We've been having fun with interesting and alternative forms of housing recently, sharing the TREEHOUSE GUY, the HOBBIT HOUSE, people who SHARE MANSIONS, the millionaire MLB pitcher who LIVES IN A VAN and the story of people who have gone almost completely OFF THE GRID but still live within 50 miles of the city.
The people in the video below got into a float home in 2001 for a mere $30,000, and are truly living the dream near Powell River BC.
The Vancouver floatie communities (I just made that term up) are a little different. Living in a float home in Coal Harbour or on Granville Island is far from off-the-grid and combines the feeling of a sort of semi-nomadic lifestyle and an urban existence. And as expected, that $30,000 price tag seen above is a pipe dream, even back in 2001 these homes were likely listed for nearly ten times that, based on their location alone. The two videos below bring you into the homes of people living in both areas.
Coal Harbour:
Granville Island:
I wondered what the price difference was between Vancouver and a more rural location, and dug up THIS listing one in Coal Harbour which serves as a good baseline. It's 497 sq ft going for $329,000, compared to ones I found in Ladner that were around 1,500 sq ft for $520,000. The further you get from the city the better the bargain obviously; THIS 2,200 sq ft one in the Okanagan for $289,000 and THIS 1,300 sq ft one in Cowichan Bay for $145,000 are two great examples of fairly cheap options. Still a far cry from $30,000 insane-o deal that the folks in the first video got, but possibly an option for a vacation property if you're looking for an option in BC.
