After Alan Donais lost his job of 30 years because the company shut down, he up and moved from his home in London, Ont. to live on a 32-foot boat in Nashville, Tenn.

"It was a complete change of life for me," Donais said. "And living on the water is a lot different than land."

After decades in the same job, living in the same city, he made social ties that were hard to leave behind.

"In that time I had lots of friends and miss them a lot. I haven't talked to hardly any of them. So you think, you know, wonder what they're up to, wonder what they're doing, wonder if they got a job, wonder if they're thinking of me," Donais said. "But you've got to move on."