friend thought it was impossible to find anyone living on a boat!

Sue

[Lady Muck]

TV licensing tries out thier new patrol boat, yesterday.

 

 

Re. Sueb comment above, how strange, our patrol officer is an ex copper and he never misses anybody!

[carlt]

If you're worried your boat will sink, you just dangle a leg over the side of the bed, instead of waiting for the bilge alarm to ring up, from 140 miles away.

[andywatson]

and I am no longer woken in the morning by traffic jams or Jehovas Witnesses.

 

 

That alone is worth living on a boat for.

 

A Jehovas Witness who comes in my local was moaning the other day about constantly getting cold (phone) called.

He couldn't see why I thought it was so funny.

[StoneHenge]

Cold callers, I definitely don't miss them. Either at the door or on the phone, you just don't get them anymore.

 

Number one benefit. Appreciation. I have begun to appreciate more than ever how precious wildlife is, the area we live in, water, and really living more off your own means and everything being harder to do, like not being able to pull up on your driveway and unload the car. Instead you have to carry it, for some, a distance, but I like that. Stops me being lazy and I appreciate them more because I had to make the effort to get them there.

 

Most people think I'm a nut because my holidays usually consist of doing things less luxurious than my normal life, like camping, which I love. Why would anyone want to be a big cold tent with a soggy sleeping bag and cooking on a campfire or camp stove when you can have a 5 star hotel with cooked meals on tap?

 

Well, that's just me, so the simple and harder lifestyle are a huge benfit to me. If I still say that when I am one handed for a while, I'll let you know, but I can't think of anything better than being where we are.

[BlueStringPudding]

Brain space.

[Purple Fairie]

Number one benefit. Appreciation. I have begun to appreciate more than ever how precious wildlife is, the area we live in, water, and really living more off your own means and everything being harder to do, like not being able to pull up on your driveway and unload the car. Instead you have to carry it, for some, a distance, but I like that. Stops me being lazy and I appreciate them more because I had to make the effort to get them there.

 

I totally agree with you, Stonehenge, with this. Plus the kids appreciate everything more, and as long as the weather is ok-ish they're outside rather than in front of the telly, either 'exploring' (as the youngest puts it), fishing, wildlife spotting or out on their canoe. They have both joined the RSPB and go to the monthly meeting at Freiston shore. They've also started kickboxing twice a week. We hardly ever see them in fact - brill! They both help with the maintenance of the Fairy when they can as they both want boats when they are older and so have a respect for the boat much more so than they ever did the house.

 

After 2 and a half years living aboard none of us have any regrets, we just love it!

[Lady Muck]

Cold callers, I definitely don't miss them. Either at the door or on the phone, you just don't get them anymore.

 

Number one benefit. Appreciation. I have begun to appreciate more than ever how precious wildlife is, the area we live in, water, and really living more off your own means and everything being harder to do, like not being able to pull up on your driveway and unload the car. Instead you have to carry it, for some, a distance, but I like that. Stops me being lazy and I appreciate them more because I had to make the effort to get them there.

 

Most people think I'm a nut because my holidays usually consist of doing things less luxurious than my normal life, like camping, which I love. Why would anyone want to be a big cold tent with a soggy sleeping bag and cooking on a campfire or camp stove when you can have a 5 star hotel with cooked meals on tap?

 

Well, that's just me, so the simple and harder lifestyle are a huge benfit to me. If I still say that when I am one handed for a while, I'll let you know, but I can't think of anything better than being where we are.

 

I agree, I think the closer you get to nature, the closer you are to the way we used to exists and it's a lot less stressful than modern life.

 

I'm going on holiday to Thailand (paid for by a relative who is too elderly to go on their own.) I'd really rather be on the boat TBH. I overhead this relative speaking to my partner and saying, 'I bet Lady Muck is fed up of boating holidays, she'd probably love a proper holiday,' I haven't got the heart to tell him!

[Living the Dream]

We moved on board 2 years ago and the main benefit for us is quality of life. Yes it was hard at first learning about the boat and the waterways but 2 years on we are both more content with our lives. We do more walking, we cruise a lot even its only a few miles up the cut into the Yorkshirte dales for the weekend. My back garden is the Pennines and the wildlife is just wow. I actually saw a woodpecker over Christmas at the side of our mooring. When we bought the boat the seller said to us "You are not only buying a boat, you are buying a way of life" he was right.

 

We also enjoy the boating community, so friendly and helpfull, OK there is always the odd grumpy old crew but a smile goes along way sometimes. When we lived in our house and we heard sounds in the night it was either drunken idiots or someone up to no good. Now our biggest problem at night is the 3 ASBO owls!!!!!! We can live with that.

