Living on a boat, dream or reality?

Living on a boat is a lifestyle choice that is in the dreams of many sea lovers. This thought is very often represented by the idea of traveling around the world or, more simply, by the desire to go and live in a dream place, where summer never ends.

Actually, there are many ways to live on a boat. The latter, in fact, offers the opportunity to find the option that best suits your needs. Living on a bat is therefore not always and only an extreme choice. It can also be a reasoned decision, with few contraindications and multiple advantages. Basically, however, it is always and only a choice dictated by the love for this lifestyle which, usually limited to weekends and summer holidays, gives rise to the desire to live on one’s own boat on a permanent basis.

Taking up residence on a boat

Debates around this subject are frequent on the dock even if, actually, taking up one’s residence a boat is not only allowed but even very easy in many countries all over the world.

Article 43 of the Italian Civil Code, for example, is clear: “A person’s domicile is in the place where he has established the principal place of his business and interests. The residence is in the place where the person has his habitual home”. It goes without saying that it will be sufficient to indicate to the municipality you have chosen your address, complete with the number of pier and berth, and nobody can refuse this right. The principles of localization that bind you in a political and social way to a territory and that give the many fundamental rights that each nation ensures in a different way to its inhabitants are equally fulfilled. If you decide to change country, the immigration laws that regulate the changes of residence of those who live in a conventional home will be applied.

Living on boat without setting sail

If you already live and work in a seaside town, everything is really very easy, the same as a change of apartment. Of course, the sunrises and sunsets will be different, always exciting when seen from your sailing or motor-powered boat.

Even the scents will be different and breathing will be easier without urban pollution. Of course, the spaces are very different from those of a domestic environment but, if you are reading these lines, it means that living on a boat is, for you, synonymous with freedom and the spaces you are looking for are those that you can embrace with your view.

Sure, if you make this choice, you will have to sell your furniture, which is completely useless on board, and abandon all the costs related to your conventional home which, in whole or in part, can balance those of a common mooring. Smart working, when possible, gives additional moments of precious life which, especially in this period, are really invaluable.

Furthermore, living on a boat is safe and not only against Coronavirus but also in terms of allergies or respiratory problems which find great benefit in living on the water.

Sailing and living on boat for long periods

The irrepressible desire to sail is the engine of this choice which, made by an increasing number of boaters every year, sees in the possibility of better organizing one’s work, or in the possibility of being able to take long holiday periods, the crowning of one’s dream: the ocean crossing.

This option is so widespread that, every year, ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) registers an increasing number of members. In 2019, 1,200 people traveled the Gran Canaria – Santa Lucia route on board hundreds of boats and crowned their dream.

Participants cross the Atlantic Ocean, taking 3 or 4 weeks on the average, taking advantage of the security that the organization offers and thus arrive in the Caribbean, a place where some decided to remain for long periods. Living on a boat in these places is obviously beautiful and, if you do not choose only five-star marinas, it is also much cheaper than its Mediterranean equivalent.

Many boaters choose to drop the anchor in some of the many safe shelters of these seas which, even in case of bad weather, offer unparalleled comforts and beauties.

From this paradise, in normal times of course, the air connections with the various countries of the world are simple and frequent; most people therefore manage to reconcile their work with long periods on their boat.

There are also numerous boats that have chosen the Caribbean to pass this period of quarantine: After all, the boat is undoubtedly the ideal place, certainly the safest, to stay away from Covid-19, the terrible pandemic that is afflicting us.

Dropping everything and going away

This is the most extreme yet not so remote choice. Even in this case, many people have chosen to live on their boat, all around the world. In most cases, they are boaters that have sold their own activities or are retired and have therefore decided to make the big leap. Sometimes, however, they are boaters that sail around the world, spending very little and offering cabin charter services or daily boat trips. This way, they have an additional source of income that helps them make ends meet.

But all the people who choose to live on boat,and who identify themselves in one of these options, certainly have a great common passion: the love for boats and navigation.