One way to beat housing squeeze
With rental properties in short supply, and house prices continuing to soar, some Wellingtonians are resorting to living on boats or forming communes in an effort to live affordably.
Friends Zoe Henderson and Sophie Macaulay have been living on a boat in Chaffers Marina for the past six months.
‘‘Mostly it was because a friend and I needed a place to live at midyear, and there is a lot of competition for small apartments in town, so it was out of necessity more than anything else,’’ Henderson said.
Necessity may have prompted the move but the two soon found the 14-metre yacht, owned by Henderson’s family, to be an excellent alternative to a flat.
With a monthly mooring fee of about $700, and expenses of about $50 a week, it was also a comparatively cheap one.
‘‘There are things that are inconvenient about it but it’s fun. There’s 30-ish people living aboard at Chaffers Marina. There’s lots of people around and they are really friendly.’’
One of the drawbacks of living on a 30-year-old steel-hulled boat is that it acts as a Faraday cage, blocking all electrical signals, meaning no wi-fi.
Henderson and Macauley are now poised to move back into the city, with spaces having become available in friends’ flats.
But even on land, novel ways are being found to live cheaply.
Kiana Sadighi has been living in a shared house in Oriental Bay, sleeping in a room with five others in a house of 18 and paying $80 a week for rent and expenses.
This commune-style living arrangement was perfect for those wanting to save money, and worked well provided everyone discussed any issues, she said.
Meanwhile, backpackers in Wellington are bracing for an influx of students unable to find anywhere to live. – Fairfax NZ