Seasteading in cities with high housing costs

[bandit957]

I can't believe this isn't more common. In New York and San Francisco, housing is very expensive. I know San Francisco is intentionally jacking up housing costs. But these cities are right on the coasts, so I can't believe people there aren't setting up houseboats on the sea. After all, the ocean is public property in all cases. It is not private land.

In my day, I had a world atlas that had a section of photos in the back from around the world. It had a photo of people in Hong Kong living on boats because they couldn't afford to live on land. So it really is surprising that this isn't going on in major American cities now.

That includes Cincinnati - which doesn't have an ocean, but it does have major rivers. Even around Cincinnati, housing is more expensive than it should be, because developers are allowed to do what they want, and gentrification isn't controlled. It's gotten to be like Houston with the lack of zoning. When I was in grade school in the early '80s, there was a family that lived on a houseboat in the Licking River. The daughter rode my school bus. Other than that, I don't remember ever meeting anyone around here who lived on water.

[Bruce]

The ocean has nasty tides that houseboats can't survive. You need a sheltered marina and good infrastructure (mostly hookups) to support houseboat colonies.

Seattle has a significant amount that are all on our relatively calm lake, rather than in the Puget Sound.



Also, the affordability crisis in San Francisco is not just because of higher prices from investors, but a huge lack of demand due to NIMBYist policies that have been in effect for decades.

[Scott5114]

Also, the affordability crisis in San Francisco is not just because of higher prices from investors, but a huge lack of demand due to NIMBYist policies that have been in effect for decades.

I assume that you mean lack of supply. Lack of demand would cause prices to go down.

What are the tides like on San Francisco Bay?

[Bruce]

Also, the affordability crisis in San Francisco is not just because of higher prices from investors, but a huge lack of demand due to NIMBYist policies that have been in effect for decades.

I assume that you mean lack of supply. Lack of demand would cause prices to go down.

What are the tides like on San Francisco Bay?

Right *huge demand and lack of supply.

It looks like some of the sheltered areas off the Bay can and do support houseboat communities. But they still fetch high prices.