Where are Houseboats Found?

Houseboats are a great alternative for folks who love living near the water. However, where are houseboats found? Where are you likely to see these vessels?

Houseboats are found all around the world (well, almost). From Washington to London, Amsterdam to Kashmir, there are some great destinations for houseboat enthusiasts. If you're looking for houseboats, you'll find them here. If you're looking for a good destination, you can't go wrong with these. 

With so many options available for houseboat enthusiasts, making a choice can really be a tough nut to crack. You have tons of destinations where you can sail your houseboat or even find some good houseboats for sale.

Your experience living in a houseboat, whether for a short while or permanently, is mainly going to depend on where you plan to drop anchor. As people who have lived on houseboats for extended periods at a time, we're in a great position to tell you all about where houseboats are found and the best places to drop anchor. Let's get started.

‍Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands, is mostly known for its lax attitude towards cannabis laws, but it is also the go-to choice for houseboat enthusiasts as well. Along the city's canals, there are almost 2,000 houseboats. Due to a dearth of inexpensive housing in the mid-twentieth century, these floating dwellings became popular. Unused cargo ships were transformed into economical dwelling quarters and anchored along the canals, allowing residents to avoid paying rent and taxes.

Houseboats are now considered lovely and desirable locations to stay, and they are frequently more expensive than land-based dwellings. Did you know that in Amsterdam, houseboats used to discharge their garbage directly into the canals? This is no longer the case, with all houseboats now being connected to the city's sewer infrastructure, which definitely makes Amsterdam a great choice for houseboat enthusiasts.

Austin

Austin, Texas, is known for its booming music scene, but it also has Lake Austin, a secret aquatic paradise popular with kayakers and houseboat owners. The lake is used for flood control and electrical power generation as part of the Colorado River reservoir. Austin's first floating neighborhood is full of all sorts of buoyant structures, from sophisticated, two-story homes to charming tugboat-inspired cottages and cabins, with vistas of forest-covered hills in the distance and the quiet lake at your fingers.

Some are anchored in the lake, while others are erected on docks. This floating neighborhood, which is surrounded by water, has become a haven for a variety of ducks and birds that have established their homes among the kayaks and houseboats. Lake Austin has it all when it comes to living on the water, which makes it another great option for houseboat enthusiasts.

New York

If you've lived in New York City, you probably know how high the rents are for a simple condo. This is why people live on sailboats and yachts that are anchored along the Hudson River in Queens and New Jersey, just to name a few places. These harbors are home to some of the country's most distinctive houseboat communities, which is hardly what you would expect from a city such as New York.

Stony Lake

Stony Lake, located two hours north of Toronto in Peterborough County, is made up of three interconnected lakes: Clear Lake to the southwest, Stony Lake to the middle, and Upper Stony Lake to the northeast. This sparsely inhabited location is ideal for nature enthusiasts wishing to get away from metropolitan areas. The rocky banks provide architectural issues for floating dwellings, but that hasn't stopped houseboat owners from calling it home.

Paris

If you're the romantic type, then why not check out the houseboats in Paris, France? FYI, in Paris, houseboats are known as péniches. Floating dwellings have been converted from old Dutch boats anchored along the Seine. Many of the cafés, restaurants, theatres and even bookstores along the canals of Saint Martin and de l'Ourcq are also employed as attractive waterfront cafes, restaurants, cinemas, and bookstores.

Want to experience living on a houseboat overlooking the Eiffel Tower? Why not? There are plenty of houseboat options on Airbnb as well if you're not looking to purchase one.

Seattle

You will also find a large houseboat community in Seattle, Washington. Float cottages on Union Lake's border are available for rent as well as for sale on occasion. In fact, numerous realtors specialize in luxury floating real estate, such as Seattle Afloat. The area is located between Lake Washington and Puget Sound, just outside of downtown Seattle.

Hamburg

Hamburg has a lot of water, and municipal officials want to attract people to live and work there. Hamburg launched a competition for houseboat designs to be installed along the Eilbek canal a decade ago. As a result, numerous sophisticated floating houses have been anchored there. Around the industrial port, you'll find houseboats with a more handcrafted character. In addition, additional houseboats have been developed in the Hammerbrook region, which is why it has earned a spot on our list of destinations for houseboat enthusiasts.