Monday 26 September 2011

Isla bonita and a new plan?

We are stuck in a rut at the moment.

We have acknowledged to ourselves that our future does not lie here. We have come to the conclusion that we do not want to buy property here. There is something lacking for us here.

We need to move forward, on to something else. The problem is that the other options seem just as unpalatable as staying where we are now. We do feel the need to build some security for ourselves. We do  not want to get into the rut of paying rent in perpetuity, we are not getting any younger.

The other problem with renting is that it always feels very temporary. It is difficult therefore to build any sort of life.

Yet again all of the reasons why I wanted out of the UK in the first place are ringing in my ears like bells. Land/property is too expensive in this country for us. The affordable parts are grim and uninspiring. Anywhere remotely cute/pretty/inspiring costs a fortune and we would have to return to the full time grind for that.

We have just returned from a break in Ibiza, I could really see us spending a lot of time there. Ibiza off the beaten track is such a beautiful island, its a happy place, chilled out, laid back. But the cost of living there is higher than here.

We are thinking about living on a narrowboat here so we have a base here and then we can spend time in Ibiza. But a narrowboat is a depreciating asset. I also worry about rust. DH says he can do a lot of the maintenance himself, but I worry that if we wanted to sell the boat in years to come it could be practically worthless through depreciation.

I just dont know what to do.

8 comments:

Jerry Critter said...

Be sure that you are not trying to find a new place instead of finding a new you. Much happiness comes from with in, not out.

Alice said...

Oh how interesting :-) I have to say that I disagree that a boat is a depreciating asset... at least it isn't for a good few years. There are boats on the canal from 1970 still going for good prices. The trick is to keep it maintained (bottom blacked every few years etc) and keep it lovely inside. You should certainly consider it - if we could afford to keep ours here as a base and spend time Ibiza, we absolutely would ;-)

Lots of news here but I shall email you soon xxx

Dreamer said...

Hi Jerry, I do understand what you are saying, the difficulty is that we are trying to find a way of life where we are not shackled to full time jobs to fund our life, its very difficult to downsize in this country, we are supposed to be in a depression yet houses are still overpriced and bear no relation to local econommic activity. I just refuse to play that game anymore. Part of our journey is trying out different things, I dont think we have found "it" yet, I think the key for us is flexibility xxx

Hi Alice, that is good to hear about depreciation. I really think that a boat is something which we are going to go for, it gives us great flexibility, DH can still do his locum work and we can just move the boat where the work is if need be, it is something we can own outright, we can lock it up and then go abroad when we want. THe only thing is what to do for a postal address and where to put the car, do you have a residential mooring or continuously cruise? Looking forward to hearing all your news xxx :)

Frank C said...

If you pick living on a boat then that's cool. You can live on it for life. Why would you have to or even want to sell the boat in the future if you love the lifestyle.

I know RVer's who are in their
80's and 90's with old RVs, but they would never give-up the - LIFESTYLE!

Instead they do the small little repairs that are needed, keeping the rig spit shiny, working, and looking new. This saves them tons of money they would otherwise lose by selling and buying new. Yet they still have a nice place to live and where they want to live.

Plus just like RVer's boaters can travel, something you like. They can also go boondocking saving even more money with little rent during the year, or slip rent as boaters would say.

You just keep getting richer every day.

Live in a house? Haaaa!

You don't think houses need expensive repairs or lose value. When you sell old and buy new extra buying cash will always be needed. If your old and dead why worry about selling the place.

Soo it sounds like you have a neat idea.

Just make sure when you reach the island to say hi to Petter Pan and Tinker Bell in Never Never Land.

They like to stay young you know.

Dreamer said...

Hi Frank thanks, I think I am just trying to plan ahead in case we dont like the lifestyle, because, I wonder just how practical (I hate that word, but..) living without a residential mooring is, cruising the inland waterways full time, although I imagine its a tranquil way of life, but some of it is quite remote, I wonder about access to amenities, without a car Hmmm. we do need a postal address as the banks do not accept PO Box. Also if we want to spend time out of the country as we do we need somewhere safe to put the boat, and all these things can add up to it being a hassle. Perhaps I just want it all. So we shall see :)

Frank C said...

Some think that the planning of a new lifestyle can be fun, exciting, and adventuress.

But if you think it's going to be a hassle then you should be thinking twice.

I don't think there's much to worry about. Your address can be a simple rented mail box that uses a physical street address just like an appartment number.
Try the Mail Box Etc. Co. in your country. In the U.S.the name was changed to UPS Store. Never the less, there should be many mail box sevices available.

I don't know if that island has boat slip rentals with security people or neighbors who care about any crime, but that would be something to really check-on.
Just like an RV park they should have a website for information. It should show an old retired lady safely walking her dog, just joking, but very true.

A car? What for? You can do your groceries with a taxi cab service. Just like in the jungles of Florida - here the retired people do this and also ride bikes, why drive.
In Mexico the taxi cab is an old pick-up truck and you have to ride with the chickens while swallowing some feathers.
I'm sure you would have it a little better.
Just a thought to help and good luck if you decide to pick a place, or stay mobile.

Just be sure not to ride with the farm hogs, they really smell.

Stuart Kirby said...

if your going the narrowboat path go hire one for 3 weeks in the depths of winter to give you some idea if its for you both...frozen canals...carrying water etc...re banking you could use a relations address then use online banking...more can info can be gained here from those already doing it..http://www.canalworld.net/ in the forum...Good luck I still often ponder life on the cut

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