New trend: living on a cruise ship because it's cheaper than in a house
That the housing market has exploded in recent years is probably something I don't need to tell you. I live in Amsterdam and I have the feeling that, as a single thirty-something, I will never be able to buy a house on my own, unless I win the lottery or hit the jackpot in the casino (that's what I'm currently ~manifesting~), but across the country, prices are going through the roof. Oh, what am I saying, the whole country? The whole world.
Prices have become so high that a new trend is now emerging in America: living on a cruise ship. I always associate cruise ships with a lot of luxury, unlimited food and drinks, and tropical vacations. But what turns out: living on such a luxury cruise ship can actually be cheaper than living in a house. Yep, the housing market has officially gone crazy.
Ryan Gutridge is, for example, someone who now lives on a cruise ship, 300 days a year. He works from there and on the website Pubity he says that it really doesn't make a difference compared to paying for an apartment.
Ryan started this in 2021 and since then he goes on a cruise almost every week. He skips a few weeks a year due to holidays like Christmas. What. A. Life. He sails with Royal Caribbean ships each time (if you're familiar with these ships, you know: absolutely not wrong) and that's why he has already been to the Bahamas more than 70 times in the past two years.
How about the costs? He spends about 30,000 dollars a year on those 300 days. But wait before you think that calculation doesn't add up: this is his budget for everything. Food, drinks, sports (because there is a gym on board); everything falls within that budget.
Cruise ships may have the reputation of being mainly for elderly people and/or retirees, but that hasn't been the case for a long time. Meanwhile, quite a few Americans have started to follow Ryan's example. Will this also become the new living trend in the Netherlands..?
