The positives of living aboard are something it's easy to talk about or show with photos of vacation-like scenes that after 4yrs we almost take for granted, almost. Cheap rent and utilities, freedom, fabulous views of the Bay, and being safely separated from the chaos ashore all add weight to the positive side of the Living Aboard Scale. But we all know positives don't exist without negatives. The balance scale has on one side the positives of a decision and on the other side the negatives. Rarely is there a decision with only positives. We can ignore the negatives and try to act like they don't exist, but like rain during a dingy ride to shore, the cold wet negatives will drip down your face if you haven't acknowledged and planned for them.
Most of the Living Aboard negatives are simple discomforts and inconveniences that the vast majority of people living on earth throughout history would laugh at and would envy to only have it so good. No dish washer, no walk-in closets, no garage to store stuff you don't really need but can't give away, having to pay attention to your water and power usage, having a small stove and kitchen, and the tiring inconvenience of having to carry your groceries from the parking lot car to the dingy all make life aboard more work than living ashore. It isn't the fact that the boat floats and moves around on the water that makes Living Aboard more work and tiring than land living, it is the return to a more basic living that simply takes more daily energy and wears you out. Compare our living conditions and "hardships" to the daily life of the founding fathers during our Countries beginnings and most of the Living Aboard "hardships" become too trivial to even complain about with a straight face. Perhaps you don't like historical comparisons because that was ancient past? Well that's ok, take a trip down to Mexico or other poor counties around the world and the splendor and elegance (even opulence) of living aboard on a 50ft floating castle will stand in stark contrast to most of the world population's living conditions. A little perspective, changes how you view hardships and being uncomfortable. That perspective certainly doesn't mean I won't complain about the cold here in Port San Luis. But because Inuit Indians are living in Igloos, it will just make me thankful that I can afford to burn $4/gallon diesel just to make myself comfortable.