HN user
I doubt the majority of the US population is rearing to move out to sea, but you heard about liberland right? They received 160,000 applications in a matter of days. I'd say there's a market for this, and it'll grow if the pioneers are successful.
Getting a visa to attend a business meeting in the US is much easier than getting a visa to work there. Plus, even if they can't, it's much easier for the valley guys if their body shop is an hour's helicopter ride away and in the same timezone rather than the other side of the world in a country where you have to be careful only to drink bottled water.
Submersible accomodation isn't actually that hard or expensive: You don't have to go very deep to reduce wave action to next to nothing, only 10-20 meters, and you only need to submerge in heavy weather.
There's one guy on the forums who built a couple of concrete teardrop hulls and used them as yachts. He said they were pretty comfortable.
Seaworthyness isn't something that's been ignored, it's a serious issue of discussion.
Three main solutions have come up so far:
* Build above the surface, like an oil rig or a spar buoy
* Build under/go under the surface, like a semi submersible
* Brute force, using floating breakwaters
TSI is currently running with option three, although they were looking at option one a few years back.