Retiring Aboard -- Ways & Means?

[ASIMPLELIFE]

My wife and I retired at 45 and have been cruising for two yrs now. Currently we are in Luperon, Dominican Republic. There are several cruisers and land lovers here living on a budget of 1,000 per mo. For instance 1br apt is 300 per mo. No electric bills because of solar and battery power. Medical is free, food is cheap. If you would like to fly in and check it out, we will be here until November. You can stay with us.

[nauticalnomad]

You will never go because you look for everything else to prevent your dreams from happening.. There are endless amounts of people wanting to cast off and set sail but cannot detach themselves from the system or land. I would never live in a house again. When i die they can untie me and scuttle me in my Hippokampos and let me sink into the sea. If you sell up and set sail you wont look back if your boat is the right type to make a home. And then you can always sell it and move off board when you have finished if thats what you want to do. Chances are you wont look back nor want to head to where you once called home. As you rebuild your neural pathways with destinations with each new one erasing the previous youll eventually come to some place cheap and senic where people still pay to come on holidays and rent hotels. You on the other hand are living there cheaply catching fish for food living healthily and chances are you wont get sick like your colleagues from stress or fast food. You will live healthy and prosperous till old age with not a care in the world. Do it in steps.
1. sell the house
2. buy a yacht
3. set sail to wherever (pick a destination of someone already there from this forum and sail there and say hello)
4. then when you have spent a bit of time where you are move on or leave the boat and find a different means of work to sustain the small amount of money you require to survive.
5. There are no shops at sea to spend money and at the moment you require 500dollars a week to actually get to work. so if you have no work to go to you are already 500 a week better off. Youll eat less food, youll eat cheaper and nutritious food, youll get daily exercise and your life will change to meet your needs.
6. If you really want to do it- You have to take the first step!

[DumnMad]

Originally Posted by Stratafinder

Someone inquired about doing contract work in another country. I have considered this and did some research. I am an engineering geologist who deals with civil engineers from the standpoint of the effects of geologic hazards/constraints on buildings and infrastructure. Most developing countries have no building codes or standards requiring compliance with geologic/seismic issues and engineering geologists don't really exist in these places, and I don't have the necessary experience in mining. Even with no work coming in, I am paying out to maintain both general and professional liability insurance as well as both California and Arizona licensing board fees, amongst other expenses.

Lot of your sort of work in Christchurch NZ. Most of the city's business centre was destroyed 2010 -11 and the rebuild is now started. Google it.
(Incidentally Rebelheart has a HC36 for couple and two children.)

[valhalla360]

We semi-retired 7yrs ago at 37. We were debt free and had work lined up before we pursued it so it's a little different.

- Honestly ask yourself if cruising is what your ultimate goal is or if you are just trying to escape a bad situation. If it's just to escape, it probably won't turn out well. Reading between the lines, I think I know the answer but not always easy to tell over the internet.
- If you live like an American overseas, it will cost the same as living in America. Be prepared for this.
- The inverse of this is you can live cheaply in America. If we anchored out most of the time, ate in, didn't take vacations, etc..., we could live on a $1000/month in the states. We wouldn't like the lifestyle but it can be done. And as others have mentioned, a cheap apartment can be cheaper and more convenient than living on a boat.
- 30-40' is a nice sweet spot for keeping a boat manageable but still having living space. Regardless, you will have to get used to living in close proximity 24/7.

I'm not trying to discourage you but as you have indicated making rash decisions in the past, really think it thru and consider the down side potential.

[zeehag]

tacomasailor...folks are restricted by insurance as to where they are cruisingand able to place boats in summer in furycame locations..
many who wanted to spoend summer in barrra were prevented by clauses in insurance policies regarding hurricaqne formation and latitude xx etc. yes i read them...lol
as for this...
¨If you are going to live aboard in Mexico year 'round you will need to move to the north Sea of Cortez and live in that incredible heat for the mid-July - mid-October timeframe in order to avoid most hurricanes. Even doing that, we were touched by the edges of three hurricanes in three years.¨
barra de navidad is under formation zone. the winds are not strongly developed nor is the storm fully formed. much less damage to boats in a protected lagoon in a marina than in baja even on hard. yes i knew souls destroyed in jimena in san carlos years ago. i have yet to meet anyone who was destroyed in barra during any furycame to date, boat wise. i know many who have remained here in barra in summertime for 17-25 years...i have a good base for comparison with other locales in mexico as i have researched well my summer places.
i felt much safer here this past summer than i did in mazatlan or in la cruz in the marinas for summers. yes i did live here thru 18 forming storms with names...it was non issue, totally.
formation zone yielded only 40 -45 kts winds whereas the formed storms were much more intense.
the gringo habit of going up into sea of cortez, aka golfo de california is overrated and not needed. HOWEVER, ALL the gringos do it, so it must be necessary.,..rodlmao. i dont follow. i go on my own with my well-researched info.

it does help to know what the named storms need to survive and thrive...many souls who are sailing these days have no idea what these will do or where they will go and what they need for growth and continuation. these bits of info are actual survival tricks needed in sailing long term, as well as in travelling the world.

[s/v Beth]

Originally Posted by Doodles

then think about the boat, because eventually you're going need/want to move back on land.

