A 29-year-old woman who got fed up with the high rents in London decided to move onto a boat that she bought three years ago along with her dog. While residing in hackney, East London, shannon Lane saved over £1,200 in rent after shifting onto her narrowboat. Leigh explained the rationale behind her buying the boat and why this intriguing adventure was no less difficult for her.

Boat type homes are a norm in London due to the lack of space, and accordingly to The Sun her shifting saved her a ton of money while allowing her to live in the same location , aiding shannon in staying in london while giving her the chance to lower her spendings.

Lane wanted ‘a more affordable’ house for herself and her pug, Gilbert, and that was the time she took out a loan on a 30ft narrowboat worth £24000 in January 2023. Also, she mentioned that ever since she has moved onto a boat, her mental state has significantly improved and she no longer suffers from ‘depression and bad anxiety.’

However, the journey from her house to the narrowboat hasn’t been all that simple for her. She explains that there are many challenges that she has to face each day, and recently posted a video on TikTok discussing how much harsher it has been for her once the temperature drops for her 75k followers.

Shannon Lane’s ‘Boat Blues’

According to Lane, the temperature inside her boat becomes unbearably cold, much to the point that her dog's water, as well as her tea and coffee, freezes. She displayed how cold Chamomile tea could get by keeping a cup on the sink for a couple of hours: the leftover tea didn't pour out, even after she almost smashed the entire ceramic mug against the sink. All it did was form a solid circle surrounded by an intact teabag. Instead of coming out with water, it emerged as a solid circle that still had a teabag in the center of it.

There is one video of Lane admitting she was on a frozen canal and living on the frozen boat during harsher winter conditions was brutal, therefore, she 'almost gave up living on a boat' during tough winters in the past year.

The Sun also reported that the landlord has increased the rent to £1,000 a month. Still, she couldn't live with that cost. Instead of shelling out $900 per month for a single room, which Lane thought was absurd, she was sharing the house with two friends.

In 2022, Lane first saw the boat while browsing through an ad near Kings Cross canal, while on an evening walk. But once she took a look at it, she wanted to buy it on the spot. The woman had initially been dissuaded by her family; they did, however, end up conceding that only she could make such a decision. But she eventually got a loan worth £300 per month and contacted the seller to arrange a viewing and purchase to her surprise, her family ended up trusting her judgment.

“When I first approached the boat, it was listed at 24,000 pounds. My analysis concluded that loan payment would come up to 300 pounds every month. It reasonably differs from the monthly rental I used to pay. Additionally, I now own the boat,” As the report states, this is what she said.

Moreover, the woman claimed that being a boat dweller does not come easy as the hurdles she encountered alongside the newfound experience of residing on a boat overshadowed her excitement. “It was something different altogether, I call it my boat blues,” she commented.

“It was, without a question, surprising how much work needed to be put in. I remember thinking how easy it would be and that it would give me an entirely new level of freedom,” she mentioned.

She remembered that it was cold in London when she first relocated and that she had no idea how to even fill up the water or empty the toilet. But, the community stood by her in this matter. “One of the things I enjoyed about boat life is the people, it is so nice to each other – if it wasn’t for them I don’t think I could have done it,” she remarked further stating that she has some of the best people in the community as friends.

“I love the fact I can travel whenever I want and the summers are just simply awesome,” Shannon said. The Londoner also stated that she enjoys the perks of living on a boat.