14 January 2024 , 12:50
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A woman who left her London houseshare and quit the rat race to live totally off-grid in a narrowboat says it saves her £6,000 every year.
Shannon Lane, 29, was tired of paying £ 900 a month for a little room in a three-bedroom flat in Clapton, East London. The artist wanted somewhere "more affordable" with space for her and her pug, Gilbert, two. She took out a loan to buy a £24,000 30ft narrowboat which she moved into in January 2023. She now saves £ 500 a month and travels around the Grand Union Canal - moving every two weeks.
However, it's not all been plain sailing and Shannon admits she experienced "boat blues" as she dealt with freezing weather, learning to move the boat, emptying the toilet and refilling her water. Shannon, an artist currently based in Hackney, East London, said: "I was paying £900-a-month for a room, I thought 'this is ridiculous'. I was thinking of other options that were more affordable with space that me and my dog could live in comfortably.
She says it saved her £500 a month and she loves the quality of life (Shannon Lane / SWNS)
She's got so much room on her narrowboat and it beats a cramped house-share (Shannon Lane / SWNS)"As soon as I saw the boat advertised I knew it was one for me, I spent £24k and I worked out that my loan repayments are £300-a-month. That is a huge difference to what I was paying back in my houseshare and this is something I now own." Shannon was living in a shared house with two friends - originally paying £ 900 a month until her landlord increased her rent to £ 1,000 a month.
Shannon was strolling around the Kings Cross canal in October 2022 when she spotted a narrowboat for sale. She thought it was a "no-brainer" to move onto a boat and now she's saving thousands each year. She explained: "I saw the boat and thought 'what if?' I texted the owner and we arranged a viewing for the following week.
London flat for rent for £1,400 a month with bed tucked away in kitchen cupboard
"As soon as I saw the boat itself I saw it was £24k and I worked out that paying my loan from the bank to afford it would be £300-a-month. That is a massive saving from what I was paying in my houseshare." In January 2023, Shannon moved onto the boat but admitted she had some "boat blues".
"It was a huge learning curve, I like to call it my boat blues," Shannon said. "I thought it was going to be amazing and I would have all this freedom but when you come down to it you have all this hard work. It was January too so I was freezing, I didn't know how to move the boat, empty the toilet or fill up the water.
"The best thing about boat life is the community, it is so nice to each other - if it wasn't for them I don't think I could have done it." Shannon loves the freedom of being on the boat and her family wasn't surprised by her decision. She said: "I am a spontaneous person, they were hesitant at first but they trusted my judgement. That solidified when they visited and they said it was such a nice way of life. I have made some of my best friends in the community, it is the freedom you get.
"I love the fact I can travel whenever I want and the summers are absolutely amazing," says Shannon. She dreams of living on her boat forever but isn't sure if her boyfriend shares this dream. "I don't like the idea of going back and paying traditional bills. At the minute I am just filling up gas whenever I need and my electricity comes from my solar panel. But, in order to live with my boyfriend I might have to as I am not sure he wants to move onto the boat. In a dream world, I would live here forever but I am not sure that is what my partner wants."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]