Woman saves £6k a year after ditching houseshare for narrowboat

A woman ditched her houseshare and quit the rat race to live off-grid in a narrowboat - and says she now saves £6k-a-year.

Shannon Lane, 29, was fed up of paying £900-a-month for a room in a three-bedroom apartment. The artist said she was looking for somewhere "more affordable" with space for her and her pug, Gilbert, two.

She took out a loan to buy a £24k 30ft narrowboat which she moved into in January 2023. She says she now saves £500-a-month and travels around the Grand Union Canal - moving every two weeks.

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But it's not all been smooth-sailing and Shannon says she experienced "boat blues" as she grappled 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.

"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 upped her rent to £1,000-a-month.

She was walking around the Kings Cross canal in October 2022 when she came across a narrowboat for sale. Shannon said it was a "no-brainer" to move onto a boat and is now saving thousands a year.

She said: "I saw the boat and thought 'what if?'. I texted the owner and we set up a viewing for the following week.

"As soon as I saw the