">HomeOwnerNut

I love houseboats. In 2002 I rented one along one of Amsterdam’s canals not far from the city zoo. In the morning, swans carved circles in the water outside my sliding glass door and you could hear the lions in their cages roaring for their breakfast.  There are great live-aboard houseboats you may have seen in Sausalito, just north of San Francisco, or on Lake Union, where Tom Hanks played a live-aboard, lonely widower in Sleepless in Seattle.  Considering how much of the Earth is submerged in water, I’m surprised so few of us live on it.

Route Canal

If you don’t mind herring and onion sandwiches for breakfast, you’d do quite well in Amsterdam.  You fall asleep to the rolling tide and wake to the sounds of cathedral bells tolling in the distance. About a fifth of the Netherlands in underwater, so locals learned to improvise a long time ago.

Big Bamboo

A great many vacationers in India take delightful refuge along rivers and canals in houseboats. This one plies the waters near Kerala. Looks downright peaceful.

Not So Sleepless

Katy Elliott lives in Massachusetts, but definitely appreciates the higher-end houseboats on Lake Union in Seattle. You’re only minutes away from downtown, the Fremont district, and good local coffee.

Chilly Frilly

Covey Island Boatworks created this Inuit-inspired arctic houseboat for freezing conditions. Powered by wind, solar, and marine systems, the house stays snug in the most challenging climates.

Dubai Dubai Doo

This is not your father’s catfish-trolling houseboat.  A double-decker in steel and glass, the boat sports furnishings that cost more than any floating domicile on Lake Union. It’s fit for a king.