Man buys cruise ship apartment because it's less than renting and he can see the world

 Watch: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8gkkeu

Living the rest of your life on a cruise ship seems like the dream of the ultra-rich. You wake up every morning and have an all-you-can-eat breakfast. Spend the afternoon hanging out by the pool or touring a fantastic city such as Rome or Dubrovnik.

At night, have a drink in the lounge watching a comedian or a jazz band, then hit the sack and do it all over again the next day. Seems too good to be true for the average person, right? Think again.

Twenty-eight-year-old Austin Wells of San Diego told CNBC that he can make it happen because it’s cheaper than living onshore in Southern California and he gets to see the world. “The thing that most excites me is I don’t have to upend my daily routine, in order to go see the world,” Wells told CNBC.

“I’m going from this model where you want to go somewhere, you pack a bag, you get on a flight, you rent a room, to now my condo, my gym, my doctors and dentists, all of my grocery stores travel the world with me,” he added.

Wells purchased an apartment on the MV Narrative, which is currently being built in Croatia and sets sail in 2025.

The rough math for Wells' dream makes perfect sense. He purchased a 12-year lease on the ship for $300,000. That comes to about $2,100 a month if he didn’t have to take out a loan. By comparison, most apartments in San Diego cost more than $2,100 per month in rent. 

The ship charges an additional $2,100 a month for all-inclusive services, which include a whopping accomodation area,food, drinks, alcohol, gym membership, laundry, routine healthcare check-ups and onboard entertainment. In addition, Wells’ room spans 237 square feet and features a desk, shower room, pantry and a foldaway bed. 

So, it could cost Wells as little as $4,200 a month to live an all-expenses-paid life. Plus, there’s no need to pay for a car or waste time shopping for groceries or traveling anywhere. It’s all on the ship.

Wells can work from the ship because his job with Meta is fully remote.

"What I'm probably most excited about is going to places that ships can only uniquely go,” he told CNBC, adding that cruise ships can travel to “unique ecological parts of the world or beautiful dive spots that are a few miles off land or caves to dive through and the ship will do a number of overnight stays in those areas."

Wells isn’t the only person who’s decided to live on a permanent vacation. Upworthy spoke with a quinquagenarian couple earlier this year who live on cruise ships because it’s cheaper than their mortgage.

Richard Burk and his wife, Angelyn, are living their best life hopping from ship to ship for around $100 a night, depending on the cruise. "Cruise costs vary quite a bit, our goal is to average about $100 per night, for the couple, or less across an entire calendar year," Richard told Upworthy.

The Burks keep the costs of cruising down through loyalty memberships. “We love to travel and we were searching for a way to continuously travel in our retirement that made financial sense”. 

People like Wells and the Burks may be outliers in society. They’ve chosen to give up the comforts of home for the comfort of living a life being catered to 24/7. While most of us probably won’t opt to make the big leap and live life out at the sea, their stories are a wonderful reminder that with a little creative thinking, we can create the perfect lives for ourselves whether on land or at sea.

In the United Kingdom, prices are now so high that a third of British people believe they will never buy their own home. This is according to a new report published by the Halifax Bank. Home ownership was once an achievable goal for generations of Britons. However, skyrocketing prices now mean the prospects of getting on the property ladder are plummeting. The report says that one in five twentysomethings has no desire to own their own home. Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at Halifax, said: "We may be heading towards the point where the aspiration to own a nice home will be replaced by the aspiration to simply live in one." He added: "It seems that people are now beginning to accept a lifetime of renting."

Britain's Office for National Statistics earlier this week expressed concern at what it describes as "runaway train" house prices.As of July 2022, the average house price for a first-time buyer in the UK stands at £243,705. That's around £100,000 higher than it was ten years previously, an increase of just over 70% . Things get bleaker for house hunters wishing to buy in London. Prices in the capital are roughly £550,000. The Halifax report writes about possible long-term social problems arising from, "the division between homeowners and non-homeowners". The report warned that if there are fewer first-time buyers, "the market will come to a standstill". If this happens, prices will have to come down.

1.Vocabulary

1.	hit the sack	a.	a small room or closet in which food, dishes, and utensils are kept.
2.	on shore	b. c. d. e.	go to bed/ turn in enormous an exception to the rule someone in their 50s.
3.	upend	f.	turn something upside down
4.	whopping	g.	situated on land
5.	pantry	h.	choose
6.	quinquagenarian	i.	to provide something
7.	outlier                           j.jump 8.being catered to                    9.opt 10.leap

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	high	a.	more unpromising
2.	according to	b.	desire
3.	achievable	c.	likelihood
4.	prospects	d.	conflict
5.	aspiration	e.	as stated by
6.	concern	f.	occurring
7.	bleaker	g.	halt
8.	arising	h.	attainable
9.	division	i.	consternation
10.	standstill	j.	inflated

3.ROLE PLAY 

Role Play 1: ACCOMMODATION: What are the good and bad points of these? Complete this table.

Living…	Good things	Bad things
alone
with parents
with best friend
Partner
strangers
workmates

ROLE PLAY 2:  Barcelona Neighborhouds:

DdD

Describe the following Barcelona districts and neighborhouds, the pros and cons of living in them, which ones are considered overrated/underrated (and other adjectives), best value for price as an investor/homeowner/tenant and your opinion on  the neighborhoods and suburbs on the outskirts and outside of Barcelona. 

Use the same procedure to describe other parts of Spain.  

https://www.barcelona.cat/en/living-in-bcn/living-neighbourhood

ROLE PLAY 3: Greatest aspirations

Role  A – Home ownership You think home ownership is the greatest aspiration. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so great about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why):

Role  B – Travel to 100 countries You think travelling to 100 countries is the greatest aspiration. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so great about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why):

Role  C – Retiring at 40 You think retiring at 40 is the greatest aspiration. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so great about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why):

Role  D – Getting a Ph.D. You think getting a Ph.D. is the greatest aspiration. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so great about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why):   Role E- Become the boss Role F- Own a Ferrari Role G- Have a big family

Role Play 4: Best things about cruises

Role  A – Cabins You think cabins are the best things about cruises. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their reasons. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these reasons (and why):

Role  B – Destinations You think the destinations are the best things about cruises. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their reasons. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these reasons (and why):

Role  C – Sea Views You think sea views are the best things about cruises. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their reasons. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these reasons (and why):

Role  D – Other Passengers You think other passengers are the best things about cruises. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their reasons. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these reasons (and why): Role E- Food Role F- Entertainment  Role G- Sea Air  Role H- Fishing

 5.TRAVEL: What things can you do in these types of travel? What are their good and bad points? Complete this table.

		Good Points	Bad Points
Ship
Plane
Train
Car
Bicycle Motorcycle Hitchhiking

6.HOME OWNERSHIP DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS  

c)	How important is it for you to own your own home?
d)	What's the property market like in your town?
e)	If you could buy a house anywhere, where would it be?
f)	Is home ownership something most people aspire to?
g)	Why is owning your own home better than renting?
h)	What help should governments give to house buyers?
i)	Where would you like to be on the property ladder?
j)	How would the prospect of a lifetime of renting affect you?

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STUDENT B's QUESTIONS  

b)	Is property a good investment?If yes, how so ?
c)	What are "runaway train" prices? What do you think about this expression?
d)	What do you think of average UK house prices?
e)	Why do you think house prices in the UK are rising so sharply?
f)	How would it feel to be priced out of the housing market?
g)	What do you think of mortgages (housing loans)?
h)	What social problems might result from rising house prices?
i)	What will happen if the property market comes to a standstill?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the report writer?