This conventional European way of life provides a novel approach to residing in Europe’s most attractive locations at a fraction of the cost of other options.
It can be the best choice for you if you want a little excitement and can deal with minor inconveniences on occasion.
I have a soft spot for, and even an obsession with, the concept of houseboat living. The freedom of movement that it offers appeals to many.
In terms of countries, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands are ideal candidates.
Just picture yourself staying in a beachfront room in one of Europe’s priciest towns for only €20. Think of all the places you could see if you had the freedom to relocate your house whenever you pleased.
You could travel indefinitely, pausing to see each town along the way or settling down temporarily wherever you felt called.
Answering the Question, “What Is a Houseboat?”
Houseboats are floating homes that typically feature an engine, although they are not the same thing as a yacht or a motorboat.
You won’t be able to take advantage of its speed or durability on wide seas or even in fast water. You stroll leisurely, taking in the sights. Nonetheless, many houseboat owners take comfort in the knowledge that they are mobile.
Historically, houseboats in Europe were repurposed from canal boats or other long, narrow vessels. There is a new architectural style whereby new constructions resemble floating homes constructed on pontoons.
They come in a range of sizes. Your only real constraints may be your available funds and the difficulty of navigating a lengthy vessel through inland rivers. In France, houseboats can be no longer than a little over 110 feet; in the United Kingdom, the maximum length is lower.
To travel through the canals, houseboats need a minimal draft. Any draft greater than 3.9 feet is illegal in French waters.
Thinking About Relocating To A Houseboat
1. Are you going to maintain forward momentum or stop?
Is your idea of an exciting vacation a boat trip across the canals of Europe or a unique and reasonably priced place to stay by the water?
Since you won’t need an engine if you have a dock with permanent access, you may connect your houseboat to the city’s water and electricity without spending any money on fuel.
The price of the boat’s engine and fuel will need to be considered if you intend to spend many weeks traveling across Europe. Remember that you’ll need specific skill sets to skipper your boat effectively.
2. how many bedrooms do you require?
As a result, this will determine how big of a houseboat you’ll need.
Although smaller barges offer interior sizes on par with tiny dwellings, barges up to 72 feet in length are common in Europe as houseboats, and some of them enable hundreds of square feet of internal room.
3. will you be purchasing a home that needs work?
Are you willing to undertake a lot of the work yourself? If you can fix up an old hull yourself or hire someone to do it, you can save a ton of money.
A used barge measuring 40 feet in length can be had for around €10,000-€12,000. You can add another doubling to that amount to make it livable and a trebling if you want high-quality fixtures installed.
4. how about power?
Outside of certain specified short-term stay sites, public moorings do not provide access to electricity.
If you are moored for an extended period of time, you can charge your batteries using the engine inverter or the solar and wind power systems. Keep a modest backup generator on hand, just in case.
5. The bathroom situation
Nonetheless, most public moorings lack plumbing for sewage disposal. To empty the holding tank, you can either drive to a nearby pump-out station or have a portable toilet with a cassette tank installed. Not nice, but necessary if you don’t want to take your boat out of the water every month to empty the septic.
6. If you’re on land, how will you travel around?
Does your moorage have convenient parking for your vehicle? If you are traveling, how do you plan to get around? Most major European cities have reliable public transportation, but you can also easily get around on two wheels or with an electric scooter.
7. Mooring
Do you have access to moorings, and if so, where, with this boat?
Once the canal licensing cost is paid, most canal towpaths offer free short-term mooring. This allows you to just pull up your houseboat and spend a few weeks there. Yet, the canal administration won’t provide any fuel for your generators or water for your tanks.
In order to accommodate everyone, free visitor moorings are typically limited to 48 or 72 hours.
Temporary docking:
Moorings for a short time are offered by both public and private marinas and operators along canals and waterways. They sell diesel and heating fuels in addition to providing electricity and water hookups and sewage pumping stations.
Permanent anchorages:
Over 85% of Amsterdam’s houseboats are permanently moored at their current locations, and many of these “boats” aren’t even actually afloat.
You can buy a berth on Europe’s rivers, but more often than not, you’ll have to settle for the permanent right to live on a boat there. Some moorings come with permission to use a small plot of land for gardening or parking.
In the United Kingdom, the going rate for a permanent boat mooring in a desirable location is around two thousand pounds per year, whereas a mooring in or near downtown London with full services would set you back around one thousand pounds per month. Still, this is much cheaper than the going rate in the neighborhood.
A berth in a private marina, with its added level of safety, parking, and conveniences, will cost more money. Even after doing so, you’ll save money compared to local rent.
8. Residency
City center onboard residency permits with moorage rights in excellent locations fetch hundreds of thousands of euros and can be purchased in major cities like London and Amsterdam.
Public marina licenses in the heart of major Irish cities can be purchased for as little as one thousand euros per year.
