We didn’t have money to buy a house & got kicked out of our flat so got a boat instead…it’s so cheap, we pay £4 for gas
BUYING a home is certainly not a simple thing to do and one couple, Dottie and Tristan, were left unsure where they would live after their landlord kicked them out of their rented property.
The Cambridgeshire couple, Dottie Turnbull, 21, and Tristan Van, 25, explained that they were renting a one bedroom cottage but the landlord randomly gave them a three-month notice period, leaving them shocked at what to do next.
Dottie, who works in Marketing, told Fabulous: “A year and a half ago Tristan and I were renting a one bedroom cottage in Cambridgeshire.
“It was pretty run down when we moved there, but within six months we had completely transformed the place – so much so the landlord put our little home up for sale and gave us our three month notice period, which in all honestly shocked us both.
“We were then in a bit of a rut, as we both loved character homes but didn’t have a large enough deposit to buy.
“We could have done a Help to Buy in a new-build estate but that wasn’t really our thing.”
Dottie explained that she and her partner Tristan, who is a Barber, made the decision to buy and live on a boat instead.
She continued: “At that time, I’d always known I’d love to live on a narrowboat, but never thought four months later I’d be there.
“From a little girl I had my sights set. I’ve never wanted to settle down as such and love change so this always felt like an adventure I had to do. Although I didn’t think I’d be able to live this dream so soon.
“We bought the boat and started living on the boat in October 2021. It cost us £30,000.
“We’ve been living on Tanglewood for over a year now and there’s now three of us with our puppy Teddy.”
But Tanglewood, the couple’s boat, needed a lot of work – so the pair set out renovating their home on water.
Dottie added: “When we bought the boat, it was very oldy worldy. In fact I don’t think it had been touched once.
“We’ve completely transformed the kitchen and living room, with a lot of colour and we’re now starting to add our own touches onto our home.
“We’ve put down new flooring and have recently just finished turning our little outside area into a garden with fake grass and chairs.
“Next up is the bathroom, and then the bedroom – followed by painting the outside of the boat which we’re going to do ourselves – we were quoted £10,000 for someone to do this.”
Dottie revealed that she loves boat life, as it is a much cheaper and more affordable way of living.
She revealed that boat life is “cheaper, especially in the cost of living.
“We pay roughly £4 per month for gas, £20 per month for our heating and £10 for electricity.”
Not only this, but Dottie loves being able to see nature every day and loves the flexibility her new life gives her.
She claimed: “It’s beautiful! The nature. Looking out your window to swans everyday is amazing.
“Being able to move your home – we do quite literally take our home to the pub!”
The 21-year-old also explained that her narrowboat will grow in value over the years and she would love to eventually put it on Airbnb.
Dottie concluded: “A lot of people think narrowboats depreciate in value, but that’s only if you don’t look after them.
“They are in such demand at the moment, that our boat will be worth a lot more than we bought it for in five year’s time.
“I don’t think it’s a forever thing, but it’s definitely a now thing.
“I’d eventually like to put it on Airbnb to allow people to have a taster before jumping in at the deep end and buying a boat.
“There are also some incredible wide beam boats out there which are pretty much houses on water so that would be a potential.”