Mexico or BC for me?

[BandB]

B. C. Beautiful. Great people. Vancouver is just one of the nicest cities in the world. Sophisticated so while a change, not losing all that Toronto offers. Canadian health system and health care covered. Winter climate not ideal for living on a boat and enjoying the use of that boat.

Mexico, La Paz as an example. Very nice area. Many things less expensive. Inexpensive medical care and you can get a supplemental medical policy that would transport you to Canada in the event of a serious medical condition. Legal obstacles to moving there are minor. Year round enjoyment of the boat, although the heat is tough for some moving from Canada or northern parts of the US. We like the climate.

I would have no problem living in either area. I would have a problem living on a small sailboat or I think i would but the only way to know more would be to spend some time on one, perhaps a rental or charter or with a new acquaintance on vacation.

[Hunky Dory]

I have a friend who has been a liveaboard for the last 15 plus years. He has a 30 ft sailboard. He has lived year round in Kingston Ont. Port Credit. A few years ago he moved the boat to Victoria BC. In the summer he leaves Victoria and heads north, and then returns after tourist season. If you would like to talk with him send me a note with your contact info and I will give you his number. He has done exactly what you are contemplating.

[rosatte]

your in a prime area to buy a boat buy one that has spent it life in freshwater in great lakes...spend a summer sailing lake ont..it ll throw you more sever weather than u can imagine then head south if sailing is still for you..

[Sailing Cowboy]

Its interesting reading all the responses here. One thing you asked for in your original post was a place to learn to sail. If you are comparing MX and BC, there is no question. BC hands down. Why? Well if we are discussing learning to sail, I assume this includes becoming a competent Captain of your vessel. If this is the goal, then you want to be the very best you can be with subjects such as navigation, weather, tides, sea state, pilotage, day & night passage making, lights and sounds (Coll Regs) heavy weather etc. Looking at all of this its pretty clear which is better for the subjects mentioned. Yep, you would get a better tan in MX and likely enjoy the snorkel/scuba better but that's not what we are talking about here. That will come after you become super Captain. I have sailed both. BC extensively and I did most of my advanced courses in BC as well as the Navy in BC. I am from TO the big smoke as well. PM me and we can chat by phone if you wish.
Tim

[dgz3]

Más divertido en México. Las mujeres usan menos ropa.

[Dougtiff]

Find a boat in B.C., learn to sail, explore your area, it's one of the best in the world, learn to anchor, work the tides, ect., then later head South. The sea of cortez is not a benign body of water, it's actually a dangerous place, i know, i lost a boat there and i have been sailing along time.

[Mithril Bham]

Sailed San Juans & BC or 50 years. Charter captain in the BVI. A bit in the Med. Managed boat in Mexico but no real experience except second hard.
PNW is my favorite but winters suck. Current boat is tight with 4 heating systems so made for it. I would learn in BC. If you can sail there you can sail anywhere.
I would take issue on food. Crab, salmon, halibut, spot prawns, oysters etc. Best food in the world in the PNW (next to Alaska). Free if you know how.
Managed a charter boat that would cruise BC in summer then Mexico in winter. Can always hire a delivery captain to go with you.
Easy sail South? Cape Flattery and the Columbia can kick your ass.
Just do it. You won't regret it.

[dgz3]

You already know what you want to do.

The only way you can screw this up is to pay too much for whatever you buy and/or spend too much on it. And even then, it's only money, right? lol

Pick the wrong place? OOPS! go to the other!
Buy the wrong boat? OOPS! Sell it and buy the one you now then will know will be right for your mission.

Everyone should have problems like that! It doesn't matter what you do now.
Eventually you will wind up on the right boat and in the right place. The sooner you start your journey, the sooner you'll arrive.
Go find your tribe.

