Until, some time within the first two weeks, the novelty wears off, and commuting on a boat becomes subjectively indistinguishable from commuting on a particularly slow bus.
Having commuted by ferry I have to say it’s still more comfortable than commuting by bus and it’s about equally fast/slow here and you can take a bicycle on the ferry during rush hour.
It’s a ferry on a relatively wide river, wide enough for container ships. Some ferry lines here go through the canals and are a little slower, but these are also shorter lines.
Montréal fixed slow ferries a while back. You’re definitely beating traffic on one of these and they essentially aren’t bothering anyone zooming across an already turbulent river commercial Harbour.
I was once in the running for a job at a place that was on the banks of a lake and included a boat landing. Learned that there was a house available within my price range right across on the same lake. So I started having real conversations with my wife about us getting like a jet ski for me to commute across the lake to work.
Your co-workers would have been so jealous, they would have hated you, and sabotaged your job. You probably would have ended up in prison, framed for embezzlement. You dodged a bullet. Silver lining.
I think the main advantage would have been getting non urgent freight off motorways as bulk efficiency is the big perk you get with boats.
If you want to boat into work every day Toronto has that option available all year from the islands. Another perk is living in a car free & wooded neighborhood 5-15 minutes away from downtown/harbourfront.
Lots of people also live on boats on the Toronto islands, drive their dinghy into town during the summer and then dock at one of the harbourfront marinas in the winter. (Just watch out for the crazy water taxi drivers!)
$900-1000 per month if you’re on a boat. Probably less during the summer. The houses on the islands are artificially cheap since the prices and sale is controled by the city. The issue is the limited wait list to have the chance to buy one of the houses.
So 50,000 – $700,000 for houses plus a $60,000-78,000 one time lease payment.
At the high end that would maybe get you a two bedroom condo across the water but the average is probably comparable to the price of a one bedroom condo.
It was signed in 1993 I guess, when the Toronto Island Trust was created. My land lady way back got put on the list and I think it took her decades to move there.
For the first 3 or 4 days. About then you’re gonna start getting tired of drying off before sitting on the couch when you get home. Then the weather will get too hot or too cold or too mosquito-y.
There’s a reason why all modern water parks are surrounded by concrete. Disney World had a water park out in the woods that included a natural lagoon. It’s been shut down for decades after a few guests died of brain eating amoeba.
I prefer rail in its various forms. Way faster and cheaper. Canals are absolutely amazing at one crucial thing: moving mind boggling amounts of bulky low value goods for a fraction the cost of rail. The mississippi river system was no joke an american superpower (and still is) for a looong time. You can move grain for thousands of kms for the same price it would cost to ship it 150 via rail.
I do love rail, I’m just sad that we cleared most of our natural waterways for them to be laid down, and often stare wistfully when walking over a rail bridge
I often think about that canal future that never happened. How sick would it be to get a boat to work everyday
It isn’t. Riding the ferry is a pain in the ass. Boats are slow (or it is too much of a nuisance). High traffic makes it even slower.
Source: live in a city with shitloads of canals and ferries.
But it’s boat traffic. You can literally stare at the bobbing water until the waterways clear
Some people just never learned to embrace the dilly-dally lifestyle.
Sadly we are forced to lock-in.
ahh. one of my favorite pastimes.
Until, some time within the first two weeks, the novelty wears off, and commuting on a boat becomes subjectively indistinguishable from commuting on a particularly slow bus.
Having commuted by ferry I have to say it’s still more comfortable than commuting by bus and it’s about equally fast/slow here and you can take a bicycle on the ferry during rush hour.
a ferry on a large natural river/lake/bay will be a very different experience than a ferry on an artificial canal, unless it’s extremely wide.
It’s a ferry on a relatively wide river, wide enough for container ships. Some ferry lines here go through the canals and are a little slower, but these are also shorter lines.
Let me introduce you to sea sickness and UV reflection making sunburn easier to get on the water
Montréal fixed slow ferries a while back. You’re definitely beating traffic on one of these and they essentially aren’t bothering anyone zooming across an already turbulent river commercial Harbour.
Just get one of those old Soviet meteors from some Eastern European junkyard. Not slow, great ferry.
I was once in the running for a job at a place that was on the banks of a lake and included a boat landing. Learned that there was a house available within my price range right across on the same lake. So I started having real conversations with my wife about us getting like a jet ski for me to commute across the lake to work.
Didn’t get the job. Was bummed.
damn, parallel life you must be living the dream!
AFAIK one of the Google offices was near an airport and there were some people who flew in to work.
Your co-workers would have been so jealous, they would have hated you, and sabotaged your job. You probably would have ended up in prison, framed for embezzlement. You dodged a bullet. Silver lining.
My college was near the beach. A fair amount of people would kayak-commute in to school.
I think the main advantage would have been getting non urgent freight off motorways as bulk efficiency is the big perk you get with boats.
If you want to boat into work every day Toronto has that option available all year from the islands. Another perk is living in a car free & wooded neighborhood 5-15 minutes away from downtown/harbourfront. Lots of people also live on boats on the Toronto islands, drive their dinghy into town during the summer and then dock at one of the harbourfront marinas in the winter. (Just watch out for the crazy water taxi drivers!)
But how much does that lifestyle cost (relative to a normal Toronto neighborhood)?
$900-1000 per month if you’re on a boat. Probably less during the summer. The houses on the islands are artificially cheap since the prices and sale is controled by the city. The issue is the limited wait list to have the chance to buy one of the houses.
So 50,000 – $700,000 for houses plus a $60,000-78,000 one time lease payment.
At the high end that would maybe get you a two bedroom condo across the water but the average is probably comparable to the price of a one bedroom condo.
Aren’t they also under the remains of a 100 year lease? With something like 70 years left?
I don’t have 70 years left, so that would be okay, but I can’t handle the Canada winters. I grew up in Cleveland, and that was close enough.
Not sure about that part. Got my info from here and it didn’t mention anything about the 100 year lease. Maybe that’s on the trust itself?
https://torontoisland.org/purchasers-list/
It was signed in 1993 I guess, when the Toronto Island Trust was created. My land lady way back got put on the list and I think it took her decades to move there.
I’m a little jealous of people in England who live on narrowboats on their canals.
And also jealous of the multi-use trail network on what used to be the tow paths, for that matter.
Liveaboard canal boats are also a thing in the Netherlands and honestly it seems pretty great!
I seem to recall reading about Swiss workers swimming home in the river after work, the current carried them the right way and it seemed brilliant
“I’m going to take the lazy river home.” That would be so sweet.
For the first 3 or 4 days. About then you’re gonna start getting tired of drying off before sitting on the couch when you get home. Then the weather will get too hot or too cold or too mosquito-y.
There’s a reason why all modern water parks are surrounded by concrete. Disney World had a water park out in the woods that included a natural lagoon. It’s been shut down for decades after a few guests died of brain eating amoeba.
Yeah, they do that in Berne.
As someone who used to ride a boat to work every day, it fuckin ruled and I miss it
I prefer rail in its various forms. Way faster and cheaper. Canals are absolutely amazing at one crucial thing: moving mind boggling amounts of bulky low value goods for a fraction the cost of rail. The mississippi river system was no joke an american superpower (and still is) for a looong time. You can move grain for thousands of kms for the same price it would cost to ship it 150 via rail.
I do love rail, I’m just sad that we cleared most of our natural waterways for them to be laid down, and often stare wistfully when walking over a rail bridge