Life on the Water

Have you ever dreamed of living on the water?

Not by the water, not near the water.  ON the water.

If you’re like me, though, you may not have even realized that it was possible.  I have lived in the Pacific Northwest for over thirty years.  It is with some embarrassment that I only realized the prevalence of floating home communities after I met my partner a few years ago. 

Occasionally, floating homes have been featured in the media.  Arguably one of the most recognizable might be from the 1993 romantic comedy “Sleepless in Seattle.”  Tom Hanks’s character, in need of a change, purchases a floating home in one of the beautiful neighborhoods on Lake Union.  If you weren’t wiping away tears when Hanks shared his character’s story on the radio show, you might have noticed that the home looked, well, just like many others. 

Another recent nod to floating homes occurred in Laura Dave’s bestselling novel, “The Last Thing He Told Me.”  The protagonist briefly describes their house, located in the upscale neighborhood of Sausalito, California, across the bay from San Francisco.  If the author hadn’t noted the presence of sailboats nearby, you might not have noticed how different the house might actually be.

As for us, we live in a cozy one-level with soaring ceilings.  Like many houses on land, it has two bedrooms and two baths. It boasts an open floorplan and a large picture window.  Describing it to family and friends, though, is tricky.  The concept of a house, just like any other but floating on the water, is hard to picture.  Many people think I live on a houseboat (nope, no motor).  Others wonder if I worry about floating down the river in a storm (not a chance, the house is anchored to large, metal poles sunk deep into the riverbed).  My dad, several hours away, still asks how I like living on a boat.

I get it though.  Until I saw these homes, really saw them, and walked through them, the concept was difficult to understand.  But it’s just that: a home.  Same, but different.  Our houses line up side by side, just like in a neighborhood.  Our houses, too, have wooden decks and pots overflowing with flowers.  We are anchored in place, however, by thick chains rather than foundations.  We wave to our neighbors from across the water, instead of from across the lawn.  Boats are sheltered in garages, not cars.  

Here we have easy access to the water and all that is has to offer.  A home, like, and unlike, many others.