Looking for some advise, possible big life change

[Liming 1]

First of all, please let me apologize for the length of these series of questions, I will try to be as brief as possible. That being said, of;;owing is our current situation:

- Early 50's couple living in the upper Mid-west
- We have been power boating for 30+ years on inland lakes
- We own a 1999 400 Sundancer with diesels (1000 hours) fresh water
- We have taken the ASA courses 101, 103, 104, & 114 courses but minimal
additional experience
- Our long term goal (3-6 year retire) has been to gain more experience, live aboard
(38-40 Cat) and cruise. Not sure if it would be the Caribbean or beyond.

Opportunity:
- We potentially have the opportunity to take a transfer to Southeast Florida
- I would be working full time driving 3-4 days per week plus air travel 2-3 time
per month
- SO may or may not work

As you can probably imagine, there are countless directions that we can take. We are considering selling everything, bringing to Sundancer to FL and living aboard for a few years while we look for a Cat. Possibly selling the Sundancer as a fresh water boat in the Midwest and living in an apartment while we look for a Cat then live in a marina until retirement, etc.

It's an exciting time, but stressful as well. Any advise you have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[hpeer]

We lived on our big boat, 44’ monohull, every other week for 2-3 years before taking off, the last years before retirement. I think that was real helpful because when we left we had already mastered a lot of the “newness” of boat living. We were comfortable with our home. The additional tasks of moving our home were all we had to concentrate on.

But everyone is different.

[Liming 1]

Thanks,

I should also mention that we live aboard Thursday- Sunday, and 2-3 weeks during the summers.

[boatpoker]

Liming 1 ... take a look at the people around you my friend. You are on top of the world and Feeling "stress" !

99.999% of the people on the planet would be completely puzzled by anyone so blessed feeling "stress".

[Liming 1]

Boatpoker,
Thanks for the reality check, I agree. I did not mention that a huge part of the stress comes from needing to move out of a house we have lived in for almost 20 years, with way too much stuff. And potentially have to make the move in 5-6 weeks.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Liming 1

Boatpoker,
Thanks for the reality check, I agree. I did not mention that a huge part of the stress comes from needing to move out of a house we have lived in for almost 20 years, with way too much stuff. And potentially have to make the move in 5-6 weeks.

Been there, done that
Kids moved out of the house in 94' within 2 weeks we sold the 8,000sq.ft house as is including all furniture, paintings on the walls, four classic cars, four classic motorcycles and a 1000sq.ft workshop. Basically we took clothes, familiy photographs and left. My wife threw all my pinstripe suits in the garbage


As I looked in the rear view mirror I felt a tremendous sense of freedom and we have never regretted a minute.

[Chotu]

The only part that's a concern to me is this:

- I would be working full time driving 3-4 days per week plus air travel 2-3 time
per month

Is that full time driving around South Florida 3-4 days a week? That's going to stress you out beyond belief. The traffic around Miami is some of the worst in the country and between the 90 year old who isn't fit for the roads and the 28 year old who got to the USA last week and is driving for the first time in their life, it's fairly sketchy driving too.

[FabioC]

Originally Posted by Liming 1

Boatpoker,
Thanks for the reality check, I agree. I did not mention that a huge part of the stress comes from needing to move out of a house we have lived in for almost 20 years, with way too much stuff. And potentially have to make the move in 5-6 weeks.

I'll comment on this one from personal experience. Whatever you do, get rid of the "too much stuff" before you move, not after. In our case, a few years ago, we just packed everything and moved because of a job. Once things are in the boxes, making sense of "stuff" and getting rid of the unwanted becomes an herculean struggle, to the point that it affects your life. In hindsights, there is no reason worth it to put yourself in that situation. If you need more time, anything else can wait.

[JasonS]

Do it! Do it! Do it!

We are an early 50s couple too (OH and NJ). Moved to SE Florida 7 years ago. Took several years to find the right cat for us - multiple boat shows, trips to visit boats, boats that fell through, and then finally the right boat. Going on year 5 with our Manta 40 and love it. We had hoped to retire by 50... well, didn't make that, but we're making nice progress and it's my better half's birthday today.

