It's not for everyone, for sure, though there are a surprising number of people doing it.
People who are liveaboards and are full time cruisers have a unique lifestyle and it has developed something of a subculture.
It's like the biker world. There are those who live it full time, some who take a Harley out on the weekend, and those who just occasionally watch a rerun of Easy Rider.
I've been around boats and ships all of my life. Odd to some, seeing as how I currently live in Arizona. But there is a surprising number of extremely large lakes here with sailboats on them to keep one's feet wet. AZ isn't that far from the ocean and I tend to spend a lot of time in California.
There are some people that make fun of the idea or dismiss it as nonsense, but lots of people really do this. This isn't just my crazy, wildass, off the wall idea.
Myself, I'm kind of a nomad by nature, grew up that way actually, and can't quite tune into the thought patterns of living in one place, in one neighborhood, for the rest of a person's life.
Like those people that live in endless suburban housing tracts. To me, that is hell. I guess some people like these urban warrens, like in New Jersey or New York, it makes them feel snug and safe - an illusion that they cannot live without.
Look at it this way. A boat is like a house, except that you have the world's biggest back yard. Also unlike a house, you can move it from place to place.
A house can be in investment, yes, until the bubble bursts on the housing market, you still have 15 years of payments to make, and you get laid off from work.
You can buy a used boat that needs work, fix it up, and sell it for a profit. That is how many people get into the bigger boats without jobs as stock brokers. They move up the ladder, so to speak.
Most of your time is spend in bays, inlets, harbors, etc, anchored or moored, but you can change both your neighbors and your zip code at will, taking your apartment and the cat with you.
To me, a well done boat is at least as comfortable, if not more so, than your average apartment that so many pay through the nose every month for, and you can certainly get one for less than a house.
Also unlike a house and a piece of land, you can actually totally own a boat and you can legally set up the registration so you do not have to pay rent (property tax) on it all of the time.
Your house and your land you never own full (allodial) title to. You have to pay rent (property tax) to the government on a regular basis or they will evict you, with armed force by the Sheriff if need be, and sell it to someone else who will pay the King's rent, just like a Medieval peasant.
Also, unlike a house, if something happens (terrorist attack, riot, chemical accident, power plant meltdown, etc), you can simply untie the lines and make for better places, taking your home with you. Riots? They end at the pier.
F^ck the spartan bug out bag. I'm bringing the fridge, the beer, the shower, and a bed with clean sheets.
On a boat, by nature you're pretty much as self-sufficient on a normal, day to day, basis as a better equipped survival retreat. You have your own water supply, extended food supply, fishing gear, a rifle, large fuel supply, wind powered propulsion, etc.
Not bad for less money than many spend on a brand new 4x4 pickup truck.