If Only I Could Get Steady Internet In A Water Shack

The lifestyle might be simple but attaining it is complicated.

The more I mature the simpler the lifestyle I desire. My life is as basic as first-world gets but I would love to make some changes. Changes that are unattainable even though they may sound simplistic.

I’m at a stage in my life where location is a major player in my wants. I don’t need to move somewhere new but I want to relocate. I want to live near water, and when I say near to it I mean I want to hear a babbling brook outside my bedroom window. Or a river flowing or an ocean roaring.

The problem with living near water, at least where I’m from, is that it comes at a cost. My home is a landlocked Canadian city and the nearest water is the Bow River which runs straight through the middle of the city.

Waterfront or even water-near property is only for the wealthy.

Of course, I’m not tied to this city and could relocate anywhere within my country but all water property in Canada comes at a premium that I’m not willing (nor able) to pay.

It’s a first-world problem that could ironically be solved in the third world.

If Africa wasn’t on the other side of the globe

There’s a whole water village in Benin, called Ganvié. It has been referred to as the Venice of Africa and it looks absolutely charming to me.

If I could get steady internet in a water shack I’d sell off everything and go. My dog might have a different opinion but she could learn to love swimming.

There are no roads in the village. Just water channels and boats. Each family in Ganvié is provided with three boats. One for the father, one for the mother, and one for the children, and this is how they live.

Image courtesy of CNTraveler.com.

Need groceries? Vendors row through the water channels selling goods so you don’t have to go out shopping. A grocery boat will pull up next to you and you pick what you want, pay the money, and you’ve got your supplies.

For a live look at how the village operates, watch episode #1 of High on the Hog on Netflix. It’s fascinating, as is the rest of the series.

No, it’s not New Orleans after a hurricane. This village planned to be this way. Courtesy of Archdaily.com

An article on Condé Naste Traveler states that the village of Ganvié has every amenity one could need:

“Ganvie’s 3,000 buildings include a post office, a bank, a hospital, a church, and a mosque. The village school is one of the few buildings not on stilts; it’s located on a patch of dry land big enough for kids to play soccer after class. Residents are currently bringing soil on to the lake to make a second island, which will serve as a cemetery.”

Talk about the simplest life ever! I could row a boat to do my banking, no problem. Would I even need a bank account?

In the Netherlands

I have a friend who lives in the municipality of Harderwijk in the Netherlands. She’s a single mother of three and her townhouse is located one block away from the waterfront.

I’ve never visited the Netherlands but we video chat occasionally and one day she walked out her front door and sauntered on over to the waterfront to show me how near it was. All on the budget of a single parent.

This does not compute. Show me a Canadian single mother of three who lives water-adjacent (unless she’s homeless under a bridge).

In the Caribbean, I only paid $350.00 a month to live next door to this waterfall. The locals brought their shampoos and soaps here to bathe. It was a beautiful way to live.

My son and I are at the waterfall next door to my old apartment in Ocho Rios.

Looking at how other places in the world live makes me wonder why big cities are the way they are and why people desire to live in them. I get it though, not all of us want the same lifestyle.

Millions of people thrive in the fast pace of urban life. Heck, I also used to thrive in it. But again, wants and needs change as we move along.

A few years ago, I read a piece written by

Remington Write

, mirroring some of the same sentiments I feel. She wrote about living right smack in the hub of urban America — New York City. She also wants out.

I’d lose my mind within the first hour in New York City so I get it.

All this makes me question WHY certain lifestyles are so unattainable for the average person.

It’s not like a desire to live near water is over the top. 71% of the globe is water…where’s my slice of it? Canadian water shouldn’t even be elite…it’s frozen solid more often than not, yet I can’t get my little piece of it without having a bank account full of money and the risk tolerance for unstable internet. 😁

Trust me…I’ve lived with crappy internet in the Caribbean before…it can ruin your life.

I suppose I’ll have to settle for a plug-in water fountain from Amazon in my living room.

What kind of lifestyle location do you crave? Are you living it or is it unattainable? Would you live in the Venice of Africa? 😁