We take the boat up and down the coast, trip to Bahamas, trips to Keys, and just enjoy what time we have on it. We rent a house with a dock just inside Hillsboro inlet. You might find renting a place with dock space is really close in price to a marina. Or rent someone's dock for $400 month ($10 foot) and rent an apt close by - there are some limited live a board dock rentals in Ft. Lauderdale that could work too. Miami tends to be $$$.

Good luck and hope to see you down here!

Jason
Manta 40

[Howler]

"I did not mention that a huge part of the stress comes from needing to move out of a house we have lived in for almost 20 years, with way too much stuff.

Get rid of it! Stuff becomes a heavy anchor and once you get past sentimental value, it's very liberating to own as little as possible. Plus it's good training for living on a sailboat where there's a space, weight and accessibility penalty to pay for each additional item you have onboard. There are plenty of charities or other useful ways to get rid of things efficiently.

For additional inspiration on getting rid of things, there's a slightly weird and controversial Netflix series (not an endorsement) called Marie Kondo :-).

[Russ]

Great plan just be aware

Cats cost lots more to keep at a dock as they use at dock unless you get a Gemini with 14’ beam
Once you are south of Ft Pierce dock fees go wayyyy up in price
Ditto entire west coast of FL
Don’t plan on anchorimg out. Between new rules, dingy commute and frequent hurricanes ain’t close to practical

Now living aboard in Melbourne FL. Best hurricane hole anywhere been here since 2000 and every cane with no problems. Costs $600 a month plus $200 lives board fee

Russ Davignon

[Ken Z]

consider, somewhat limited liveaboard slips, esp. for a cat. Expensive marina costs. Sell your fresh water boat, tons of boats for sale in so. fl.Get a apartment and probably a storage faculity, climate controlled is nice, sell all that is not related to your life change and store the rest so you can decide what to do with the rest in the future. Put things on craigs list ads etc. the value is selling stuff and gaining freedom. as said driving in so. fl. is wow, really . relax, plenty of boats to look at in fl. be cautious many land sharks. Check the experation date on your life time guarantee card lol.... go man go , avoid looking in your rear view mirror as you leave your house. good luck🤯😁😎🤩

[Huey2]

You need to watch draft, beam, and mast height. We had a cat with a 21' beam and a 62' mast. We sold and down sized for the west coat of Florida. With our new cat (13'1" beam) we have a selection of marinas (Fort Myers) and being able to cross from Fort Myers to Stuart & Fort Pierce (Mast height). You shouldn't have a problem on Florida's East Coast. Good luck with your search!

[RSH]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Liming 1 ... take a look at the people around you my friend. You are on top of the world and Feeling "stress" !

99.999% of the people on the planet would be completely puzzled by anyone so blessed feeling "stress".

If the man is feeling stressed, then that's a valid feeling for him. A major life change is stressful. Telling him he should feel bad for having stress does not solve his problems or help him deal; it just makes him feel bad for having them, which, in my opinion, is uncool and unhelpful.

So, helpful stuff:

We are a couple in our late 40's/early 50's, and we downsized about 90% last year once we became empty nesters. It is hard work. I'd recommend following Marie Kondo and the Minimalists, and, if necessary, watching a few episodes of Hoarders: Buried Alive (that's like ex-lax for decluttering-if that doesn't get you going, nothing will). My husband, who likes to collect things, found that he was able to let go of many things he didn't use anymore (like video games) by taking a picture of them and having the pictures.

I don't have a lot of advice about bringing your boat with you vs. buying one down there, other than the devil you know kind of thing.

Florida is a weird, weird place. We lived and went to graduate school there, and one of our kids goes to college there. Whatever you do, make sure you have options if you're not happy so you're not tied to one place. You may find you enjoy the neighboring states more, or you may find you want to buy a catamaran and sail off to the Exumas and never come back .

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Been there, done that
Kids moved out of the house in 94' within 2 weeks we sold the 8,000sq.ft house as is including all furniture, paintings on the walls, four classic cars, four classic motorcycles and a 1000sq.ft workshop. Basically we took clothes, familiy photographs and left. My wife threw all my pinstripe suits in the garbage


As I looked in the rear view mirror I felt a tremendous sense of freedom and we have never regretted a minute.

I could have written the same post.
20 years in a house in which we personally knew every nail.


Eh, it's just a house.