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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think about living in a caravan in a field?

145 replies

OhLori · 12/04/2013 17:46

I am on HB with one child. Been offered one flat that smells totally of piss, on a housing estate that looks like something out of the Soviet Union, circa 1959. I mean open-air prisons look more inviting: low-rise, green spaces, plenty of facilities. (Those architects should be serving life sentences, preferably living in the flats they designed).

At least I could do a nice fry-up outdoors in the morning, like the gypsies do.

OP posts:
whokilleddannylatimer · 14/04/2013 18:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ZolaBuddleia · 14/04/2013 18:51

I love the boat idea. How realistic is a narrowboat with a child and a tall DP? Are they too small for a washer etc? Would I worry about DD falling in all the time?

Apologies for the hijack.

kim147 · 14/04/2013 18:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GibberTheMonkey · 14/04/2013 19:01

I too love the idea if a boat. I met dh in the canal and we honeymooned afloat but I couldn't face the idea with four young children.
We have threatened them with moving afloat when they all move out and we'll land in them in each Christmas in turn.

infamouspoo · 14/04/2013 19:01

does the boat come with a berth though? I always heard that was the main issue.

GoSuckEggs · 14/04/2013 20:30

HERE IS MY FLOG A BOAT THREAD!

VerySmallSqueak you get a boat mortgage! we could do a deal....

ZolaBuddleia loads of children on boats, they love it. i have never heard of one going in!
my dad is 6ft4 and he has head room probably couldn't jump tho!
We have a washer/dryer on board, as do lots of others.

kim DS could bounce and bounce to his hearts content! It is all steel, so perhaps a bump or two at worse! Wink

GibberTheMonkey i actually know someone with 6 children, expecting a 7th on a 46ft boat!!!! Shock

infamouspoo yes it comes with 2 berths, but the way we have designed the boat you can easily fit 4 more berths. our boat used to be a hire boat and in its day it actually slept 12!!
i suspect you mean mooring? where the boat lives? mooring are easy enough to get hold of.

ZolaBuddleia · 14/04/2013 20:38

I've joined in on your other thread!

Looking at boats for sale, they're pretty much all bigger than my house.

ConfusedPixie · 14/04/2013 20:41

Shock I love your boat! It's amazing! I wish I had the money and I'm not just saying that! Not sure where you can park one down Brighton way though, we saw three at the Marina but haven't worked out how the hell they managed to get there!

I don't get canal costings though, do you pay to moor? What about bills/water useage/etc? Confused

NettleTea · 14/04/2013 20:52

a decent caravan would be good, we have someone near us living in a converted horsebox with solar power and a woodburner. Yurts are great my friend lived in one in Wales for 5 years. Perhaps get involved in WWOOFing - travel around and get board and food in exchange for work on farms - or look into communal living here there are lots of options for an alternative to the rathole/shoebox living

DontForgetTheLightAlesLawrence · 14/04/2013 20:56

I lived in a large caravan for eighteen months. I loved it. No running water or loo but it was on my dads farm, so I used his facilities. I was young and without child then too.

It was the happiest time in my life.

In winter, I had an oil filled radiator, which threw the heat out. Also extra thick duvet and electric blanket.

I'd do it again if I could find one big enough for me and my boy, in a lovely spot.

GoSuckEggs · 14/04/2013 20:56

pixie marine finance.... i am not sure, you would need to do some research! you can move them by road, not cheap but can be done. I am not sure how to get it down via the waterways!

yes you pay to moor in a marina but you do not have to live in a marina. We did and did not enjoy it. We love living on the tow path!

NO BILLS!!. the only thing you have to pay for ( obviously apart from the boat!) is a licence. for our boat that is £1000 a year. that is it. You get water from either the marina where you live or from certain points along the canal. it is included in you licence!

Mimishimi · 15/04/2013 04:17

YANBU but I would think twice about the romantic appeal of it. You usually can't just pull up anywhere you like, you usually have to rent a space at an established site unless some kind farmer allows you to stay on. I don't know if you have to be a member of an established traveller family to get a spot at an 'official' traveller's site, you would have to check up on that. Usually those sites are privately owned by travelling families. Any any rate, probably wouldn't be too keen on non-travellers being there. It gets cold in winter and the older vans get pretty hot in summer. They can be a bit of a fire hazard too at times. The new vans can be very expensive. Cooking outdoors sounds romantic but washing up is a royal PITA especially at night-time. You often get yobs who threaten to burn up your van etc depending on which part of the country you go to and, if you're single, middle-class sleazes who think you must be up for a 'good time' because you're not settled folk.

All that said, it can be a really good option if you want to get off benefits and plan on moving around getting seasonal work. It's also easier now with the amount of stuff you can just have on your computer instead of having to store - books, music, movies etc. Good luck.