[Capt Phil]

In response to Lucia rose who took exception to my statement to avoid big western cities like Vancouver, Canada.
This is my feeling generally, about big cities around the world. I grew up in Vancouver and worked the coast and west coast of Vancouver Island for many years as well as cruised the area. Vancouver can be a cesspool like any other big city... booze, drugs, hookers, and just plain mean people abound so I stay away from them.
Unless you live a cloistered life, you are bound to run into them all over town, even in Shaughnessy! Both my children still live there, but outside of town in Coquitlam and Maple Ridge so I know a little of which I speak.
Much of my world travel has been in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and North Africa so I have seen the seediest parts of the world and lived in them except the Far East.
If you believe that Canada is the last refuge of sanity and civil living in the world, good luck! You are truly living in a dream world.
Large metropolitan areas attract and support the worst kinds of people, that is a big part of why people cruise... to get away from the dregs of society.
Unfortunately, after close to eighty years, now living in the high desert of the Sierra Nevadas, I don't have to see or hear the city sounds or smells any longer and am very content.
Phil

[sailorcherry]

What about this? Both! Via cruising boat and rv with sailing dinghy. Cruising boat for MX (cheap to store in San Carlos in the off). Bus to Phoenix (or leave a car/rv in SC and drive back to BC) and RV it in BC with a day sailor in tow (maybe a hybrid, or double trailer - day sailor and motorized dinghy!). The rv also enables you better travel (I am guessing, unless all of your family is coastal) to visit them on your 6 there.
OR vice versa

[sailorcherry]

Hey OP, btw, say you left for a while and lost your OHIP (is it still called that?) How soon after your return can you reinstate your hc? And what about going from Ontario to BC, doesn't it take longer because it isn't your originating province?

[DDup]

Originally Posted by sailorcherry

Hey OP, btw, say you left for a while and lost your OHIP (is it still called that?) How soon after your return can you reinstate your hc? And what about going from Ontario to BC, doesn't it take longer because it isn't your originating province?

What I gather, moving from one province to another, you have to wait 3 months to apply for the new province's plan. Until then, the "home" province still covers you.

Moving out of the country, I think the health care plan dries up entirely after something like 6 months. Returning to Canada after that, I know I'd have to reapply and there'd be a waiting period, but I'm not too clear on the details.

For more details on how it all works, see Terry Gilliam's Brazil.

[bcboomer]

Re: BC Health Care
You can get a 2 year suspension of your BC plan once every 5 years.
Details on their site but basically you'd have to live here for a year first and have a BC "residence".
Give a relative's address as your residence and your good to go.

[windhorze]

Hi my friend, I have not read every response or reply, nor will I comment on healthcare...nor do I remember you stating what your ideal boat would be...but one suggestion would be to pick a trailerable boat. You can save heaps of cash on in water storage when you don't want to be sailing, you can sail BC in the summer, Mx in the winter and Fl next winter. You can find small stout trailerables, lean fast multihulls, Cruiser multis, racer monos...all kinds...actually I had to do a double take where I keep my Trimaran, I looked down the lot, and there on a trailer was my very first boat..I owned 20 years ago, on a trailer in mast up storage...a Catalina 30 tall rig...you can find quite a range if you care to look into it...best of luck...

[David Chin]

Originally Posted by BandB

Wifey B:

Have you ever lived on a small sailboat? This move is just too radical. If it's your job you hate, do something else. Get a small sailboat and live half the year on it where you are and see how that goes. You say there's a plan B, well it gets harder and harder to pursue.

Is there something other than your job making you want to do this? Is your family in BC and not Ontario? Maybe a liveaboard and a job in BC would be right?

You're leaving everything behind. Job. Friends. Lifestyle. This is a huge move and I couldn't tell that you've done anything to really prepare and know whether it's right for you or not.

If determined, I'd do BC first and then Mexico can come later. At least in BC you have family. You may think you're fine as a loner, but you've never been so alone as thousands of miles from all you know. Do you speak Spanish?

Before making such a drastic move it might be wise to see a counselor and be sure what you're running from and what you're in search of. You're clearly looking for something but if it's just looking to escape something and not a clear picture of what you want in it's place, it's going to be hard.

Sorry to be a downer, but I read your post and really worry about you. Had you been sailing, had you already found this perfect place, had you lived one summer on a sailboat this size, any of those things and I'd be cheering you. However, I haven't heard any of those things.

Yes, I have the same feeling about this guy too. 20 years ago I packed my bags in Malaysia and moved to NZ. What I had to do was leave all my school mates, friends, church mates, colleagues, relatives and everything familiar to me for 50 years and come to live with Maoris in NZ. It was extremely difficult for me to adapt to the culture. I can do the haka but I still don't like rugby.

What this chap is suggesting to do is almost similar: uproot himself from the known to the unknown without adequate preparations. He did not even mention that he is learning to sail or learning to speak Spanish.

https://davidchin3735.blogspot.co.nz/