If you Wanted to Live Aboard and had a Choice of these Places Which One and Why?

[Hudson Force]

I love my sailboat, but I can't be disturbed by motors. I have my diesel inboard, my diesel generator and my dinghy outboard and I enjoy them and give them meticulous care.

[JanetGroene]

People who "like seasons" assume that Florida does not have them. Once tuned in , you will catch the rhythm of Florida seasons, even as far south as Sarasota. Summers are, however, pretty awful on Florida's west coast.

[ArtM]

Originally Posted by hcurtis

I missed this response somehow. I am thinking living aboard would be cheaper than renting a place and renting a slip. Correct?

My definitions:

Live-Aboard: A person who lives on a boat, but does not often move it. In my usage, I assumed this person is on a slip in a Marina

Cruiser: A person who lives on a boat, frequently traveling.

If you are thinking of liveaboard on the anchor, yeah it's possible to do, but it's hard living, and you face the constant scrutiny and disapproval of your neighbors who are paying taxes and fees to maintain their waterfront.

You would be looking for a location where you can anchor your boat for free, yet still have access to the land (where you would presumably keep your bicycle), and not be concerned about theft or vandalism of your boat. This is pretty specific.

I'd suggest that if this is your intent, you should be specific about it and maybe you'll get some more specific advice from people who have been in those areas.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by ArtM

My definitions:

Live-Aboard: A person who lives on a boat, but does not often move it. In my usage, I assumed this person is on a slip in a Marina

Cruiser: A person who lives on a boat, frequently traveling.

........................................

The weakness in these definitions is that it does not address the live aboards that love to sail as frequently as possible and cruise as their time allows, but they are not independently wealthy or retired with a sufficient income and must continue employment that is tied to a fixed location. This is the most common condition for liveaboards and my condition for the first thirty years of my 42 years of livingaboard.

[ArtM]

Originally Posted by hcurtis

I missed this response somehow. I am thinking living aboard would be cheaper than renting a place and renting a slip. Correct?

I think I misread the first time. Yes, it is cheaper to live on the boat if you plan to have a boat regardless.

[captainbri]

[QUOTE=denverd0n;1175652]How old do you have to be before you don't like seasons anymore? My parents are in their 80s and they like living in Colorado. I first moved to Florida in my 20s and fell in love with it immediately.

I don't mean to offend, so I hope you don't take this the wrong way. I guess I'm just suggesting that you might want to check your preconceptions. Liking or not liking seasons does not necessarily have anything at all to do with age.[/

living inside half of our lives because of winter is no fun, So I left at 21 moved to Arizona.

[hcurtis]

Originally Posted by ArtM

I only asked because your previous comments make it seem as though you plan to be at dock most or all of the time. If that's the case, then there are power and houseboats that will be more comfortable and might expand your range of choice.

I don't want a pair of dumb motors either. Hate that noise and smell!

I can't comment on accomodations in the areas, but in terms of lifestyle I would choose any or all of the southeastern locations, from Newport on down. If possible, I would would plan to move between them on a semi-regular basis.

My ultimate goal as I get more comfortable, is to sail around the world. I want to live on the boat, but want to learn to handle it in all conditions and be a proper sailor. I know that will take time, but what better way not leaving the boat. Learning as much as I can. Hoping for the best.

[Graceunderway]

Originally Posted by hcurtis

I am not that old, so I still like seasons. I AM on a budget and will have a 40' yacht. What do you think about these places?

Portland, ME
Portsmouth, NH
Hyannis, MA
Peabody, MA
Boston, MA
Darien, CT
Orange, CT
Fairfield, CT
Westport, CT
Annapolis, MD
Newport, VA
Virginia Beach, VA
Williamsburg, VA
Wilmington, NC
Mt. Pleasant, SC
Charleston, SC
Sarasota/Venice, FL

We lived aboard in Virginia Beach. Nice place but bit expensive. Newport, VA is a good choice if you have a car. Charleston is busy and affordable place, and if you don't mind living in very busy place, this might be place for you. Now we live in Daytona Beach and it is very affordable and nice. Anything south of here is too crowded and too expensive. Here we are able to bike and use public transportation everywhere we go. We like that.

[Teachick]

I am brand new to houseboat living I need any advice I can get myself. I can tell you I have been researching NC I really like that area so far . I am from Racine WI originally but currently live in Duluth MN but have had it with the weather and facing divorce. I think some of the other places you picked are to humid.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Teachick

I am brand new to houseboat living I need any advice I can get myself. I can tell you I have been researching NC I really like that area so far . I am from Racine WI originally but currently live in Duluth MN but have had it with the weather and facing divorce. I think some of the other places you picked are to humid.

