Austin Wells: Man buys $300K apartment on luxury cruise ship, plans to travel world while continuing to work
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: A man from San Diego has decided to buy an apartment on a cruise ship as he claims that it is much cheaper than the cost of an apartment in his California hometown.
While speaking to CNBC, Austin Wells revealed that he paid $ 300,000 for a studio apartment with a 12-year lease onboard an MV Narrative which is a luxury cruise line with 500 private rooms and apartments. However, the ship is still under construction in Croatia and will set sail, not before 2025. While the mega cruise ship boasts a whopping accommodation area, it is revealed that Wells’ room spans 237 square feet and features a desk, shower room, pantry, and foldaway bed.
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The permanent residents of the ship such as the people who will live onboard full-time much like Wells will get access to medical services, 24-hour room service, and co-working space. They can also enjoy access to a private gym, spa, private kitchens, and farmer’s market. According to The Sun, there will also be 20 restaurants and bars on board, a swimming pool, a school, a library, a bank, a cinema as well as a champagne and whisky bar for the people to spend time in leisure.
"The thing that most excites me is I don’t have to upend my daily routine, in order to go see the world," shared 28-year-old Wells to the outlet. "My working hours will be shifted towards evenings, nights and very early mornings, but that does open up the ability for me to see a city midday to afternoon. This is probably the first time ever that there is even the ability to have a standard job and even consider working and living from a floating apartment complex," he added.
Wells also said that he hopes to make lots of friends onboard as he will be "traveling the world with them too."
The outlet reveals that a flat in San Diego has an average rental price of $2,500 (£2,053.88) per month while Wells’ room on the MV Narrative costs about $2,000 (£1,643.10) per month, which adds up to an instant saving of $500 (£410.77) on rent alone.
As per the portal, Storylines bosses Alister Punton and Shannon Lee came up with MV Narrative as they wanted to offer "more affordable apartments for life at sea." The cruise ship is set to be home to 1,000 residents when it launches in 2025. Moreover, the ship will be divided into 11 different types of homes including a global residence. A penthouse apartment on other luxury cruise ships will cost around $ 20.5 million while MV Narrative sets its price at $ 8 million.