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Giraffe posted:You'll have a lot more fun if you get some roommates and rent a house. But then everyone else in this thread would have a lot less fun.
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Oct 24, 2015 17:46
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Living on a boat to save money is one of those ideas that's so good and so creative that you really need to just rush into it as fast as humanly possible. Don't expect people on the internet to like it; they're actually just jealous they didn't think of it first. Your girlfriend sounds, frankly, quite lame for not realizing how amazing this opportunity is. You probably want to go ahead and break up with her immediately because she's definitely not a keeper if she can't get onboard  with this plan.The time to act is now.
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Oct 24, 2015 17:58
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Hate to doublepost, but, all these lamers talking about the dog getting caught in a fire gave me a great idea: fireproof dog-warming suit. It's a custom dog-shaped suit made of fire-proof material that also has heating circuits built-in. Boat is freezing due to -30 windchill on the lake? No problem, just plug the dog in and she'll be warm. And you'll never have to worry about the questionable Chinese heating elements burning the boat down, because the suit is made of fire-proof material. This idea is literally bulletproof. Bonus, you can license the fire-proof dog-warming-suit design to other companies and make literally hundreds of dollars. You're welcome.
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Oct 24, 2015 18:08
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Giraffe posted:So, just to recap: 1. I will save some money. Probably not much, but ideally around $2-300 a month if everything goes right and depending on financing. 2. Correct 3. Difficult yes, no more dangerous than RV heating. Comfort might be an issue, death is not likely at all. Yes adventure and fun. No I dont like pirates or those stupid Captain Jack movies. So not trying to be that either. I just think it'll be a fun worthwhile experience. My Rhythmic Crotch posted:Hate to doublepost, but, all these lamers talking about the dog getting caught in a fire gave me a great idea: fireproof dog-warming suit. It's a custom dog-shaped suit made of fire-proof material that also has heating circuits built-in. Boat is freezing due to -30 windchill on the lake? No problem, just plug the dog in and she'll be warm. And you'll never have to worry about the questionable Chinese heating elements burning the boat down, because the suit is made of fire-proof material. This idea is literally bulletproof. Ha perfect! Why even bother with the plug when we can just strap a solar panel to the sides and a deep cycle marine battery behind on a harness. Again not worried about the dog. On super cold days I can take her to dog daycare. In recent developments I am suppose to hear back from a guy on his boat and possibly work out some sort of owner financing deal. We'll see what actually comes out of the discussion.
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Oct 24, 2015 18:21
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You're wasting time thinking about things like financing and doggie daycare when what you really need to be doing is buying a boat - any boat, doesn't matter - with whatever money you have saved up right now. Have you given your 30 day move-out notice to your apartment? Doesn't matter, there's no time. Start moving your stuff down to the marina stat.
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Oct 24, 2015 18:26
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Your cost estimates have to have some uncertainty in them - I think $2-300 is within the margin of error there and it's hard for you to truly say if you'll save money. Don't lean on that as a shortcut to thinking - obviously this is something you *want* to do, think long and hard and decide how strong that preference is and how strong the negatives are.
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Oct 24, 2015 18:31
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I can tell you're going to do this whether or not it's a good idea, but keep in mind, 95% of the time you won't have people there telling you how cool and clever you are. You'll just be cold and alone on your lovely floating studio.
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Oct 24, 2015 18:39
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It is fine to try something have an experience and gain a couple stories. Maybe you save money, maybe you don't but it isn't so horrible life ending choice you are making
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Oct 24, 2015 18:49
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Foma posted:It is fine to try something have an experience and gain a couple stories. Maybe you save money, maybe you don't but it isn't so horrible life ending choice you are making I'm in the same boat as Forma. I don't think it's a good idea but I think you should do it. I've done tons of poo poo that was dumb as hell and I'm still here.
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Oct 24, 2015 18:56
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Your 2-300 dollars is contingent on $0 average maintenance costs per month. I'd wager it'll be well over the $200 or so the maintenance on a cheap house is (averaged out over time).
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Oct 24, 2015 18:56
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BaseballPCHiker posted:1. I will save some money. Probably not much, but ideally around $2-300 a month if everything goes right and depending on financing. It's obvious you're set on doing this, so please at least commit to keeping this thread updated throughout the winter. I'm low on schadenfreude sources now that Knyteguy and Blue Story's threads are closed, and can enjoy your pointless misery guilt-free now that I've made my token plea for reason.
