This is something I definitely have experience of, albeit perhaps in a different way. Through my own conscious effort, my life is significantly different to tha

This is something I definitely have experience of, albeit perhaps in a different way. Through my own conscious effort, my life is significantly different to that of most others in many ways. Professionally I'm freelance and work comparatively little. I live in a warehouse with 6 others, I built my own bedroom. Both my sexuality and relationship style are outside the norm. At several junctures I've asked myself the same questions you are asking now. All of the above changes have caused me to become more distant from many of my older friends. There have been very few (if any) upsets, but certainly paths have diverged. I think this is perfectly ok and I do not see it as a negative. The flip side of this, is that I have made multiple times more friends as a result of doing something different. It has made my life richer and better in ways I could never have imagined previously. Also, a friend of mine has a theory wrt dating. It's something like "A lot of people are not into beards, but people who are into beards and REALLY into beards". In your case you can substitute 'beards' for 'people who live on boats'. Plus, it is perfectly ok to change your mind after trying something for a while. Obvs.