Where do You Live aboard, and Why?

[Stakaman]

I lived onboard with family of 4 in Greece -Crete (Chania marina )for 5 years and recently I moved to my home village petite fishermans harbor at Sfakia south Crete .
There aren't any fees for anchor for locals and the water supply is also free for me .
Also those winter days when the sun it's enough to charge my batteries there are many cousins and friends stores to plugin...
The climate at Crete is unique for live onboard with over 280 -300 days per year with sunshine.
The local ingredients , veggies are excellent quality and at good prices, fish is plenty enough to that area also and afternoon fishing hours always pay back .
I am starting a diving center combined with many more activities (Mountain biking , hiking ,climbing and Bungee jumping)next season ,so stay tuned for more details soon if that's aloud from the forums rules !!

[UNCIVILIZED]

This is a topic which has my curiosity piqued as well. Especially as while when I lived aboard in SoCal, the weather was idyllic, there really weren't a whole lot of local cruising options. So for me, having such nearby definitely plays a role in the quality of living onboard. And being able to find inexpensive (work)shop space nearby is another key item. As there's only so much that one can build, or repair, in the cockpit, or on a dock finger. Especially if you have snooty neighbors of the sort who believe that all work on boat should be done in a yard by people whom they pay to do such things. Ugh! I abhor that mentality!!! Sailors have been self reliant since the dawn of time, & killing that off, drives many aspects of seamanship towards extinction. Much like so called "navigation".

Any way, thanks to those who've replied to this thread thusfar, & those who follow. One thing I've always loved about sailing is the sense of community.

[rourkeh]

Currently in St Maarten after having sailed all of the Bahamas and Caribbean.
This island is definitely the best for a lot of reasons. Duty free island so no duties on imports like almost all the others. This keeps the cost of living way down. Most island nations have duties on everything they import, from 25% - 80%. Great infrastructure like power and water, it is a real pain when the power is out all the time. The marina I am at even has back-up generator so we never lose power. The best availability of food and supplies of any island I have seen. They have numerous large grocery stores with both American and European foods at prices similar to North America. Over 400 restaurants, a lot of them very good and not expensive. Big multi plex movie theater, big box stores, marine stores etc. The best part is immigration on Dutch side allows you to stay 3 months on tourist visa, and French side allows 6 months so no hassles being here. Close to a ton of other islands for excursions and travel, and the best airport in the Caribbean with direct flights to North America and Europe. If you are looking to try and live on $500 a month or something ridiculous stay in America, if you want to be in the islands this is the least expensive best equipped of them all.

[dwedeking2]

Liveaboard in Jacksonville FL. In the area for work (for the next few years). If I didn't have to work I'd definitely rather be on the West Coast of Mexico. I lived there for a few years and am having a hard time adjusting to being back in the States.

[boatman61]

Currently in Portugal (10years now)..
Cheap food, baccy n beer.. like Keno I can get a meal for a few euro.. dont need a second mortgage.. the cost of one expresso in the UK will get me 5 here of much better quality.. beer from 90cents to 1.50euro/33cl bottle depending on the place.. a 2 course meal with good local brandy and coffee around 12euro.. marina comes to 900euro per six months inc water and elec..
Sun 320days of the year and 16c is a cold day..
Vive la Portugal.. 😀

[redhead]

We're here in the Pacific Northwest about 200 yards south of the Canadian border. We've been here for 2.5 years - we bought our boat in British Columbia and needed to bring her to the States and be relatively near chandleries, skilled workmen, etc in order to fix her up after years of neglect. Living "in" the project whilst trying to refit has definitely slowed things down as has the long dark winter. On the other hand seals swim by the boat regularly, eagles perch on top of my mainmast and the people are warm and friendly and on the last day of July it's 73F.

We plan on going north to Alaska so staying here until we do just makes a lot of sense - WARNING: ask me in February and for sure you will get another answer....

