The problem here is not the size of the
budget . . . even MarkJ has acknowledged straining
his admittedly, sizable
budget.
The budget is nothing more than a "willingness" to live a certain lifestyle and everything works
out fine until a change of attitude or an occurance disturbs that acceptable lifestyle. That "change"
in attitude or "occurance" can happen wherever you are . . . it can follow you.
So the problem is not only whether or not you have funds to
weather a disaster, but also
whether or not you have "support" to
weather the disaster.
If I move from Akron,
Ohio to Atlanta
Georgia, I can expect certain "supports" to likewise follow me.
If I drive my camper to Prescott, Arizona and have problems. I can either seek aid, get help from various
agencies, or even get a job to help me through, to get me back home . . . if I wish.
The support and aid a person can expect within the country of his/her choice can usually be expected and available
anywhere in that country. In my case, it's one of the nice things about America.
America has 5000 miles of
east coast America, 3000 of "American" coast on the
Great Lakes, 1500 miles of
west coast,
5000 miles of
Alaska coast and the Hawaiian Islands to
cruise and enjoy. Almost 15,000 miles of cruisable
water.
Additionally, I'd have
Puerto Rico, U.S.
Virgin Islands, U.S.
Bermuda, Dry Totoga and a number of other places to
cruise if I wish. GOOD . . . SAFE . . . ENJOYABLE . . . SAFE(politically speaking) . . . and . . . VERY BUDGETABLE
(even on the short), cruising. ALL available to me.
THERE'S so much cruising for me within American waters, that I could cruise a couple lifetimes and still have
more to go . . . more to see. if I slip and hurt myself, I can find myself in a V.A. hospital. If I run out of
funds, I can ask for food-stamps or some other form of aid, or I can look for a job and earn some
money until I
can continue my cruise. An American can't do this in a foreign port. Virtually no one can do this in a port foreign
to their own.
If I were British, I'd be looking at this from a British viewpoint . . . French, from a French viewpoint . . .
Spanish, from a Spanish viewpoint and . . . . Argentinean from an Agentine viewpoint.
I don't personally care if I don't drink Champaign in Champaign or I don't eat squid in
Japan.
I don't care if the waiters in Grand Rapids, Michigan speak "American" or the waitress in Augusta,
Maine, understands
my questions about the "strange" things on their menu? If I need a French-speaking waiter, I'll cross Lake erie
to
Canada. If I need a Spanish waiter, I'll cruise to southern
Florida.
At 60 years of age, 10 or so years(15 or more if I'm lucky and in health) is not even enough time to fully enjoy
and discover the
Great Lakes, let alone the
east coast of America or the world's ports-of-call.
Any trips down the east coast or on the intercoastal will to keep warm and would be just a little more icing
on the cake for me. If I don't want to make the trip, I'll stay in one of those northern
Ohio hotels that are booked
up in the summer and near-empty in the
winter . . . and probably enjoy it . . . immensely.
I will pick the cruising I can truly budget, afford, be relatively safe and still offer a lifetime of fun and enjoyment.
I'm not about to stick my neck into what might be a $2000 a month enterprise on a $500 a month budget plus a lot of hope,
for the sake of seeing more foreigners than I care to see or eating more strange foods that my body can cope with.
I will look forward to posts by MarkJ(and others) about travels, good times and smiling pictures while daydreaming
about faraway places that I'll probably never see.
I will wince at posters who shoot their budgets in the worse of places, I will be empathetic to those who endure unforseen
disasters and I'll wish there was available help to those who get caught-up in areas of political turmoil or what appears to
be truly unfair circumstances because of a lack of funds.
BUT . . . sorry . . . I'll be sitting in my
cockpit, sipping my
Rum & Coke and enjoying my life of cruising . . . on my budget.