KRISTIANSAND (VG) Silje Gullhav doesn’t even have a boat driving test, but saves thousands a month by having a sailboat as student accommodation.
Less than 50 minutes ago
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– You don’t get any more central!
Silje smiles proudly as she jumps into the nearly fifty-year-old boat “Ayla”. Kristiansand gjestehavn has been the duo’s address for almost a year.
And Silje does not regret that choice. She sits happily on the deck and feels the warmth of the evening sun:
– Sitting here at times like this. That’s why people live in boats, she bursts out.
But that’s not the only reason.
–At the same time last year, Silje was frantically looking for student housing in Kristiansand. She was supposed to start studying music at the University of Agder in autumn 2021, but met a wall of full waiting lists and prices far in excess of a student’s budget.
She was late and starting to panic.
– Once the landlord said that a room was more expensive because it had two sockets. Then that was enough.
Silje had to start thinking anew and continues:
– The rental market in Norway is absolutely sick.
BACKGROUND: Sharp increase in rental prices
–In the last year, Kristiansand has been the big city with it the largest housing price increase in the country. In addition, ravages record high electricity prices in southern Norway.
Silje relieves that stress.
The rent is just over NOK 1,500 September-June, and NOK 3,500 in July and August, she says. Permanent residents in the guest harbor pay an electricity fee of only NOK 5,000 a year.
Silje did indeed pay NOK 95,000 for the boat, but sees it as a profit as long as you don’t have to repair too much, and gets to sell the boat again afterwards.
– I don’t have a normal student budget, after all. I don’t have to count kroner at the grocery store, as many others have to, says a half-serious Silje.
A student loan gives you NOK 10,529 a month to live on.
Silje’s boat is 33 feet long and can accommodate six people on a good day. For the same price on land, you hardly get a garage space.
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Lost the godfather week
Silje is from Hvaler, but had almost never owned a boat before she decided to move in one. With good help from her mother and friends, she found the boat on Finn.no and sailed over to Kristiansand in three days just before the start of her studies.
– I thought, why not? Boats are cheap and good.
But she admits that she was very nervous at the start.
– I couldn’t do anything! But fortunately, I have gotten to know kind boat neighbors, and you learn a lot along the way.
–“Serr, why do you bother?”
Is the question Silje most often gets from others. She smiles:
– It is an incredible experience. And the best thing is that you are so close to the city.
She herself refers to living on a boat as an “ice-breaker” in the student environment.
– I actually lost the sponsor’s week because I had to sail over here, she laughs.
And Silje is aware that there are some things you lose. Among other things, some comfort.
Because even though the two-room boat offers a unique layout with a roof hatch in the bedroom that allows you to just stick your head straight up instead of checking the weather forecast, there are certain other things that are not as charming.
In addition to Silje having to go ashore to shower and do laundry, she also has no hot water.
– I miss that! Washing up quickly becomes a bit stressful, she says.
But she quickly follows up:
– It’s worth it. The year had not been anywhere near the same in a rickety student dormitory.
– Are you dreading winter?
– Many people wonder about that. The floor will be cold, but luckily I have a heater and the biggest sofa ever, says Silje.
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In the same boat
Besides mysterious luxury yachts and giant cruise ships, it is not only Silje’s boat Kristiansand guest harbor houses.
She says that at one point there were 18 houseboats docked. So many that the port had to expand the power grid.
– I have managed to inspire one of my fellow students to live on a boat next semester. This year we have had five students here, says a satisfied Silje.
Silje does not have enough words to praise the small housing association:
– I have met so many wonderful people. Everyone helps everyone here, and we have become a really good group.
She says that, among other things, the harbor master organized a Christmas dinner for all permanent residents.
–– What would you say to students who are considering moving by boat?
– Does! Just drive on. But remember to join lots of Facebook groups, there I got a lot of tips and tricks!
– Toxic cocktail
Kjetil J. Olsen, general manager of the rental platform Husleie.no, says that prices have exploded in Kristiansand, but also in the rest of the country.
– There is always trouble in the rental market in the summer – an awful lot of people are going back to the rental market. Students must find a place to live before starting their studies, and the same applies to families with children before starting school.
He continues:
– What is special this year is that very many foreign workers who returned to their home country during the pandemic are now on their way back. This means that we get a demand pressure that is higher than normal.
– I warned that we were going to get a “toxic cocktail” at the change of government last year, and now it has become even more toxic. Increased property tax and an increase in the valuation of secondary homes, in combination with higher interest rates and higher electricity prices, means that we get a dangerous total.
Olsen believes this will become the new normal:
– Few homes are built, especially student housing. Of course, I hope that rental prices will not have the same development as last quarter. Then it becomes very, very difficult for people.
–Very embarrassed
Silje is just as proud of not having the “boat patch” as she is of the fact that she often resorts to omelettes or oatmeal for dinner to avoid doing the dishes.
– I am very, very embarrassed. But I’m taking it now, I promise, she hastens to say soon after.
She has spent the entire summer in the guest harbour. Next year the dream is to be able to go on holiday with the house.
In a few weeks, she will be ready to start a new academic year with new challenges. A little more prepared this time though.
–As VG leaves the pier and waves to the excited student, Freddy Kalas’ “Jovial” is played at the Tuesday concert at a restaurant just behind.
“I don’t need a boat, money…”
It is difficult to say who is right about Silje and Freddy, but one thing is certain.
Silje will stay with “Aylar” in Kristiansand Gjestehavn for at least another year.
VG is on a motorhome tour around Norway, and we want tips on things we can do from your local area.
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