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Oct 24, 2015 18:56
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Again not worried about the dog. On super cold days I can take her to dog daycare. How much will three months of dog daycare run you? According to the averages that's how many months of sub-freezing weather you'll be dealing with. I feel like you're missing some other costs in your calculations: You budget $40/month for propane. This seems absurdly low, even if you factor in the 4-5 months where the temperatures will be above 60F. Also you budget exactly zero dollars for repairs on the boat.
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Oct 24, 2015 19:33
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How will food storage and cooking work on the boat? Will you be able to make decent food or will this result in more eating out? How are you going to keep valuables safe on the boat? Marinas, especially what sounds like a cheaper marina in a major city, aren't known as being the safest place.
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Oct 24, 2015 19:43
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My Rhythmic Crotch posted:You're wasting time thinking about things like financing and doggie daycare when what you really need to be doing is buying a boat - any boat, doesn't matter - with whatever money you have saved up right now. Have you given your 30 day move-out notice to your apartment? Doesn't matter, there's no time. Start moving your stuff down to the marina stat. I mean you're not wrong, if he doesn't get on this before his current bipolar episode ends, he'll have to wait for the next one.
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Oct 24, 2015 20:08
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I think the propane cost is vastly low - $40 is what, 15gal of propane? 1,365k BTU ish?? That is not very much.
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Oct 24, 2015 21:31
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You guys worried about cooking need to think outside the box (the box being an apartment) and stop being afraid to dream big. Take one of these:  Turn it on its side, boom, instant combination grill and heater. Grill burgs on that bad boy while simultaneously heating your home to a toasty 13*F. And that idea only took me 45 minutes to come up with. What if I had more time? I could come up with more sweet houseboat living ideas.
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Oct 24, 2015 21:41
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What lake are you planning on keeping the boat at? Are you telling me that instead of becoming familiar with the wonderful city of mpls you are just going to live in a boat... In the middle of a city... Because...?? Are you living on campus now? Honestly just break free of your GF and go live off the land in Ely. Did you just get out of college? Where in the city are you paying a grand all in for a one bedroom? Also you are doing the money saving math off your current apartment and I don't believe that there are no cheaper apartments near where you want to be. The folks in the twin cities thread should be able to help you with neighborhoods. ALSO what is the square footage of an average houseboat? Does it have a kitchen?
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Oct 24, 2015 22:35
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marchantia posted:Does it have a kitchen? You mean a galley 
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Oct 24, 2015 22:45
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Are we talking about St. Paul or Lake Minnetonka or the St. Croix?
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Oct 25, 2015 01:32
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How are you going to sail around the world when you're stuck in a Lake. At far as I know you are protected from Indonesian pirates so that is GWM
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Oct 25, 2015 16:21
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you should put your budget online so we can all help. goons are helpful people. also the best reason to live on a boat is so you can sale places. you ain't sailin' nowhere on that coldass lake.
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Oct 25, 2015 20:06
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I think you're all forgetting a little something called boat equity 
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Oct 25, 2015 23:23
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I enjoy the highly reasonable assumption that is borne out by decades of data that a) there will not be any maintenance costs and b) in the extremely unlikely event that maintenance needs exist, the costs will be directly recoverable during a future sale of a now 40 year old house boat.
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Oct 26, 2015 02:37
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I'm from florida and tons of people live on their houseboats here. That said, they are all eccentric old rich people. Also maintaining a boat is brutally expensive. Boats are such babies.
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Oct 26, 2015 05:45
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You should close this, and make a thread in the DIY subforum. This isn't a good financial choice, but you could enjoy doing it regardless.
