Boats, Forests, and Shared Spaces: London's Answer to High Rents

foreign [Music] London is a city renowned for its high rents and property prices some of the highest in the world the average monthly rent for a flat or small apartment in London is around 1 600 pounds sterling while the average house price is 287 546 pounds meanwhile salaries after taxes average 2131 pounds per month leaving many people seeking alternative housing options [Music] thank you when our car enters a hilly area GPS navigation stops working and smartphones are of no use we asked locals for directions and arrived at our destination TP Valley a small hilly area in Wales part of the United Kingdom in the quiet valleys there's smoke rising from stainless steel smokestacks protruding from rooftops Rick a Slender Man with white tousled hair is the founder of this community he began buying land several decades ago with a dream of creating a small community for like-minded individuals over time it has expanded considerably in the first place we borrowed some land from the farmer he was very nice and in the end he sold it to us as we we saved up our money we all had nothing when we came and then we we saved up our little bit that we got every week we'd buy our food whatever else you needed but everything else all the rest of your money went in to buy the land and so after a few years we've bought all the land and now we own 200 Acres TP Valley is a small community nestled in the Welsh Hills where anyone can come and live very economically as a youth Rick lived through the 60s and 70s during the cultural explosion of the hippie movement valuing Freedom Simplicity and Detachment from Modern or expensive possessions this inspired his concept of sharing Living Spaces and building a community here in the Middle Ages when the Lord zoned everything and The Peasants owned nothing and The Peasants had to pay their dues to the Lord rent is a bit like that everybody should be able to have somewhere everybody should have fresh air clean water somewhere to get their food from and somewhere to live without having to pay everything to do it and so that's how we cannot we can't charge people for living here we wouldn't know what to do with the money for basic living needs there's empty land on which to build residences solar panels for electricity and water is drawn from a well for consumption the primary requirement for Community membership is to live in traditional tents no I mean at the moment I'm just more exploring the mnemonic lifestyle but the first two years it was kind of oh what need to do you know every moment but now you got more insight and the Rhythm and the pace how is the year going on like the nature changes and how do you fit into it to make your life kind of convenient small teepees conical shaped tents supported by poles are used as bedrooms during mild Seasons like this the kitchen is set up Outdoors they have to live like this for three years if they can stay for the entire duration they get the rights to build a permanent home just like Claire and Dan's family Claire and Dan continue to work but they relocated from the crowded and expensive city to this tranquil Hillside their homes are constructed using wood designed with roofs that still bear the traces of the woven thatched roofs they once lived under I wanted to live on the land children some where they could play outside where we could grow our own food where we could be self-sufficient basically I'd lived in other communities but there weren't many children in the other communities we were living at so we when I was pregnant with my eldest we moved here initially it was just the two of them during the three years they spent in these tents their first son was born followed by a second and a third the children go to school alongside their parents who work in teepee Valley each day when they returned home from school they spend most of their time exploring the woods climbing trees playing on swings sliding or running through the meadow I think you know I notice it in the kids as well if they've had a difficult day in school they'll come home and they'll just run around outside and then they seem okay they see more balanced they seem happier you've got you got a solid Community which is very very good for children so the children know they're safe going anywhere they everybody knows they're safe TP Valley is now home to 20 families some houses are made of stone with sod roofs allowing grass to grow While others are constructed from wood each home is just large enough for comfortable living but not excessive compared to life in London or other big cities life here may not be as convenient but they don't lack the essential things in life they have jobs food to eat and homes of their own all on open land under the vast Skies something city dwellers lack and so it's a tremendous opportunity and a huge more freedom than you have in a in a town where you not only boxed in very very tightly but you have to pay an awful lot of money for the privilege nobody here needs to pay rent because what are we paying rent for we've bought the land it's ours as a community we don't need any rent thank you London is densely populated by around 9 million people a significant portion of this population resides in government Flats in the 70s many londoners rented Flats reaching up to 42 percent this has however decreased to just eight percent one reason for this change can be traced back to a government policy during the tenure of prime minister Margaret Thatcher the policy allowed renters to buy their Flats at relatively affordable prices leading to a continuous turnover of ownership and skyrocketing prices many flats are now owned by individuals as an investment or for short-term rentals the high rent unstable rental agreements and stagnant incomes have pushed some individuals to seek alternative communities outside the bustling City for those who want to maintain their urban lifestyles and jobs a growing trend is co-living spaces this is the oldest co-living space in London a three-story red brick building that has housed more than 100 people for more than 10 years how many years was founded in 1774 74. so they're they're 14 14 houses with eight to nine people in each of the house the concept of living here is similar to student dormitories with multiple people living together here though is for working professionals we're going to own the place and run it uh run it from the inside rather than having someone who extracts the value and can raise the prices of the rent at any point right and of course this brings obligations because then you have to manage the place and you know make decisions to get there and this kind of makes you talk to other people you live next with and kind of community is formed organically Sanford House feels like a large shared home where everyone has their private bedroom with the rest of the space including common living rooms bathrooms kitchens and a garden being shared in the spring as the brown bear trees in the garden come back to life with green leaves red tulips and yellow flowers are in bloom in small patches hammocks are strung between the trees and a lively Pond is teeming with fish besides cost savings living in a co-living space also helps alleviate isolation problems which often plague City dwellers worldwide for this young woman with a master's degree in architecture it would be easy to find a spacious and suitable living Place elsewhere in London however on her income she can only afford a few square meters of rented space moreover the rental contract to which benefits the landlords over the tenants forces her to find new accommodation almost every year until she eventually settled in Sanford House here it's not just about paying an incredibly affordable rent it's also about being able to stay for as long as you want without the fear of being evicted the people I was living with was a shared home but it was like very usual London situation it was like the house was meant or it was privately owned house