Swiss Couple Trades 160-Square-Metre Home for a Tiny Sailboat Life
A Swiss couple from Bern has swapped their spacious family home for life on a tiny sailboat. Franziska and Stefan Wüthrich now live full-time on a 30-square-metre vessel in the Mediterranean, along with their dog, Alexis. Their unusual lifestyle choice follows years of overseas experience, including a dramatic escape from Chad after a coup.
Before setting sail, the Wüthrichs lived in Ittigen, near Bern, in a 160-square-metre home with their son and daughter. Both were self-employed, but they had long dreamed of a different way of life. Their first taste of adventure came when they moved to Chad with their young children, staying for three years.
The Wüthrichs’ journey shows how drastically life can change when priorities shift. From a stable home in Switzerland to a floating life in the Mediterranean, they have embraced uncertainty. Their story also highlights the practical side of such a move—swapping mortgage payments for a modest mooring fee and trading space for freedom.
