Do You Get Flack for Being 'House-less' ?

[halsar]

Idea inspired by this video....from TED


Becky Blanton: The year I was homeless | Video on TED.com

[boatman61]

None... friends claim they envy me... and the family gave up years back...
Plus I don't think most folks equate boat ownership the same way... its more respectable... and visitors on board tend to say things like... "Wow.. its so peaceful.." "Awesome view.."

Oh.... I lie... I have been known to say...
"Phil you stoopid idiot... why the hell don't you live in a house...?" when TSHTF....
I censored that...

[Astrid]

None. I look at it as having a house that floats. Most people seem to think it is really cool that I live on a boat. And I think the proper term is Flak (the German abbreviation for Fliegerabwehrkanone--anti-aircraft gun), not Flack.

[Eleven]

I can't claim the dole without a real address and a utility bill. But I'm retired, my pensions not a problem and even the state pension at 400 a month provides a better standard of living than paying house rent at 450 a month for a small flat.
Why aren't I living on a boat? The wife wouldn't have it. She really has no idea how close that decision was.

[kenny chaos]

Originally Posted by halsar

Idea inspired by this video....from TED


Becky Blanton: The year I was homeless | Video on TED.com

Your source of inspiration may be a good writer but a horrible speaker
and her learned "insights" were equally horribly flawed or certainly highly debatable.
Hoping you find proper inspiration before your record attempt-
Kenny

[shadow]

The few people that I've talked to, outside of the cruising community, can't get their head around it.. You know what, that's fine with me as it's less people out there on the water..

[Doodles]

You can't live on a boat or any other type of alternative lifestyle, and worry about what others say or think. We live on a boat and overseas (Thailand) and get a lot of questions and comments. Just remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said:

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

Of course, this is easier said than done some days.

[rebel heart]

We have our life together, our daughter is healthy and happy, and we do a lot of stuff off the boat as well. Most people just shake their heads and have no idea how/why we do it.

It's sort of like a guy who might ride his bike 25 miles each way to work. Some people are jealous, some people think it's stupid, most people just think it's a novelty and don't care very much. After a while everyone forgets about it.

[barnakiel]

The up is not worrying about fire or thieves, house taxes, rent, more taxes, paperwork and all this BS.

The down is not having space to keep all our stuff.

b.

[Hillbillylad]

My future in laws are dismayed at my plan to take their daughter away to live on a boat. Til I point out that, wealthy as they are, with their large plot of land, they live in what we back home call a static caravan. "THIS ISN"T A CARAVAN !!!! IT"S A DOUBLEWIDE"......Call it what you will but it's still a caravan only it can't go anywhere. Many, many Americans live in these caravans and consider themselves well housed. For me, it's a caravan that doesn't float. Slapping a picket fence and cladding around a caravan does not make it a house and only the attitude of the people living in a place regardless, can make it a home. A boat can make a fine home.

[capngeo]

I always got a kick out of the people who thought I had no

• heat
• air conditioning
• hot water
• shower
• cooking facilities
• toilet
• TV set
• yada,yada,yada

[atoll]

halsar you are obviously more worried about what people think of you, than about what you think,and how to live your life.

does it really matter whether you live in a tent,a yacht or a van,squat or mansion .true freedom is in the mind,play the material game if you like.

read some of bernard mortissiers books,then post some less egocentric threads.......you might find the answers you are really looking for.

[Tellie]

Interesting video. But what I found really interesting is the comparison I see of how really unprepared she was, much like a lot of would be cruisers. You can no more buy a 75 van and take off to escape and become a Zen master than you can buy a sail boat and just take off to do the same. How quickly the novelty of just taking off wears off. If my friends and family saw me as unprepared to head off sailing again as this lady was then they would be accurate in giving me flack.

[sww914]

The people that liveaboard and cruise are capable. That can't be said of all of those with square walls. I like to hang around with capable people.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

The up is not worrying about fire or thieves, house taxes, rent, more taxes, paperwork and all this BS.

The down is not having space to keep all our stuff.

b.

....or another "up" is the freedom of not owning all that stuff!