advice - healthcare and benefits while living aboard

[garethdaddis]

Hi i am  looking for advice. i own my flat and thinking of selling and buying a narrow boat as i used to live on one many years ago and also  steered  trip boats in camdon.i am now  registered disabled i am looking for advice as my life time wish is to buy a narrow boat and live on board again ( with my girlfriend come helper )

I am on esa and pip i would love to travel the canals. but how would it affect my benifits and many hospital appointments coming up would i need a permanent mooring address?

any advice please 

Edited July 23, 2017 by DHutch
Additional info added to thread title.

[Guest]

I would suggest that you ask for advice from CAB, (citizens advice bureau). Your eligibility for benefits could be compromised if you do not have an address, or you are not available for appointments and interviews.

[junior]

I would treat this as several separate problems.

1) Can you still claim your benefits without a permanent address?

2) Can you practically access the land based support you need whilst living aboard, be that CC'ing or with a home mooring?

3) Can you 'Satisfy the board' (CRT) all the time whilst needing to access land regularly for appointments?

4) Is your disability and lufestyle compatible to living on a boat?

 

Unless there is somebody on the forum in the exact same circumstances and area as you, then I'd suggest the only overall answer/advice you will get off this forum will guess work or opinion.

 

[magictime]

I can't help with the benefits (sorry), but I can see how not having a permanent address might be an issue. Personally I think you should also be asking yourself what happens when you're no longer able to live on a boat; are you going to be in a position to get back on the housing ladder if property has doubled in value and your boat has halved (say)?

I've got no idea whether your flat is a £250,000 place in an expensive part of the country, a £60,000 place in a cheap part of the country, or something in between, but if there's any chance its sale would fund the purchase of a cheaper place plus a boat, that might solve both problems. In our own case, we're hoping that when we come to sell our house, a £35k-ish boat plus a £65k-ish flat will enable us to balance the freedom of a CCing lifestyle with the security of knowing there's a way back on to dry land (and give us a bit of rental income meanwhile).

In terms of CCing while keeping up with hospital appointments, I think it depends entirely on where you live. Round here (West Yorkshire) we have many miles of different waterways concentrated in a fairly small area, so I think it'd be easy enough to cruise a good distance every year while staying within a hour of Leeds, say. It's a different matter if your 'home' town is just a dot along the line of a single canal, although still I suppose it depends how far you're willing and able to travel and how often.

[Chewbacka]

3 hours ago, magictime said:

I can't help with the benefits (sorry), but I can see how not having a permanent address might be an issue. Personally I think you should also be asking yourself what happens when you're no longer able to live on a boat; are you going to be in a position to get back on the housing ladder if property has doubled in value and your boat has halved (say)?

I've got no idea whether your flat is a £250,000 place in an expensive part of the country, a £60,000 place in a cheap part of the country, or something in between, but if there's any chance its sale would fund the purchase of a cheaper place plus a boat, that might solve both problems. In our own case, we're hoping that when we come to sell our house, a £35k-ish boat plus a £65k-ish flat will enable us to balance the freedom of a CCing lifestyle with the security of knowing there's a way back on to dry land (and give us a bit of rental income meanwhile).

In terms of CCing while keeping up with hospital appointments, I think it depends entirely on where you live. Round here (West Yorkshire) we have many miles of different waterways concentrated in a fairly small area, so I think it'd be easy enough to cruise a good distance every year while staying within a hour of Leeds, say. It's a different matter if your 'home' town is just a dot along the line of a single canal, although still I suppose it depends how far you're willing and able to travel and how often.

and if CRT are prepared to come to an arrangement concerning medical treatment.

[magictime]

38 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

and if CRT are prepared to come to an arrangement concerning medical treatment.

But I get the impression the OP is talking about an ongoing situation. You might well be able to make an arrangement with CRT to stay put for a month or two to recover from an operation or injury, say, but they're not going to exempt someone from the CC guidelines 'just' because they have ongoing medical issues requiring regular hospital appointments.

[Chewbacka]

8 minutes ago, magictime said:

But I get the impression the OP is talking about an ongoing situation. You might well be able to make an arrangement with CRT to stay put for a month or two to recover from an operation or injury, say, but they're not going to exempt someone from the CC guidelines 'just' because they have ongoing medical issues requiring regular hospital appointments.

My impression is that CRT have agreed that some people with medical issues can return to a place more often than normally allowed for appointments, so long as they move away soon after the appointment.  Though this may only be for a fixed (temporary) time and not open ended.  It would not hurt the op to ask the CRT welfare officer what can be done, though they will probably be sworn to secrecy if they do get something................... 

[RichM]

As for getting access to healthcare and benefits, the easiest solution would be to find a residential marina mooring. I don't know what sort of disability you have but having easy access to car parking, electric shorelines, water points and shower blocks may add to the quality of life, perhaps moreso as you get older.  

If you're not going to be living at the marina permanently then a leisure marina may suffice and this will cost substantially less but it usually means you cannot get post delivered to the marina. People who do this will typically opt for their post to be delivered to a friend's house or to a post office which costs nothing.

Of course, it's a bit different to being a continuous cruiser but there's nothing stopping you taking extended breaks cruising along the network. Given that you will need to attend regular appointments, it's likely you will need a central "base" regardless so you may find a marina mooring to be the answer. 

Hope this helps

RichM

 

[David Mack]

18 hours ago, Chewbacka said:

My impression is that CRT have agreed that some people with medical issues can return to a place more often than normally allowed for appointments, so long as they move away soon after the appointment.  Though this may only be for a fixed (temporary) time and not open ended.  It would not hurt the op to ask the CRT welfare officer what can be done, though they will probably be sworn to secrecy if they do get something................... 

I would expect CRT to be more flexible on this if an existing CCer develops health problems than they would be for someone who embarks on CCing with an existing issue.

[Chewbacka]

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

I would expect CRT to be more flexible on this if an existing CCer develops health problems than they would be for someone who embarks on CCing with an existing issue.

So would I, but there is no harm in asking

[pearley]

We have friends in the Black Country who do exactly this. She receives PIP and ESA and needs regular GP and hospital visits, and has for the 2 or 3 years we've known them. CRT are very aware of their situation and allow them to CC around a fairly restricted area. Even so, , I think they probably have a larger cruising range than a lot of CCers.

Her hospital is New Cross at Wednesfield and her GP is near Walsall. But they move every 14 days and cruise between Longwood, Brownhills, Walsall, Bentley Bridge, Tipton, Windmill End and Merryhill though they did a longer cruise earlier this year between appointments to Braunston via the GU and return via the Coventry.

However, as far as I'm aware, they have an land address but it's not where they live.

Edited July 24, 2017 by pearley
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