For this blog, that's an important question - in fact, it is perhaps the *central* question. While I am certain that each liveaboard would give different answers, I also suspect that there would be parallels between them.
In the order that came to mind (perhaps you can divine something of my personality from this):
- I enjoy being close to nature/the world/the weather
- The lure of the water
- The feeling of being self-sufficient/self-contained is very satisfying
- Easy access to sea food
- There is an undeniable romance, and I am hooked on it
- The ability to see your home in many different settings
- To be able to travel without leaving home
- To live where shore-dwellers only get to visit
- To experience the grandeur and majesty of the weather and tides at first hand
- To live more simply
- It satisfies a spirit of adventure
And, Jane's answers, also in the order she provided them:
- We're drawn to the water - all humans are.
- Moveable home, change of scenary
- Swinging on an anchor
- Closeness to your environment, weather awareness
- Comoraderie with other boaters in our little boating neighborhood
- Like living in the country, when you are living in the city
- Traveling at the pace of a sailboat - leaving cars, trains and airplanes behind.
- Enjoying the experience of sailing as well as the destination
- No magic - when you live on a boat, like living in the country, there is no magic. In the city, things magically come to your apartment without thought or conscious action (power, water), and are removed the same way (sewage, garbage). Not so on a boat.
- Enjoyment of the night sky
Do you live on a boat?
Why?
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5 comments:
It's a great question. I can't say that I would live on a boat if I weren't planning on traveling on it. I like the idea of semi-permanent nomadicness so I'm not sure I would *own* a home of any sort. The reason I love living on this boat is that I have a nomadic home.
I think that the longer I am on a boat the more likely I am to change my mind about that. We'll see.
I especially love todays question! I've always wanted to live on a boat! I love the water, the idea of taking your home with you, and I especially love Jane's point about living in the country while living in the city. And though I don't remember what it's like to live w/o those 'magic' conveniences, I kind of romanticize the idea of living without them.
-Courtney
I don't live on a boat. But if I did the primary reason would be to force my self to live with less "things" around me. Less knick-knack’s, less single purpose stuff taking up space.
Estrellita: Life is change. If you do *ANY*thing long enough, it'll become boring.
Courtney: Jane said to me: "This is not a dress rehearsal - if you want to do it, DO IT." (Note that this probably has deeper meaning for you when you are 50 than when you are 30)
Dennis: Yeah, the knick knacks are a real pain for those who have them on board - they make the transition from boat-at-the-dock to boat-on-the-water long and difficult. So much so that in many cases, that transition is just not made. There is a certain freedom that comes from the simplicity.
I've lived on board for just over four years. Two years in Seattle on Lake Union and two years in Washington, DC on the Potomac River.
I like the independence and proximity to "nature" even in the middle of a city. I also like that I'm forced (for good or bad sometimes) to think about everything i think i need in life. Water, a shower, heat, cold, a freezer; how bad do i want these things? Am i willing to learn how to make them work. For me the answer is yes and I like the challenge of it. So much so that i've been living onboard and refurbishing a 36' 1972 custom trawler for the last two years in garbage scow conditions. I can't imagine living on land again as i'm STILL slowly getting rid of all the crap i accumulated before moving onboard.
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