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Oct 26, 2015 06:38
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My Rhythmic Crotch posted:Living on a boat to save money is one of those ideas that's so good and so creative that you really need to just rush into it as fast as humanly possible. Don't expect people on the internet to like it; they're actually just jealous they didn't think of it first. Your girlfriend sounds, frankly, quite lame for not realizing how amazing this opportunity is. You probably want to go ahead and break up with her immediately because she's definitely not a keeper if she can't get onboard Thanks again Crotch. I feel like you're the only person in this thread besides me who has my best interest at heart. Hargrimm posted:What range of interior square footage is there for the boats you're looking at? Are they more house or more boat? I would say more house than boat. Someone else suggested that it is similar to living in an RV full time and I think that is an apt comparison. However one of the benefits of a houseboat is that they are quite a bit larger. Space wise it's more of a small cabin with a wrap around porch I would say. antiga posted:Yeah, I'm having a hard time believing that anyone will finance this purchase. Have you talked to a bank yet? Do you have any mechanical skills? Also post pictures of the boats you look at. No talks with the bank yet. Just some discussions with other boat owners. Apparently owner financing is big in the house boat world so I'm hoping I could find a deal that way and avoid a bank altogether. I'm a decent mechanic I guess. Nothing spectacular but I've done some simple jobs on my own cars in the past like replace brakes and calipers, new spark plugs and wires, etc. Construction wise I'm pretty weak. I would want to frame or do anything on the interior just to learn because right now I suck at general carpentry. Here is a boat that I really liked and considered pursuing more but it had a steel hull unfortunately: http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1965-MILLER-MARINE-liveaboard-houseboat-102578948 Foma posted:It is fine to try something have an experience and gain a couple stories. Maybe you save money, maybe you don't but it isn't so horrible life ending choice you are making Tots posted:I'm in the same boat as Forma. I don't think it's a good idea but I think you should do it. I've done tons of poo poo that was dumb as hell and I'm still here. Thanks. People said I was stupid and dumb and crazy when I moved to an off grid cabin in Alaska too. But it was some of the most fun I had in my life and a great experience. I think people greatly overestimate the risk of something like this and place to great an importance on their own comfort. It'll probably be cold as poo poo at times but I bet I still have fun and learn a lot. marchantia posted:What lake are you planning on keeping the boat at? Are you telling me that instead of becoming familiar with the wonderful city of mpls you are just going to live in a boat... In the middle of a city... Because...?? Are you living on campus now? I plan on keeping it on the Mississippi river not a lake. In the summer you can go up and down river and tie off at islands and relax and have fun. In the winter you just let the ship break its moorings and ice in wherever god intended. (Not really I plan on docking at a marina). No I'm not just out of college, no I wont break it off with the GF, and I live in New Brighton which I don't think is an expensive area of the twin cities. froward posted:you should put your budget online so we can all help. goons are helpful people. I will do that once I have a better idea of the boat costs. A GIANT PARSNIP posted:I think you're all forgetting a little something called boat equity Exactly! Even if I break even month to month I can it when I'm done and roll that sweet sweet boat equity over into something safer like penny stocks or race horses!
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Oct 26, 2015 13:53
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Also for a quick progress update, I've tried to get in touch with a few year round live aboards to pick their brains a bit. See what their costs are and get any other tips I can. I'll update the thread with anything more that I learn or any other progress. I want to reiterate though that this thread will probably slow down at some point because I'm not going to make a hasty reckless decision on a boat. I want to take my time to get a good one. Could be February or March before I move on board.
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Oct 26, 2015 14:07
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Thanks. People said I was stupid and dumb and crazy when I moved to an off grid cabin in Alaska too. But it was some of the most fun I had in my life and a great experience. I think people greatly overestimate the risk of something like this and place to great an importance on their own comfort. It'll probably be cold as poo poo at times but I bet I still have fun and learn a lot. my man if you want to live on a houseboat because it will be a great experience that is totally fine and cool and good and you should do it just don't try to rationalize it as a fiscal decision because i can absofuckinglutely guarantee you that the black swan ultimate upside is break-even
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Oct 26, 2015 14:51
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:my man if you want to live on a houseboat because it will be a great experience that is totally fine and cool and good and you should do it Agreed with this 100%. If you want to do it and you can afford it fine, but you won't be saving money.
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Oct 26, 2015 14:53
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Nail Rat posted:Agreed with this 100%. If you want to do it and you can afford it fine, but you won't be saving money. http://www.citypages.com/news/the-real-houseboats-of-the-mississippi-6769926 quote:For some, a houseboat is a transition, a five-year layover between selling a downtown apartment and retiring to warmer climes. For others, it's a romance a chance to be part of a lineage that stretches back to Mark Twain. For still others, it's rock bottom, a place to heal, or an adventure. More than one live-aboard says it's simply a place to wake up to the mist burning off the river and the overhead migration of the finches, loons, and warblers. I am sure that this can be a cheaper solution than rent. The more I've researched the more I am finding that I am overstating the boat payment and costs. Again I wont know for sure until I can talk to more people, the marina, and a bank. Also found this while doing some research: http://www.startribune.com/11-survive-houseboat-going-over-mississippi-river-dam-near-winona/209180241/ quote:A holiday excursion on the Mississippi River turned into an afternoon of terror as 11 people aboard a houseboat were dragged over a dam and tossed into the rushing water.