 

Regards

Dave

[carlt]

I am no longer woken in the morning by traffic jams or Jehovas Witnesses. It's the best thing about the boat, for me.

You get plenty of god botherers, of the Jesus Army persuasion, between Braunston locks and Stoke bruerne.

[StoneHenge]

I totally agree with you, Stonehenge, with this. Plus the kids appreciate everything more, and as long as the weather is ok-ish they're outside rather than in front of the telly, either 'exploring' (as the youngest puts it), fishing, wildlife spotting or out on their canoe. They have both joined the RSPB and go to the monthly meeting at Freiston shore. They've also started kickboxing twice a week. We hardly ever see them in fact - brill! They both help with the maintenance of the Fairy when they can as they both want boats when they are older and so have a respect for the boat much more so than they ever did the house.

 

After 2 and a half years living aboard none of us have any regrets, we just love it!

 

My kids are far better off now than they ever were in the house. They have learned a lot about their environment and the wildlife. We gave up watching telly in June last last and don't regret it for a second. We don't starve them of modern life of course, they still watch films etc occasionally, but they involve themselves in more things like crafts and art, and not stuff you plug in!

 

I would agree my eldest certainly has more respect for the boat than she did the house. The two year old is still learning of course, but he's very water wise, he even knows which parts of the towpath to avoid when it's really muddy and the dangers of the stove etc.

 

Is there anything I miss about land life? Not really, I can honestly say that. Not that I think houses are bad, just that we love what we do, and I would really miss it if I ever had to give it up. I hope that 'if' is a very long time away!

[blackelle123]

Our was!

Making sure that when the grown-up kids want to come to visit (fleece the parents), we could be conveniently 'up river', 'down river', 'not really at a suitable mooring at the moment', 'sorry haven't got of good mobile signal', perhaps catch up with you when we get back'. Or was it because we just wanted to step back a little from the rat race, who knows! All I care about at the moment is I love my boat, I love my husband and I really love my life again.

Can't put my finger on anything specific - its just great!

[BlueStringPudding]

You get plenty of god botherers, of the Jesus Army persuasion, between Braunston locks and Stoke bruerne.

 

They'd like me. I like to get into a polite philosophical debate about the origins of their faith and how they interpret other religions' belief systems. Had a 45 minute discussion on Lewisham High Street once with a couple of Christian chaps who wanted to save my soul. I discussed in great depth my concept of spirituality outside of the dictates of an "organised" religion, and was curious as to what they thought of the Muslim faith considering Jesus to be a prohpet but not the head honcho. Fascinating. I think I might have accidentally converted them to heathenism...

Edited January 9, 2008 by BlueStringPudding

[Capey]

You will be amazed how little PhD's earn.

 

No I wont, I work in a university so am well aware that the higher you go with academics, the wage is inversly proportionate. For me it was to see her achive everything she is capable of.......luckily I can live on very little and she has promised that the home she puts me in when I am old will have Sky telly

Her PhD is in wildlife conservation so even if she ends up living in a foxhole with a bloke called Tristan, wearing a hand knitted jumper, I will have done my bit for the wildlife.

[Bones]

You will be amazed how little PhD's earn.

 

Oooh no I wouldn't. I hope you will take it upon yourself to advertise this fact to all and sundry!

[Ratsonline]

This is not an attempt to pry into anyone else's motives, but I am interested to know what fellow boaters would consider the number one benefit of living on board was. I know about all the financial things but if you did free up some cash, what was the best thing you did with it. If you did it for the lifestyle, what have you gained.

 

Mine was freeing up the funding to put my daughter through her PhD. This way she can support me when she graduates

 

My partner and I are not actually living on board at the moment as the boat is currently in the garden to be fitted out. Hopefully this will change come June/July when the boat will be launched and we will move on to the to continuously cruise the network. I think the number one benefit of living on board for us is simply the change in life style. We are now in a position where we can give up work and enjoy life with the little money that we will have left after purchasing and fitting out the boat, but the simple life awaits (water filling, loo emptying, wood scrounging, etc. etc.) Hopefully we will gain peace and tranquility and longer life.

[Chertsey]

QUOTE(Yoda @ Jan 7 2008, 04:58 PM)

You will be amazed how little PhD's earn.

 

 

Oooh no I wouldn't. I hope you will take it upon yourself to advertise this fact to all and sundry!

 

 

It's all relative. Some people might think I earn relatively little, but it still seems an amazing amount to me for doing what I (mostly) love. I've worked in supermarkets and in catering and believe me, academia beats them hands down for money and flexibility and freedom (but I am very lucky in the institution I work at). I'm still pinching myself.

 

and to attempt to answer the original question (I don't live on a boat now but I have done) ... I don't really know what it is, but I know I miss it.

Edited January 9, 2008 by WarriorWoman