Saturday 3 August 2019

Reasons not to live aboard

I recently replied to a question on one of the facebook narrowboat forums* regarding moving full time afloat. The poster was asking if she was mad selling her four bed detached home to buy and live aboard permanently. Of course as to be expected on a narrowboat forum many were validating their decision to do the same with encouragement for her to follow.

Now I lived aboard for two years albeit with some breaks to go down south and I found the experience positive and refreshing with new and different challenges from daily house living. I'm glad I did it and could do it again but not unless I had to.

You see I am wedded to 'stuff'. I am typing this in my home office (sounds posh - its not anything other than the third bedroom at the cottage)  I have a large screen I connect my Macbook to and I have another PC running away in the background with a printer plus files of paperwork to be re read and some to be filed ... you get the picture.  This is just one room of stuff. We are in the process of having a garage built for my motorbike(s!) and I spend half of yesterday moving 'stuff' out of the workshop into the loft space of new said garage to hopefully make the workshop more spacey so I can get a few more tools (read stuff) as ultimately I want to make some new windows and doors for the cottage (one door already made)

I am no hoarder - I try to remove what I don't need but I need quite a few different things to keep me entertained - simple as that. If I had to I could live a much simpler life but at the moment I like to have activity options available to me.

So it's not for everyone and I felt for the original poster I should give my alternative viewpoint,  which I think was respectfully received.

One thing I did say was don't carry a regret  - give it a go, as was other advice around renting out the property. However I suspect there was a need to sell to release equity for the boat - tough decision, but like I advised if you can and are willing to take a risk have a go, I did, a little less risky in my circumstances but everyones personal position is different.

*I opted out of all the FB boating groups apart from the Friendly narrowboat forum as there was so much sniping and bad feeling in the others. This also cemented my thinking that personalities cannot be changed by moving to the cut.... it may take some stress away but it can introduce time people are unable to easily fill without the need to be keyboard warriors on forums - we've all met them I'm sure.

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