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In the United Kingdom there are hundreds of people who do not live in houses, buildings or urbanizations. Nor do they have neighbors. Not at least in the conventional sense. In a country that has seen how housing It was more expensive until it turns Privatethere are those who choose to reside in river channels and rivers. They do it aboard barges of several meters that, although they are not cheap and carry their own costs, remain much more affordable than The apartments Of the big cities.
And there are reasons to think that over the years your number It has been increasing.
Living between ducks and fish. Sounds romantic, but that is the lifestyle for which thousands of British who reside aboard barges have opted. And there are some data that suggest that their number has increased over the last years. A few months ago The Economist public An article in which he remembers that the last census of Canals and Rivers Trust (CRT) shows that at least 2022 there were 35,000 vessels With a license to operate in 3,200 km of river routes distributed by England and Wales, a third more than in the last two decades.
The case of London. Moreover, in London, where the “navigators” stand out between 25 and 34 years, their number has almost doubled in a matter of a decade. In Your report The Economist It does not specify how many of these barges are used as the main residence, but slides that it is probably a good part.
In 2021 The Guardian I was A little further And he pointed out that Canals and Rivers Trust surveys show that, at least at that time, the proportion of people who lived aboard their vessels was 25% at the national level (in 2011 they were somewhat less, 15%), although the percentage would be higher in London.
Is there more data? Yes. And although the figures vary depending on the source that is always consulting in the same direction. Although the British who have decided to change conventional apartments and houses for barges continue to represent a minority, in February Sky News placed their number in about 15,000. And growing. According to Boats.com the number would be even superior. Your data They estimate the census of permanent residents in barges docked in the rivers, channels and coasts of the United Kingdom in around 30,000 people.
Price issue. The big question is … why? Why change the comforts of an apartment in the center of Bristol, Manchester or London for a boat moored to a channel? Analysts answer those questions with Several keysbut there is one that is usually repeated: the price.
A narrow barcaza and in good condition with which to move along the country’s river paths can cost near 50,000 pounds. It is a considerable figure (of course there are much cheaper), but that is far from what an apartment costs on the United Kingdom metropolis.
Reviewing figures. According to official data, in January the average price of a home in the country was 268,500 pounds. If we talk about London, that reference is triggered until the 600,000 tires are touched through a house in a room, which makes the British capital one of the most expensive cities on the planet to become a owner, based on The data of Global Property Guide. In 2023 the London mayor spoke directly about “housing crisis” and crossed out “scandal” that there were dozens of houses and unused floors.
Is it cheap to live on a ship? Depends. Yes, if you compare the cost of buying a barge with that of acquiring an apartment in London. But that does not mean that changing the streets, urbanizations and blocks through the channels is available to all pockets. First because their owners pay navigation licenses. Second, because a boat has certain expenses rigged.
Recently the tenant of a United Kingdom barge confessed To the Sky News chain that spends around 4,500 pounds annually in invoices, including insurance, hubs, coal, fuel and navigation permits. If you want to keep your home in good condition every three or four years you must also get it out of the water and paint the helmet, which costs you approximately 1,200 pounds.
Money … And something else. Although money is a key factor, it is not the only one that explains that in the United Kingdom there are thousands of people passing (at least) most of the year aboard boats. At stake they enter otherssuch as the influence of pandemic, the rise of teleworking, the interest in traveling along the British coasts or a simple issue of taste, either as a permanent or temporal vital option.
After all, in life aboard a barge, not all are idyllic moments. “I wanted so much a ship that I didn’t care to live without shower, wearing a cube as toilet the first months or running cold,” Elizabeth Earle recallsfreelance writer and illustrator who chose to leave the comforts of an apartment to live in a barge. Now reside in a centenary floating house of about 20 meters. “I have no one to bother me and if I want to leave this place I can do it tomorrow. You are always covered with bruises and soot, and there is a lot of mud, but you also think ‘go, I can make fire’ and load 25 kg of coal.”
An option with challenges. Navigation, maintenance or supply are not the only challenges facing the tenants of the barges. Elizabeth does not pay mooring as such, but that has its ‘face B’: when opting for the “Continuous Cruiser” Your floating house must change location from time to time. In a similar situation you can see the rest of British navigators who have no right (or paid) permanent moorings and are forced to move between squares along the same river, or beyond, every 14 days.
“We pay a license that does not equals a rent, but rather to the municipal tax”, Comment to the BBC Alian Gough-Hisya, who also resides in a barge and works as a nurse in Hackney. In exchange for about 1,600 pounds a year, it has access to certain services, such as containers and waste pumping stalls, and every several weeks it moves along the LEA River. The problem is that the status that allows you to maintain that dynamic can change shortly.
“Raise challenges”. In January the CRT I recognized To the British chain that the number of boats has doubled throughout the last three decades and has also increased the number of people residing in the channels. “That has revitalized them, but also raises challenges on how to manage a large number of boats and ensure that it is just for everyone,” Explain.
Who reside in barges face The possibility that their way of life is altered due to an increase in costs for those who do not have permanent moorings, an option that will force them to increase their expenses and is more difficult to achieve.
Images | Elliott Brown (Flickr) and David Merrett (Flickr)
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