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Oct 26, 2015 15:00
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hahahaha what did that article exclude from their cost analysis edit: those retards should never be allowed to analyze finance or use the word "economics" ever again KYOON GRIFFEY JR fucked around with this message at 15:22 on Oct 26, 2015 |
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Oct 26, 2015 15:18
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Thanks. People said I was stupid and dumb and crazy when I moved to an off grid cabin in Alaska too. But it was some of the most fun I had in my life and a great experience. I think people greatly overestimate the risk of something like this and place to great an importance on their own comfort. It'll probably be cold as poo poo at times but I bet I still have fun and learn a lot. Do you often have off the wall ideas about living in places that people say you're dumb and crazy about? Maybe not often but once every 2 years? Do you uncomfortable after that time and feel the need to pick up everything and move? Behavior people think is really weird.
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Oct 26, 2015 15:30
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The big downside I noticed about living on a floating home was being quite far from anything easily described as "cool" or "a job". Oh, and it was pretty cold, even in San Francisco bay. I don't know what kind of people agree to live permanently on the water in Michigan, but I know I'm not that kind. BaseballPCHiker posted:Again I wont know for sure until I can talk to more people, the marina, and a bank. Seems like you opened the thread early, then? I don't know what you were basing your estimates on before, but you should find some actual listings for actual places and see what costs what. Anyplace with at least one floating-home-centric dock will have at least one realtor specializing in them.
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Oct 26, 2015 15:30
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I hate to be yet another pile-on, but this seems like a really terrible idea, OP. Please don't be the type that digs in your heels and wants to prove a bunch of internet posters wrong. There's no way you're going to come out ahead financially and I don't really see what's particular romantic about living on a rickety boat on a frozen river. Pay your rent, invest the $8k and spend your time/effort on ways to improve your income rather than this nonsense.
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Oct 26, 2015 15:59
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Veskit posted:Do you often have off the wall ideas about living in places that people say you're dumb and crazy about? Maybe not often but once every 2 years? Do you uncomfortable after that time and feel the need to pick up everything and move? Behavior people think is really weird. No, Alaska was the last one and it wasnt like I moved out there hasily either. I had a very good job lined up and stayed for over 5 years so you can probably give up on your armchair psychology. Doc Hawkins posted:The big downside I noticed about living on a floating home was being quite far from anything easily described as "cool" or "a job". One of the nice things about docking in the Mississippi is how close you are to work and the downtown. From the couple of Marina's I've looked at I wouldnt be farther than a 30 minute drive to work. Yeah I probably did open it a bit early. I had already looked at a couple of boats and thought things might be moving quicker than it looks like they are. I should probably just close it or let it die until I get some meaningful updates.
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Oct 26, 2015 16:01
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BaseballPCHiker posted:No, Alaska was the last one and it wasnt like I moved out there hasily either. I had a very good job lined up and stayed for over 5 years so you can probably give up on your armchair psychology. The last one isn't the only one. Are you saying Alaska was the only one, or just the last one?
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Oct 26, 2015 16:07
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Veskit posted:The last one isn't the only one. Are you saying Alaska was the only one, or just the last one? Alaska has been the only one, aside from this boat idea. And again it worked out very well for me. I learned a ton, got a great start to my career, and stuck around long enough to fully vest in my companies pension.
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Oct 26, 2015 16:10
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Get a really big box and live in that. It'll have about the same level of insulation and you can prop it up anywhere you want. Plus your dog will love it and you'll smell about the same level of bad as if you lived on a boat instead
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Oct 26, 2015 16:12
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Is the 8k your boat budget or your savings?
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Oct 26, 2015 16:25
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Have you driven from the river to downtown during rush hour? I haven't but I can't imagine doing it in 30 mins. I suppose it depends where you work though.
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Oct 26, 2015 17:08
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