Giving up the ranch in Colorado and moving to a live aboard sailboat in the Keys

[fjwiley1]

Billy....I have enjoyed this Thread. As you can see I live in North East Florida and as CaptForce mentioned, there are many great areas to live. However, I too love the Keys and especially Marathon. If you had the opportunity to go down and rent a house for a week through one of the many property managements, you could travel around looking at the school nearby Boot Key harbor as well as available boats. They say their school is a good school. You and your son would like Marathon.
The economy in the Keys has been down over the past few years but is on the rebound although slowly.

[fjwiley1]

Billy, in addition, your son might enjoy the Boy Scout Camp Sawyer just below Marathon past Bahia Honda Key. Not to mention the Girl Scout Camp is next door but at age 11 he probably wouldn't care.........

[brutb]

Billy, you could consider the Tampa Bay area as boating and liveaboards abound. It is a nice 1 or 2 day sail to the keys. Jobs are or should be more plentiful, housing some what cheaper and lots of nice folks to me and enjoy the water with. On the east coast try Palm Bay, Cape Canaveral area (I am there), Daytona Beach. I have also considered the north coast of Fl (Pensacola) as a great area to sail and live. There are many areas to sprout your cruising wings through out Florida. The suggestion to buy a small RV would allow you to travel the state and look over the job market, schools, marinas, and as you have said the night life. No matter where you go on the coasts of Florida you will find excellent fresh seafood. I am slightly older than you and have found living on a boat (39'er) that we have room and have a great time finding new areas to visit. One consideration you might look into is a center cockpit sailboat. This will allow you and your son an area that is yours and one that is his. Your son is getting to the age that he will need his own space and privacy. One of the boats you might find roomy and in your price range is a Morgan IO 41. Slow, but roomy and lots of storage space.

Keep us informed of your ideas and progress on the transition from cowboy to full time sailor.

[sailpower]

Originally Posted by Viturina

Hi - so I don't know if this would be of interest to you or not, but what I've been doing for the past 22 years is partnering with people to create either full time income (with benefits) or part time income so that people can live aboard, or travel, or do whatever they want to do with their time. You can pm me at jenhagemann@mac.com if you want more details.

Why not post a link to your website so we can view your program?

Thanks.

[kirsi]

I live on my 32' sailboat in Stuart Florida and have been here a year. I debate whether to live on land or on my boat. My boat is set up for sailing/ cruising/liveaboard in that order. It is not that comfortable for living on board. It is best to decide what you will use the boat for before purchasing it. I love my boat, but salivate when I get on some of the larger more comfortable boats. But, I can sail close to the wind, and single hand it easily.

Loggerhead in Stuart has reasonable slip fees. I pay around $500 a month and that includes sewage, water, cable tv, internet, a swimming pool and a jaccuzzi. If you want to swim in the ocean, you can drive to the beach in 20 minutes.

There are other who escaped from Colorado and there is a couple raising their daughter, amongst our community. The schools are top rate. It is walking distance from downtown which has lots of activities and a night life, though music shuts down at 11 pm. You can bicycle to the grocery, West Marine, Home Depot. There are full time liveaboards who live here without a car. There are very reasonable places to eat and drink. There are lots of snowbirds, but the crowd is a mixed age group, and lots of fun. As far as cultural diversity - mostly white.

Stuart has a Sea Scouts program, and there is a local sailing club. It is about 2 days to get to the Bahamas if there is a weather window. There are hurricane places to be pulled out nearby. We have social activities, and people do live here year round. Some use window air conditioning, some use hatch drop ins. After a year, you get used to the heat, and then you get cold when it is in the 60's and have to use a heater. LOL. Being on the river, I have a beautiful breeze and don't always use my air conditioning. Today is 85 and I am sitting in my boat with a box fan and all my hatches open, loving the weather. I call it my million dollar view.

There are jobs. It does take some time to get one. Many people do work and live on their boats. Many run their own marine repair business.

Many boats here sell on craigslist. I know of several boats that have been for sale and they say they have sold quickly.

Now, living on a boat is not like living on land. In addition to my slip rent, I have my boat insurance, which in Florida is high, and I also budget at least $300 a month for boat repairs, and my boat has been recently restored, but things are always breaking on a boat even when it sits in a slip. You have to have the bottom cleaned $60 a month if lucky. You have to pay for pumpouts. Things break more in a boat than on land and they cost 3 times as much. You have to be handy or you will see a very expensive repair bill. You have to move 3 things to get to the item you need. It is 1/2 a mile walk to the showers. You have to be prepared that a boat will wake you and things will fall over at the worst time. You drink more because we party more. You have instant friends and resources for all the things breaking on your boat.

I sometimes think about weather to move to land. A 3 bedroom house can still be bought here for $80,000 in a decent neighborhood. It would go up in price. I would have to work harder to meet people, and get invited to parties. I might see my neighbors once a week rather than several times a day. Water does not have to be refilled, and the head works almost all the time. You don't walk around the house wondering where that smell is coming from, and most conversations don't turn to boat repairs. But I have not convinced myself that I would be happier.

Good luck in your search.

[JPA Cate]

Hey, Kirsi,

Great post!!

Ann

[sillybilly]

Ok for some reason I have missed threads for a week sorry.
Yes I am considering the Keys BUT I have gone to three different websites and seen jobs available I would be willing to do YES I hear the part about they might not hire a 61 year old . BUT ah I'll bet ya this 61 year old is more dependable than most if not many younger kids.

[sillybilly]

Gosh I have to scan back and read more of these. My son is in Boy Scouts here in Colorado so I can imagine the shared stories they would have.

[sillybilly]

I have and am considering a Morgan 44.
Please understand I like many of you suggest may not stay in the Keys once I sprout my water wings

[sillybilly]

Kirsi,
That was very interesting reading. Certainly food for thought. I have lived on land and hey lets do the next chapter and adventure. I back east owned a large victorain house with three apartments in it and I lived in the carriage house. I did all the repairs and there always were. The property taxes were $ 8,000 a year. Here in Colorado 75 acres is only $1,100 a year. Anyway my point is any place to live is worth working on to keep it nice.

[sillybilly]

Ok since I am playing ketch up oppps catch up here is the next one.
I live here for about $1,500 a month for everything except the unexcepted and I own the house. It IS up for sale on craigslist.
Someone out there give me some numbers on cost of living on a boat.
Go ahead scare the hell out of me not please

[sillybilly]

Sorry for the many posts one after the other but well!!!!
I am here to learn listen and get a feel for what I hope I am about to do through the experience of all of you.
I really do not wish to back out of this idea. I will go broke down the road where I live now. That is because there are NO jobs exceptable and or with out driving far on a dirt road and with fule prices going up NO it just does not make sense. Darn typos

[sillybilly]

Ok here is one more . I am living on my stocks and a bad word MARGIN. Anyway if I sell my TLk in Colorado I have to pay them about $16,000 in capital gains If I sell in Florida nothing. I also would have no property taxes in Florida.
So my point is no capital gains and no property taxes could be a plus

[skippy]

i sure don't blame you one bit!!! you will find a lot of advice on here and might need 5# of salt to take it with(instead of a grain). but there are a lot of experienced people and a lot of knowledge to find on this forum. enjoy! a single shoe doesn't fit 100 people the same!

[sillybilly]

Very true