I think I convinced Kay that a houseboat isn't the way to go. As much as I would LOVE to retire onto a boat, wake up to the lap of the water on the hull, have coffee with a 360 degree view of the water... But realistically, Kay already has pretty serious mobility issues, what will they be like in 10 years? And while the initial purchase price is surprisingly doable (remember, we're comparing to a land based house), the maintenance and associated costs (pump out, slip rental, haul out/hull cleaning/painting, etc) is high. On top of that, the risks. While a hurricane or tornado can take out any home, houseboats are especially vulnerable. Since we would not own the dock (probably), we would have the risk of of a marina or lake changing their policies on live-aboards (an apparently more common phenomena), or a marina going out of business (apparently the higher fuel costs are hurting many of them).
She's never been big on the Motorhome/RV thing, and the more I look into that, the more I think the logistics and economics of that wouldn't work. Once again, the initial price is actually pretty attractive, but $40 a night for parking? Not to mention $4 or more per gallon of gas with 6-9 MPG? Not to mention the definite life span of the vehicle components. Toss in Kay's medical issues and trying to find Drs all over the country.... Once again, There are parts of the lifestyle I think I would love, but the practicality just isn't there.
This takes us to land based homes. I'm from Texas, and I miss the state, but that's another blog entry.
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