The only thing I am reluctant to leave behind is my boat – because, while life on the river can be difficult, it is also extremely cheap.
Other river dwellers will claim otherwise; I suspect because they do not want to share the lifestyle with outsiders. And it might be expensive, if you merely wish to maintain a leisure craft.
Living on a boat though? If you already own one (and I do), the yearly outlay is insignificant.
Our boats use tax exempt petrol, it costs about 40 pounds sterling (and from here on please imagine the notation for pounds sterling, as my keyboard is unable to type it) to fill up, and the motor and solar panels provide electricity. I’m not inclined to go cruising, and haunt cafes for laptop power, so fuel never costs much at all. Mooring and waterways license fees run about 1,000 per year. That includes lock keys, navigation of two rivers, municipal water and rubbish service, and the right to tether up in the heart of a historic university town.
I’m probably one of the most persnickety people on the river when it comes to warmth, and my (ecolog) heating bill is about 10 per week in the winter. Insurance is about 150 annually. Every three or four years the boat needs to be blacked (pulled out of the water, hull painted), for a couple of thousand quid, and there are assorted minor running repairs. Like an old car. Except it floats.
Quite affordable, wouldn’t you say? Even when my freelance income drops to “cover your head and cry” levels I remain well within an earned budget because I have no debt. No student loans, no credit cards, no bills, no encumbrances.
When my tolerance of Cambridge vanished I rented a studio in London for 300 a month; still completely affordable, with money leftover for sundry necessities and madcap excursions.
Readers might wonder – what about the children? But remember, one is grown. The other has a father paying his fair share. My contribution to the upkeep is mytime, and that I give most lavishly.
My primary indulgences are memberships with the British Film Institute, Tate Modern, Design Museum, English Heritage. I’m not required to pay for a TV license as boats are exempt, but I do anyway, due to pesky “beliefs” about civic responsibility. I also spend an obscene amount of money on coffee, and bottled water. That is all.
Leaving the river requires a change of perspective, but also a vast amount of cash. Do you know what human houses cost these days?!
I just checked.
More than I have in the piggybank, that is for sure.