The True Story of Amsterdam's 2,900 Houseboats

🚢 Did you know there are 2,900 floating homes in Amsterdam? Houseboats have been around Amsterdam for over 100 years—they used to be for the poor...now houseboats in Amsterdam can cost over 1,000,000€!

This is the story of Amsterdam's houseboats.

📖 Stories in the film are adapted from the book "Boat People of Amsterdam" by Jowi Schmitz and Friso Spoelstra.

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😁 WHO AM I?
I'm David, a Californian living in Amsterdam. I make videos about life in the Netherlands, hiking/traveling, and the Camino de Santiago.

🔸 If you live in the Netherlands, I'd love to hear your story.

#houseboats #floatinghomes #lifeinthenetherlands

[hi.davidwen]

🚢 Do you live(d) in a houseboat in Amsterdam...what has your experience been like?

[Siriusly_Sirius]

Fantastic video, David! The mood. The information. The narrative. Well done.

[worldofnuance]

Interesting story. Thanks for sharing David.

[Davidfamilycuocsongduc]

Hi David..i like your video..Amsterdam is so beautifull

[abdufalaki]

I remember seeing a video of you years ago. See you live in NL now for 5 years, time flies! Your Dutch must have gotten so good in the meanwhile 😄 Tijd voor een video in het Nederlands denk je niet!

[anwarbayter]

Hey David, awesome video. I'm an aspiring youtuber myself, and I have been looking around for some beginner cameras to use. I don't want to do it full time just yet, but part time, just for fun like you.
Could I ask what camera or cameras you use and maybe other equipment that you've found necessary as well? Thanks man! Love the content

[ks]

I used to live on a houseboat in Amsterdam a couple of years ago. It was a 'woonark' which isn't a real boat but more like a floating apartment.
To be honest once the 'cool' factor wore of it was prettymuch like living in a normal apartment, just more expensive.
One thing that did suprise me is that eventhough I lived in the center and it could be kind of busy outside it was pretty quite inside because the boat was located below streetlevel and the sound would travel over the boat.
I ended up moving away because Amsterdam was a bit to busy for me and I missed living close to nature.
If you want the houseboat experience I'd recommend renting an airbnb for awhile. The cost of living on a houseboat is not really worth it imo.

[moretoknowshow]

Always said i'd love to live on a houseboat in Amsterdam. Lots of work to keep things up, but im good with that..

[mauromastrogiacomo]

Can we comment on the fact that these boats settled there illegally and block the view on the water to those who pass by? I like to see some, but in some locations there are far too many, even “ double parked”. Not to mention that they are very inefficient not only in space consumption but als in energy use.

[AlexK-yrth]

Amsterdam is not a city built on water. It was built on swampy marshland at a dam in the river Amstel. Hence the name. The canals are made to get the water out in a controlled way. Nice video though but please don't call it "the true story" when you don't have the details correct.

Your statement "its is not if but when Amsterdam will disappear" is absolute nonsense. Ever heard of the Delta and Zuiderzee works and that it is considered one of the 7 world wonders? Amsterdam has been below sea level for hundreds of years and it is still there while in that period the sea levels been rising even harder as they do now in The Netherlands. The perception when something is under NAP, doesn't mean it will flood or disappear. The Dutch have proven that for centuries. Basic math can not be applied here.

[SALVATlN]

I know that the Netherlands requires a permanent address. How do these people handle that? Do they get to keep their address at a marina? How do they get their mail?