- Toronto woman, Kate Fincham, buys a houseboat for $255,000 during the pandemic, embracing a clutter-free lifestyle and close-knit community.
- After previously living with housemates downtown, Fincham follows her love for the water and buys her dream houseboat.
- Fincham’s houseboat, located in Bluffers Park Marina, offers a serene and calm environment and is equipped with necessary amenities. She documents her experiences on social media to inspire others.
Additional Coverage:
- A millennial bought a houseboat for $255,000 during the pandemic and moved into it alone. She says it’s ‘the best way of life.’ (businessinsider.com)
Kate Fincham, a 35-year-old woman from Toronto, decided to buy a houseboat during the pandemic for $255,000. She believes that living on a houseboat has helped her to live a clutter-free lifestyle and form close bonds with her neighbors. Fincham finds the lifestyle to be serene and calm compared to downtown living.
Prior to buying the houseboat, Fincham had lived with three housemates in downtown Toronto for two and a half years. However, she missed living on the water and decided to pursue her love for the lifestyle. She had prior experience spending 10 months on a tall ship during high school and working on yachts for three years after university.
During her search for a houseboat, Fincham stumbled upon a listing for three houseboats for sale in Bluffers Park Marina on Lake Ontario. She ended up viewing only one of them and decided to take the plunge and buy it. She paid $255,000 for the houseboat and moved in with her two cats in November 2020.
The marina where Fincham lives is about a 30-minute drive from downtown Toronto. In her marina, there are a total of 24 floating homes and about 15 houseboats. The main difference between houseboats and floating homes lies in the platform they are built on.
Fincham’s houseboat is 625 square feet and has a loft-style design with one bedroom and one bathroom. She pays around $660 in mooring fees each month, which provides access to the dock and various services. The houseboat is also hooked up to the grid for electricity.
When it comes to furnishing the houseboat, Fincham has to be conscious of the weight of the furniture she brings on board. While there are no specific weight regulations, she ensures that the water level comes halfway up the pontoon for balance.
Living on a houseboat has allowed Fincham to adopt a clutter-free lifestyle. She describes herself as a minimalist now and appreciates having only one closet for storage. Despite the smaller space, her houseboat is functional and equipped with necessary amenities such as a washer-dryer and a small stove and oven.
Fincham’s lifestyle has completely changed since moving onto the houseboat. She enjoys the serene and calm environment, surrounded by woodlands and trails by the water. She spends her mornings going for walks in nearby parks and enjoys kayaking in the lake during the summer. The tight-knit community in the marina is an added benefit, as Fincham has formed close bonds with her neighbors.
To document her houseboat life, Fincham shares her experiences on Instagram and TikTok. She hopes to inspire others to consider alternative ways of living and to forge their own paths. She advises potential houseboat buyers to do thorough research and be prepared to make decisions when the right opportunity arises. Living on a houseboat requires agility and the ability to adapt to challenges. Despite the potential difficulties, Fincham believes it is the best way of life for her.