I’ve been thinking off and on for a while about moving from my current 1 bedroom, 900sf apartment into something a little more unique, and a little larger. Friday, a new rental came up on an RSS feed I have for SeattleRentals.com – a house boat on Lake Union in the Eastlake neighborhood. In fact, there are at least three for rent in the same general area.
I love the water – sailing on it, being near it. I own a place with two other friends out on Vashon Island right on the sound, and I love getting out in my sailboat as often as possible. I think it would be amazing to live on the water. I’ve considered living on my sailboat, but that requires a significant lifestyle change, plus it’s hard to find liveaboard slips around the area.
So the big question is – what should I be thinking about in living on a houseboat? I’ve read a bunch of stuff about the communities and fun things, but I want to know what to watch out for. The things that aren’t so fun or nice or interesting.
My biggest concern is the neighborhood location – I’m used to living on Queen Anne, which is literally 5 minutes from work, all on pretty un-busy city streets. And it’s only a couple of blocks away from restaurants and grocery stores. The Eastlake area isn’t as close to those things. And it’s pretty difficult traffic to get from Eastlake over to work, or to my friends house that I spend lots of time at.
If you have thoughts, let me know… still thinking about the options…