I don't disagree with your first point- learning to live thriftily on land is an important starting point. I used to live in Yosemite under the talus boulders for about 5 dollars a day. But I wonder if we really need to move back to land?
If we anchor out in a quite bay with minimal weather, and go to town twice week or so for groceries. Or I can pay a marina slip fee, why move to an apartment? I trust my boat and car just as much as I would trust a house in the burbs and a car. I guess it is slightly more incovient to shower etc, but if that is the lifestyle you choose to live(and die at) why move?

[zeehag]

not everyone goes to land to die. some souls remain on board and LIVE until death catches em. not a bad way to go .

[mausgras]

Originally Posted by Amnesia II

I'm in Australia, retired and solo, temporarily I hope, living on pension. I find it quite comfortable to live even in marinas...where I've been for 10 months while undergoing to prostate cancer treatment. Out of the marina situation in 2 weeks time will see me saving money and I guess, long term...a cruise up to Thailand will be enjoyable for many reasons.

At our age it's time to get on and do stuff....get out of the rat race!

Think again. Check with Centerlink. I found out today you can only be out of Australia for six weeks and they cut off your pension.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by zeehag

the gringo habit of going up into sea of cortez, aka golfo de california is overrated and not needed. HOWEVER, ALL the gringos do it, so it must be necessary.,..rodlmao. i dont follow. i go on my own with my well-researched info..

When was the last time you spent a Summer in the BLA area? I thought you stayed on the mainland for summers Zee?

[Hudson Force]

My wife and I have been living aboard relatively inexpensive sailboats on the US East Coast for well over forty years. The premiums that I have not paid for to keep hull coverage have added up to twice the value of my current Florida registered boat, although I do keep liability coverage. We have seasonally cruised up and down the coast from Maine to the Keys or Bahamas and often anchored for the last eleven years after retiring. We are easily able to find slips that we stay at for a couple months at a time for $300 to $600 per month in the Southeast US. I'm sending this post from a free dock in Jacksonville, Florida with the use of free Wifi aboard my boat....
.
We have not owned anything that's not aboard our boat for the last 12 years. There's a great freedom in no debt and limited ownership of stuff.

[zeehag]

third day--i do remain on mainland.i have done baja in campers on golfo side..i have friends there in campos,l some with an dsome without boats. all with land.
i was not impressed. sorry.
any plans i have cruising that might include golfo de california include only haul and work in a yard of least price, perhaps guyamas, perhaps mazatlan. depends on boat and my tolerance for desert life, which is very very low.

[MBLittle]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

My wife and I have been living aboard relatively inexpensive sailboats on the US East Coast for well over forty years. The premiums that I have not paid for to keep hull coverage have added up to twice the value of my current Florida registered boat, although I do keep liability coverage. We have seasonally cruised up and down the coast from Maine to the Keys or Bahamas and often anchored for the last eleven years after retiring. We are easily able to find slips that we stay at for a couple months at a time for $300 to $600 per month in the Southeast US. I'm sending this post from a free dock in Jacksonville, Florida with the use of free Wifi aboard my boat.... . We have not owned anything that's not aboard our boat for the last 12 years. There's a great freedom in no debt and limited ownership of stuff.

We have been to that exact dock

The mall ain't bad and when the bars do live music right there, it's a blast.

Enjoy JAX!

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by zeehag

third day--i do remain on mainland.i have done baja in campers on golfo side..i have friends there in campos,l some with an dsome without boats. all with land.
i was not impressed. sorry.
any plans i have cruising that might include golfo de california include only haul and work in a yard of least price, perhaps guyamas, perhaps mazatlan. depends on boat and my tolerance for desert life, which is very very low.

Nothing to be sorry about Zee. Our favorite places in the northern sea were island anchorages with little to no gringo traffic. People like different things all the time, heck some people even like El Cid in Mazatlan...not me too Gringoville.

Back the topic at hand, once people start realizing just how much money they blow on "stuff" man you can live cheaply on a boat just about anywhere! Our family of 4 cruised for 4yrs in Mexico on about $1200/mo...now we live on our Morro Bay mooring for about $2200/Mo. We find the HUGE added expense is the two car!

[Amnesia II]

Originally Posted by mausgras

Think again. Check with Centerlink. I found out today you can only be out of Australia for six weeks and they cut off your pension.

I found out today....!

Age Pension
You can get Age Pension for the whole time you are overseas, regardless of whether you leave Australia temporarily or permanently.

[Gelfling]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

My wife and I have been living aboard relatively inexpensive sailboats on the US East Coast for well over forty years. The premiums that I have not paid for to keep hull coverage have added up to twice the value of my current Florida registered boat, although I do keep liability coverage. We have seasonally cruised up and down the coast from Maine to the Keys or Bahamas and often anchored for the last eleven years after retiring. We are easily able to find slips that we stay at for a couple months at a time for $300 to $600 per month in the Southeast US. I'm sending this post from a free dock in Jacksonville, Florida with the use of free Wifi aboard my boat....
.
We have not owned anything that's not aboard our boat for the last 12 years. There's a great freedom in no debt and limited ownership of stuff.

AWESOME!