80% of the country is really humid in the summer. A lot of the remaining country is either really cold in winter and really hot in the summer (where you are, Phoenix as examples). So it's a trade-off. That leaves ...

the west coast, for the most part a very expensive place to live. The Oregon coast is more affordable, but from what I've seen of it (and I haven't seen the whole coast) at least in some places, getting out to sailable water might be pretty difficult. A lot of the Oregon coast is extremely rugged with great, crashing waves much of the time. Beautiful to look at, but OH BOY. Fishing boats go out but they have very powerful engines.

You have to decide what weather pain is the most tolerable for you.

Here on the central west coast of Florida, it isn't all THAT humid in the summer (central Florida and even the east coast is a different story) and you always have a breeze. But the west coast breeze isn't as strong as the east coast, and you don't have to go far inland for it to get very hot and humid in the summer.

The cost of living here is also extremely moderate. I do sail here in the summer, but I avoid sailng downwind because the wind moves with you and you feel no apparent wind and no real wind either. That's a hot way to sail. in the winter, it can be a blessing.

When it goes down to 45 here, that's REALLY cold. It does, rarely, go up to 93 in the afternoon in the summer, and even more rarely, 95 -- but where I used to live, St. Louis, we got these horrible heat waves in the summer where a typical day was 105º -- or even hotter.

The real weather flaw here (for me -- everyone's dislikes are personal) is that once it gets hot - 90 every day -- it doesn't cool off all that much at night. it "goes down" to 80, but that's for about 15 minutes around 5AM and then it starts going up again. So you'll want some kind of AC on your boat in the summer. Doesn't have to be built in.

It stays that hot because most of the Gulf is fairly shallow, so it warms up and stays warm. That's why it makes such a great incubator for hurricanes, although we haven't had a direct hit here in something like 80 years -- we've been brushed, and we've had tropical storms though.

Most of the country has unpleasant summers. But both the summers and the winters are better here than what I had any other place I lived, including Jacksonville, and Georgia, and New Jersey, and Illinois, and MIssouri.

[boating2go]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

The weakness in these definitions is that it does not address the live aboards that love to sail as frequently as possible and cruise as their time allows, but they are not independently wealthy or retired with a sufficient income and must continue employment that is tied to a fixed location. This is the most common condition for liveaboards and my condition for the first thirty years of my 42 years of livingaboard.

Well said.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Graceunderway

We lived aboard in Virginia Beach. Nice place but bit expensive. Newport, VA is a good choice if you have a car. Charleston is busy and affordable place, and if you don't mind living in very busy place, this might be place for you. Now we live in Daytona Beach and it is very affordable and nice. Anything south of here is too crowded and too expensive. Here we are able to bike and use public transportation everywhere we go. We like that.

I would certainly pick Sarasota over Venice. The entrance into Venice can be really dicey and you might have reason to want to get home. I prefer Bradenton, myself. Sarasota is more expensive than Bradenton, but the marina in Bradenton is beautiful and competitively priced.

I don't know about SC, but any other place on your list will be considerably more expensive than west central Florida.

[Hudson Force]

I'm exactly that old and I love seasons. I grew up in South Florida with Hurricane Season, Tourist Season, Afternoon Thunderstorm Season and that beautiful, glow in the west, Everglades Fire Season. I, too, would miss the seasons!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

I'm exactly that old and I love seasons. I grew up in South Florida with Hurricane Season, Tourist Season, Afternoon Thunderstorm Season and that beautiful, glow in the west, Everglades Fire Season. I, too, would miss the seasons!

Oh that's too funny! My parents resisted AC in south Florida for decades, but the Everglades fires finally forced them to get it.

[cranki]

Hi,

I moved aboard my 41 foot sailboat in Stamford Ct last July. Just got through my first winter and it was not the easier but it is do able. No iced docks. don't need to winterize boat as you will be heating it. Our electric is a set rate and total dockage and power runs me about 8K annually. I do not believe you can find a marina in any of the CT towns in the original post. There is a marina in Stratfod where you can live aboard, however, it is right under a major highway bridge thus constant road noise and grit. Plus it is inside a turntable RR bridge so pia for getting out. I know there are places you can love aboard farther east in CT and closer to NYC there are some marinas on the Hudson in NJ which seems like it would be a good option if working in Manhattan. I think you might be able to find a slip or mooring at City Island which is a cool spot and an easy commute into NYC.

I am one of those mentioned earlier in the thread, who is living on the boat and sailing on weekends and cruising for a couple of weeks in the summer....of course I plan to go cruising in a few years.

Good luck with your plans.