A couple are set to swap their three bedroom house for a 65ft narrowboat in a bid to save up for their dream home.
Ellie Jones and Harry Barker, both 28, have decided to opt for a "completely different way of life" on the water surrounded by countryside. The narrowboat, called Shirley, was bought back in 2020 by Ellie's parents, who will rent it out to Ellie and her fiancé Harry, starting this March.
During the week, the newly engaged couple will be based in Northwich, Cheshire, while at weekends they plan to visit cities like Liverpool and Manchester. They will be documenting the highs and lows of living on a boat on their YouTube channel and Instagram page @Justbobbingaround.
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Ellie told the ECHO: "We thought if we don't do it now we probably never will. To say we've lived on a boat and explored that is a bit of a one off.
"We'll definitely do a year and see how we go on after that. I don't think we'll do it for over five years. The savings are going to be massive.
"We think together we'll both probably be able to save, compared to what we spend at the moment, £800-£1,000 a month. But obviously we've got a good deal that my parents don't want as much for the boat as it necessarily would be to rent one out monthly."
Ellie said her parents were looking at selling the boat due to the maintenance costs involved in keeping it on the water. But their new arrangement means Ellie and Harry will pay them rent to live on the boat, while renting out their own house in Northwich.
It will cost the couple £250 a month to keep the boat on the marina near where they live, while they estimate electricity will come to £45 a month. They plan to use the money they save living on a boat to buy a house in Altrincham in the future.
Ellie said: "We'll save money on utilities but you're also a lot more aware of what you're using as you have to top up your electricity money instead of it going out as a direct debit.
"You're really wary of how much water you use because you have to fill up the water tank every time it's empty. You can get eight showers out of one tank. We're always wary of how many times we flush the toilet."
Ellie plans to work from home on the boat, while Harry will commute to work and the couple will travel around at weekends. Ellie said: "I'd like to go back to Liverpool – that was really nice. It's completely different to be in a city, you can see how things were run years ago and how the canals have still survived and everything is built around the canals."
While a lot of people may struggle with having less space for their belongings on a boat, Ellie said everything is multipurpose. She said: "It's the space for most people but I think once you're used to it it's fine.
"It's such a small space, when the heating is on it's a lot cosier than your typical house. It's a completely different life style – you feel so much more relaxed.
"We have been on boats a lot so we're used to the way of life with boats. People think we're absolutely crazy, they can't believe we're doing it. I think it will be a really lovely experience."
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