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Marisa Dietrich lives in a quiet Texas neighborhood. She does her dishes and laundry, just like everyone else.
There is just one big difference – her home floats alongside all of her neighbors.
"It's a different lifestyle and it’s not for everybody," Dietrich said.
For many, living on a boat full-time is a lifelong dream. They like the idea of waking up to the sounds of waves, chirping birds and living a relatively more private life. Others choose to live on a boat because it's more affordable for them than living in a home, especially as anationwidehousing shortagepushes rent and housing prices to record levels.
For eleven years, Dietrich has been entrenched in the "liveaboard" lifestyle alongside her husband and son on their 1982 Norman Cross sailboat atWaterford Harbor Marina,which is located off of the Clear Lake on the Texas coast. The Dietrichs chose to move out of their eight-acre, three-bedroom house in San Antonio, fitting their entire lives into a 40-foot space.
"I think the main thing I like about living on a boat is how much stuff I got rid of in a house. I mean, nobody needs two sets of pots and pans, but I had them," Dietrich said.
Dietrich said that by living on a boat she owns, she's also saving money. Dietrich said she pays $870 a month to live on her boat, compared to the $2,000 a month she paid for an apartment while she fixed up her boat for a year.
Dietrich is just one of many looking for ways to save on the cost-of-living.
The U.S. Census includes people living on boats in their "liveaboards" population survey, which also accounts for people living on RVs and vans. As of 2023, there were more than 342,000 people living in this category.
Sanitation crews that service marinas around Clear Lake estimated that about 140 people currently live on boats full-time in the area.
One of Dietrich’s neighbors, David Brown, said he used to own a home in College Station before moving onto his boat.
"I’m a retired software engineer. I don’t make that kind of cash anymore," Brown said.
Brown lovingly named his boat the “Electric Lady” since she's fully electric and powered by solar panels. He enjoys the privacy of a boat, but it's also more affordable for him than owning a home. Brown said he pays $685 each month to live on his boat, including the monthly $90 fee every month to anchor his boat at Waterford Harbor Marina.
"You see all these nice big fancy houses, I guess you can get something like that, but I can’t afford one of those and if I could, I wouldn’t want one. I’m a minimalist. I would hate a thing like that. How do you even clean that thing?" Brown said.
Caroline Cheong, associate director forRice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research,said people are increasingly looking for ways to lower their payments, as housing costs have increased across the country over the last few years.
"People might find alternative forms of living, say, on a boat attractive because you don’t have those costs of land making up a large portion of your payment," Cheong said.
The cost of a boat ranges from $50,000 to $250,000 and higher, said Don Mitchell, who has lived at Waterford Harbor Marina for seven years. Comparatively, the median price for a single-family home in Galveston County is $340,920, according to the2025 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston.
Even with a lower cost of living, owning a boat can bring some challenges like the threat of hurricanes, leaks in the structure andcostly maintenance. Those who live on boats in League City, like Dietrich, also face an additional fee andstricter regulationsafter the League City Council approved an ordinance earlier this year.
The stricter regulations come as a response to complaints, including sewage discharge, unlawful dumping and the presence of multiple derelict and abandoned vessels,according to the ordinance.
Ultimately, Dietrich said she wouldn't give the liveaboard lifestyle up. She loves waking up with nature surrounding her andending her night at the Sundance Grill with her neighbors, enjoying her favorite pizza, right by the water.
"I don’t think I’ll ever move back into a house. I think I might live aboard for quite some time, if not for the rest of my life," Dietrich said.
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