Permanent residency permits in desirable regions of cities generally have long waiting for lines, but you can sometimes acquire a transferable permit from someone who already has one.
Advantages of Life on a Houseboat
A few perks come along with having your very own movable island in the middle of the city…
- Inevitably, people who choose to live on the sea tend to be kind, open-minded, and interested in similar things.
- It’s the closest thing to nature within the city limits, really.
- Having a houseboat as your primary or secondary residence affords you several tax benefits, including the ability to deduct mortgage interest payments from your taxable income.
- The costs of houseboat living can be far lower than those of buying or renting a traditional home.
- Although boat values do not rise over time, mooring rights can. A local waterway authority’s option to extend a lease is a tradable asset in and of itself.
- So what if it floods and the sea levels rise? When everyone else’s homes are submerged and uninhabitable, your value of yours won’t decrease.
Disadvantages of Living On a Houseboat
- Houseboats are vulnerable to the elements, theft, and sinking. Invest in some protection.
- The amount of bureaucracy you’ll encounter and the licenses you’ll need to utilize different rivers and to live someplace for an extended period of time will vary.
- Sometimes safety is an issue. But, if you are in a marina or among other boaters who will keep an eye out for you, you should be safe from petty thievery.
- The time and money needed to maintain an older yacht can often be surprising.
Where To Do It
Houseboat living is most alluring and thrilling in nations that already have the infrastructure for the culture of it.
It’s feasible to traverse most of Europe utilizing just the canals and inland waterways. You could cruise via Holland, Belgium, Southern France, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, and the Black and Caspian Seas if you felt like it.
1. The U.K.
The waterways of the United Kingdom span an impressive 2,200 kilometers. English waterways and cities offer enough to see and do for a lifetime.
The United Kingdom is home to a sizeable houseboat community, with an estimated 10,000 Londoners making their home on the water.
With their long, extra-narrow hulls of only 8.2 feet in width, narrowboats are a common sight on England’s canals.
I came across a narrowboat that is 47 feet in length and is powered by a diesel engine with four cylinders. There’s enough for five people, plus a full kitchen and bathroom. There’s a price tag of 25,000 GBP ($33,000 USD) on it. To navigate the waterway, you must first obtain a permit from the relevant authorities.
If you are “continuously sailing,” you can leave your houseboat in one location on Canal and River Trust waterways for up to 14 days without paying a docking fee. This implies you can’t just hang around in one place forever; instead, you’ll need to make a change of scenery by traveling at least 20 miles per year.
2. France
Some of the most picturesque areas of France can be reached via the country’s 2,700 miles of canals, which link the country’s inland rivers.
French inland waterways have a maximum boat length of 126 feet, a maximum width of 16.4 feet, a maximum height of 8.8 feet, and a minimum draft of 3.9 feet. If you need more storage, you won’t have to look far.
Depending on the canal, annual registration in France costs less than 750 euros.
A variety of other authorizations are needed, such as safety and insurance documentation and a valid International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Boat (ICC) card.
3. Netherlands
The total length of canals and waterways in Holland exceeds 3,800 kilometers.
Houseboats can range in width from 8.2 to 16.4 feet and in length from 98 feet.
Ownership registration, navigation authority registration, insurance and safety certification, resident use permit, and municipal tax registration number are all required to obtain a permit.
Boats longer than 49 feet that travel faster than 9.3 knots require a Vaarbewijs (captain’s license) issued by the Royal Dutch Touring Club ANWB.
In my search, I came across a 55-foot-long, wheelchair-accessible Dutch house barge with its own deck crane. There will be a fee of 49 500 Euros.
A Dutch catamaran-hulled houseboat, just two years old, maybe yours for the low, low sum of 97,000 euros. It’s 41 feet in length, and it’s essentially a mobile micro-mansion with all the amenities of a home.
Budgeting for a Houseboat
A houseboat requires more upkeep than a conventional residence when it comes to maintaining an older, less expensive barge, budgeting for 10% of its worth each year.
For example, older steel hulls in the United Kingdom are required to go into dry dock once every five years for an examination and, if necessary, a new coat of paint. Insurance, permissions to use waterways, routine maintenance, and expert engine repairs should all be considered.
The cost of a barge survey is around 700 GBP, with an additional 2,000 GBP – 3,000 GBP for painting. The yearly upkeep price might be anywhere from a thousand to three thousand dollars.
If you have mortgage interest on a second house, you may be able to deduct it from your taxable income. Enjoy a European cruise for the price of a night out in Miami.
For less than $100,000 USD, you may buy a houseboat and set sail on a whim for the trip of a lifetime, seeing Belgium and the south of France by water.
With a smaller boat, you may spend as little as 20 euros per day on fuel, paperwork, repairs, and lodging. Far cheaper than buying a drink at a trendy South Beach lounge. Contact us to buy or sell property abroad.
