Our new home isn't a house

I struggle to write this down, as if saying it out loud (writing it for all the world to see) could wake me up from a dream and it would all be gone. But it's real, it is really happening - we are buying a boat to live on!

Everyone around us has reservations. Typical questions are, isn't it too small, too dark, too damp, cold, cramped... and funny enough, dark, cold and cramped are exactly the criticisms I have always had about Mr.'s current house. But that's not what this is, at all!

Here are a few photos:

To me, there is a real sense of space - both inside, because of the light and high-quality interior, and outside, where the eye can go into the distance on the water and there is a sense that we could just go there, too. And we could! That's the beauty of this: we aren't stuck in one place. We can go places, right there in our home.

I do realise that not everything will be rosy. It's probably not fun emptying out the waste container on a cold, rainy day. But this has such a good 'gut' feel about it for me - yet beyond that, I've also tried to think about everything (particularly people's reservations). Let's list what I see as the advantages:

• Heating. She's well insulated (foam spray throughout) - holds the heat very well, and being a small space, heats up quickly. Heating a house costs a fortune, and most of that is wasted - heat rises, so the benefit goes out through the roof, and houses are big spaces to heat and much less well insulated. This barge has central heating as well as a wood / coal burner that really heats the space up. Double glazing too.
• Space. Of course this move means a downsize for us, and the need to get rid of a lot of stuff. Yet to me, that is an advantage! I like the idea of a minimal lifestyle, of not accumulating more and more 'stuff'. And there's less space to keep clean :)
  However, there is a spacious feel about this boat. Visual spaciousness, rather than physical - the views, the knowledge of being able to move about. It doesn't feel cramped.
• Location. We could never afford to live so centrally. Everything is here! Yet, despite it being city centre, there isn't that cramped feeling of living on top of each other and never seeing the sky or the horizon. This feels spacious, yet is central.
  I think this is a major part in why I feel this will work for us as a place to live. When you live in a super small place like this, you don't want to spend all your time there (cabin fever?) - instead, it's a springboard to access all the things around. Libraries, public places, cafes, walks (despite it being central, there's a big green open space not far!).
• Neighbours. Being in a marina, living aboard a boat, there is a real neighbourly spirit and people know each other and help each other out. We are absolute novices, but even the sellers of our boat have said they would definitely be back, take us out on our first few trips if we like, help with any questions. And people with different skills across the marina are happy to help with various things. I look forward to becoming part of a real, local, neighbour community.

Disadvantages do exist of course.

• No garden. Not a disadvantage to me, because I can't stand gardening work, but it's a bit of a loss to Mr. - however, there are green spaces around.
• Visitors. Parking isn't impossible, and there are free spaces (for 4 hours) nearby, but any overnight visitors will have to find some solution - either pay for parking, or park far off and we'd come and fetch them. Because those 4-hour spots are there however, I don't feel that is a major issue.
  Overnight visitors will have to stay either in the guest room (as long as we don't have kids) or on a day bed in the lounge.
• Mooring cost. Bristol Marina isn't cheap. It does have great amenities, and it's central, and there's no other place at the moment that we could have a residential mooring. Out there in Bristol harbour, residential moorings are extremely rarely available. The way I see it, it's best for us to stay at the marina for the moment, have neighbours around and learn everything we need about this way of living, and if at some point we are able to move to a cheaper place that still works for us, then we can still do that. That's the beauty of being able to move our home around!
• Kids. I can see this working with one, two kids maybe - three would be a stretch. Certainly when they grow older. It can be done, however; there are several kids in the marina. I have a lot to learn about living in small spaces, especially as a family, but I have no doubt it can be done!
• No pets. That's a real downside to me. It's not that pets can't live on a boat, it's that Bristol Marina won't allow them. So at least for the time we are there, we can't have a dog. I would absolutely love to have a dog... but if that's not to be for the moment, that is a sacrifice I'm prepared to make.