Bertrude · 15/04/2013 05:57

OP YANBU - I can completely see the appeal of that over living somewhere not nice.

However, GoSuckEggs is being highly unreasonable in posting about buying a boat, because husband has been trying to convince me for ages that we need a canal boat. We live abroad and he thinks a canal boat or a static caravan would be a better option than a cheap house back home. And now you've posted that, I'm browsing. Damn you, GoSuckEggs!

infamouspoo · 15/04/2013 08:31

I did mean mooring Blush I asked cos I heard the waterways people hate liveaboards. But I was thinking 'Ooooo, escape from hubby and spawn....' but where would it live in between times? And how would a wheelchair get on board?
And how does broadband work? If I had one spawn or they were all about to shove off and leave home the whole boat/caravan idea would be ideal and I'd do it in a heartbeat.

aufaniae · 15/04/2013 08:50

Boats are really expensive though aren't they? My friend looked into it seriously about 15 years ago, and IIRC the decent ones cost £20k+ and then there's mooring fees etc.

Flojo what was insulting about your posts was the assumption that because you've found it easy, everyone else will too. You have been very lucky, it's simply not the experience of many people on HB that private renting is an option. I helped a friend on HB with her flat search (I won't go into the whys and wherefores, but she needed help and I basically spent 6 weeks doing the search for her). I must have enquired about 200+ flats and only found one which would accept HB. It was on a road with a reputation for being very rough (crack dealing and groups of men hanging about on the street at night). She took it anyway but in the 3 days before she moved in, the ceiling caved in!

So, making comments like it's so easy ignores the fact that people may have had a different experience to you, it's not for want of trying!

aufaniae · 15/04/2013 09:17

OhLori, would you consider a house share, (perhaps with another mum?) until recently DP, DS and I shared with others. It suited us as we like having people around, and preferred to share and live in a large house than pay more for a poky place with just the 3 of us.

It might be possible to find another mum who wants to look for a place together. You still have the problem of finding a LL who accepts HB but it would widen your options.

If you think it might be an option let me know and I'll post links to the websites we used to find flatmates.

Roughly whereabouts do you live btw? It's worth looking into whether there are any housing associations / coops etc in your area that might put you on their waiting lists. Not an immediate solution but possibly helpful for the future.

What you really need is a private LL who's happy to rent to you, or possibly someone with a nice bit of land who would welcome you and a caravan! IME this kind of thing often happens on a word of mouth or more personal basis than ads in a paper. Do you have green / arty or hippyish cafes / community spaces near you? The notice boards in these kinds of places often have rooms to rent IME and you can put up wanted signs too. For a flat and/or a caravan! Perhaps you might be lucky and find a place which accept HB.

Thinking more laterally, have you got a degree? If you have any desire at all to get one, now might be a good time. I am currently studying, we get 80% of childcare paid in term time. Some unis have family rooms in halls. (ours doesn't, hence the house sharing.) It's not easy financially and being a parent and studying is bloody hard work (forget any idea of a social life, reading books or even watching TV for pleasure! You need to be dedicated) but might be a way out of your current situation.
I'm not suggesting you be a student just to get a place, but if it's something you'd like to do anyway, now could be a good time. I've loved being a student again.

GoSuckEggs · 15/04/2013 09:59

Bertrude YOU DO NEED A BOAT!! Your DH is spot on. You dont need to browse you need to get your butt over to my thread and buy my boat!! Grin here you are

GoSuckEggs · 15/04/2013 10:03

imfamouspoo you can get boats that are adapted for wheelchairs! live aboard all year! its great. for internet you need a dongle.
Waterways hate people that take the piss and leave mess and distruction where ever they have been!

So if you are on a mooring then you can stay there allthe time. if you do not have a mooring then you move about where ever you like!

aufaniae our boat is worth around 45k. but that is a LOT cheaper then a house!

aufaniae · 15/04/2013 10:56

Oh yes, definitely cheaper than a house. But probably not an option for most people claiming HB!

GoSuckEggs · 15/04/2013 11:05

from what i understand housing benefit will pay a marina and rentig costs....

expatinscotland · 15/04/2013 12:39

Yes, but how many are going to rent out their boat to someone on HB? A person on benefits doesn't have a pot of money sitting around to buy a boat or they'd be ineligible for benefits.

expatinscotland · 15/04/2013 14:41

Can you turn the flat down? You usually get to turn one down and then have to take the second one offered, but a lot of councils will offer a really crappy one first.

TeacupTempest · 15/04/2013 14:53

I live at anchor on a boat for 6 months of the year and in a static caravan for the other 6.

Definitely doable. We have a DD (16 months)

ZolaBuddleia · 15/04/2013 15:08

When you say 'at anchor', do you mean you're floating in the sea somewhere?

expatinscotland · 15/04/2013 15:10

It is doable, but is it doable for a person with no money who is renting?