Living on a cruise ship just became a real option thanks to a new 'residential' cruise line
Some of the leases could be as cheap as $25,000 per year.

A seafaring lifestyle from the comfort of home.
Imagine spending every day exploring wondrous locations, eating expertly crafted meals, and enjoying year-round indulgence. Could there be anything better?
Taking a lifelong cruise might sound like something out of a dream, and an unrealistic one at that. But leaving the land behind and adopting a seafaring lifestyle is now more attainable than ever.
Back in 2022, cruise line Storylines announced that by late 2024 they would launch a 753-foot ship dubbed the MV Narrative, a huge "residential" vessel containing 547 fully furnished rooms available for purchase or lease.
The cruise will definitely be the stuff of luxury, with its high-end spas, movie theater, yoga sun deck, state-of-the-art fitness center, art studio, and more. It will even have a bowling alley, for crying out loud! But being a “residential community at sea,” there will also be things like a library, post office, school, and bank.Perhaps the most fun part residents can look forward to—in addition to extended stays in exotic locations—is that they will have a say in where the vessel goes. "What a typical cruise line might do in one month or three weeks, we will take three to four months to do," Storylines founder and CEO Alister Punton told CNN Travel in 2022, adding that the residents “have opportunities to have input into where the ship goes next." These "residents' choice" days allow those on board to choose the ports of call.
As fantastic as this sounds, MV Narrative is not the only residential ship to sail the seven seas. Seafarers have options as The World has offered residential living since 2002, according to The Real Deal, and other lines, like Utopia and Victoria Cruises, also offer an all-inclusive lifestyle
However, Storylines' living quarters could be the most eco-friendly. Travel and Leisure noted that the ship will run on clean-burning liquid gas and have a zero-waste farmers market selling local products. "We will definitely be the greenest cruise ship out there," Punton shared with CNN Travel.
In 2022, Travel and Leisure stated the MV Narrative's listing price ranged from $1 million to $8 million to own, with a small number of 24-year leases available from $600,000, which works out to around $25,000 per year. Today, that number has increased to up to $9 million.
Of course, if you were to forgo any homeownership and chose instead to live the life of a nomad, a lifelong cruise could be an even cheaper and more accessible option. In early 2022, retired couple Angelyn and Richard Burk made headlines by fulfilling their travel dreams of hopping from ship to ship, all for around $36,000. Yep, less than an average mortgage. It’s no wonder why this is such a popular trend for adventurous folks of retirement age.
This might be because people are attracted to having both adventure and the comfort of home, which Storylines provides. "At the end of a long day discovering a new exotic location, they can come home to friends and familiar surroundings and sleep in their own bed," Storylines co-founder, Shannon Lee, wrote to Travel and Leisure.
What a time to be alive, when you can travel the world and never leave home. Though 2024 has come and gone, the MV Narrative has not yet set sail. Hey, a huge cruise ship that can not only travel the world but act as home to tons of residents is going to take some time! As of today, Storylines has set the launch date for their maiden voyage around the globe for 2027. The voyage will be their first three-year circumnavigation. It sounds like it's worth the wait.
This article originally appeared three years ago.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.