they rented out to four students but there were six people in there I had like a five square meter room and paid 450 pounds for that plus birds so it was just like crazy money for tiny tiny space my magic no no per month but my mattress didn't even fit in the room so it was kind of like this it was really small it was just the mattress and then you had like a little chest of drawers and that's it I got absolutely secure yeah I mean I never witnessed this typical thing of that you can be I don't know not evicted but um that your contract expires or your landlord raises your rent and you can't afford it anymore and you have to move on or yeah I never witnessed this but plenty of people here they said like it's weird who went through this they said like it's the first and they really feel secure and safe this shared living space does though come at the expense of privacy this kind of place is suitable for young adults starting out in life who do not yet have families and are looking to control expenses because you share your kitchen you share your bathrooms you share your living room in our club you do um so obviously this is less private than if you would have this all for yourself but on the other hand yeah you just Beacon just have a nice Garden you can just have a pizza oven you can just have ponds and you share with everybody and you can just use it as you like you know nobody's going to tell you anything because you all own it together it just I think it just expands your what you can have but obviously it's a different way of having it you know [Music] the parking area is stylishly designed by professional Architects with bricks laid in a spaced pattern to allow air and light to filter through inside the members vehicles are neatly parked in rows all Compact and requiring minimal space without the need for any fuel in addition to sharing space the people here also share responsibilities and work together when a bicycle breaks down there's no need to search for a repair shop there are skilled people here who can fix it if you want to get a haircut there are hairdressers ready to provide their services too this co-living space concept has gained a lot of attention especially among young people apart from Sanford House there are other co-living spaces in London located in various buildings and structures it's seen as a new and cost-effective housing option which also reduces the consumption of global resources [Music] if you want to see more great content from all over the world please like the video subscribe to our Channel and hit the Bell icon thank you foreign [Music] boasts a 200 kilometer long network of old canals in the past these canals were used both for commuting and transporting goods today along their narrow Banks you'll find brightly colored houseboats lined up neatly these are the permanent residences of some londoners some of these boats are adorned with plant pots and kitchen herbs others have laundry hanging out to dry how long you been living on the board uh five five years so why you choose to live on the water uh well I've been living in Hackney for for 20 years and I had a flat at London Fields at the time right so I bought a flight in a normal way you know for a normal price and then years later I realized it was you know worth some money through gentrification which had mixed feelings about but I I sold the the flat and I bought a boat and I could buy land in Spain not far away a couple are repairing their boat which is in the process of being converted into a permanent home they must complete it before their new baby arrives I mean we brought about last year I'm from independent person um we did have that for a while and then we thought like well let's try uh we've been renting before and we just needed a new project so so yeah we just bought it off private person the boat was an awful shave so we are just trying to make it like a bit nicer right right around 10 years ago London's canals weren't as densely populated with houseboats as they are now due to the Steep rise in property prices however the number of houseboats has increased from 400 to 1500. using a houseboat in the UK requires the completion of an official registration process beforehand boat registrations need to be renewed every year similar to Vehicle registrations once a boat is registered it's permitted to navigate and more on the country's many canals there are two types of Mooring the first is to stay in the same spot for an extended period which could be months or even years the other one is to remain in the same spot for up to two weeks with a cumulative Journey distance of at least 20 miles per year the latter option is cheaper in terms of fees and certainly more affordable than land-based housing moat owners who are required to move every two weeks must notify the authorities through their website when they do so sometimes inspections by officials are conducted and boats that violate the rules can have their licenses revoked for rest of us on custom Cruiser license we have to move the belt every every two weeks I would say you should do it anyway just to get access to the water points and to drop your rubbish off so so isn't that really like a hassle to do it anyway well expense may be a factor that leads many people to choose to live on houseboats but equally important is that they find contentment with this way of life even though that means living in limited space having fewer material possessions and constantly relocating to be honest I think the boat is much warmer than average flood in London with single glass and very expensive gas heater so I mean we use diesel heater in the bedroom resident about um is kept warm by stove so no absolutely not it's nice and warm and cozy for me that's a different story it was a way of doing something affordable right which then I could I'm reselling for you know and it was just it was like a a transitory object it was something it was a tool which was also a beautiful tool and a lovely way to live how's life living on the water I love it I love it I've always loved it yeah for me it was it's a good life just like the folks in TP Valley who are far from the modern hustle and bustle and the conveniences it's not just about cost saving they choose and embrace their decision to reside here no we've got everything we want we have we have really and I'm not just saying that because I'm trying to pretend that living in the countryside is is everything is lovely it's ever so difficult sometimes it's not easy but I don't want to I don't want to be in a house where I have to switch the switch to get hot water or anything else or turn the light on when I can have it for nothing but just by doing a little bit of work myself I can go to the forest and bring back wood my solar panels can provide me with the electricity I'm not dependent among upon paying a lot of money in water and electricity and all the other things that go along with housing so yeah it's about changing our mindset on on what resources are available and what we're choosing to use because we look across the world we see that you know probably the Western world are using up more resources than the rest of the world put together so it's yeah it's a change in mindset but I think living here makes you more aware of what you're using and you know being respectful I think living together with people who share a similar lifestyle residing in a quiet Countryside home surrounded by nature or embarking on continuous boat Journeys our lifestyles full of inspiration relaxation and travel for many to them it's a dream life upon waking up from the dream however one may realize the reality that this is a rather challenging and self-reliant way of life for them it's not so much a dream life more of a chosen path foreign [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Robloak

Views: 73,819

Keywords: Documentary, Documentaries, Reportage, Culture, News, World

Id: y68akbnsEBQ

Length: 20min 11sec (1211 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 23 2023