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Currently in Portugal (10years now)..
Cheap food, baccy n beer.. like Keno I can get a meal for a few euro.. dont need a second mortgage.. the cost of one expresso in the UK will get me 5 here of much better quality.. beer from 90cents to 1.50euro/33cl bottle depending on the place.. a 2 course meal with good local brandy and coffee around 12euro.. marina comes to 900euro per six months inc water and elec..
Sun 320days of the year and 16c is a cold day..
Vive la Portugal.. ��

No trick photography, this 2L bottle of beer cost 19.25 kuna in Croatia or $2.75 USD and it's imported. But Italy is still cheaper where a 500ml beer (approx 16oz) will cost only .53 cents.

Some other favorites would be a plate of mussels at a nice restauant 8 euros, a Quattro Formaggi (4 cheese Med pizza) 6 euros at a nice place and it'll feed me for three meals.

And I'll be filling up with some duty free diesel this week in Montenegro for €2.23 per gallon or $2.71 USD.

'Just Phil and I trying to open up some possibilities for other members.

[84SeaRay]

In Longboat Key FL. Living aboard for 2 months now (hot ones) and wanted to start out at a cushy place . This is a resort...but realize I don't need all of that. About $25 a day but it's going to go to around $14

[jferline]

After a routine of being a marketing director in a multinational and working at least 16 hours a day and traveling every week with a 6 months old baby and a 4 year old boy I felt like this was not life. I was living out on weekends up to when I was so tired and exhausted that not even that I could do anymore. We changed our whole life and moved from Brazil to Caribbean, bought a boat and have been living aboard for a month now. We want to go world wide! if you want to know more details you can see our blog #Life_Somewhere➳ - ♦ ➳ Travel, lifestyle & sailboat with two Kids♦ ➳

[Chubs]

Can you share the name of the marina? Thanks

[RickG]

We are full-time on the Chesapeake in Deale, MD. I am still working and head to work before the traffic gets bad. I can get home in the afternoon in time to go for a sunset sail. Weekends we have a lot of cruising options. Annual contract for a 43’ sailboat is $4,900 plus $150/month liveaboard fee and electric. High speed wifi from onspotwifi.com is included. I wish we had access to a workshop. We are happy.

Cheers, RickG

[kevallwhitley]

RickG,
What residency issues did you encounter, if any, for living aboard in Maryland? We eventually want to full time live aboard but have read that some states are funny when there is no physical "land" address. I also have read that some states don't allow a commercial property, such as a marina, to use as a resdience. Just curious.

We live in Virginia and would love to live aboard on the Chesapeake Bay or a river running into the bay. We have 5-7 years before we realistically will pursue this dream...need to get our 2 kids through college and will be able to retire by then. Any suggestions on how to declare residency while living aboard would be appreciated.

[RickG]

Originally Posted by kevallwhitley

RickG,
What residency issues did you encounter, if any, for living aboard in Maryland? We eventually want to full time live aboard but have read that some states are funny when there is no physical "land" address. I also have read that some states don't allow a commercial property, such as a marina, to use as a resdience. Just curious.

We live in Virginia and would love to live aboard on the Chesapeake Bay or a river running into the bay. We have 5-7 years before we realistically will pursue this dream...need to get our 2 kids through college and will be able to retire by then. Any suggestions on how to declare residency while living aboard would be appreciated.

The most important thing to know about Maryland is that they expect you to pay 5% use tax, capped at $15K, on your boat if it spends more than 90 days a year in Maryland waters. You do not get credit for tax paid in another state. We bought our boat in Virginia, but we paid Maryland sales tax because it was going to reside in Maryland. Our boat is USCG documented, but Maryland still wants its 5%.

As for physical vs. mailing address, they can be different under Federal, Maryland and Virginia law. Our mailing address is in Virginia. Our physical address is our address at the marina; check with your prospective marinas for the address to use. For us, it was the marina address + "Rear" and our slip number. They physical address is what is on our electric account, but the mailing address is where the bill gets sent. We have not filed taxes yet as liveaboards, but expect the same will follow with separate physical and mailing addresses. All Maryland agencies have been happy to take our money under these terms.

We are headed south for the winter. We are seriously considering moving our residency to Florida. We would have registration expenses for our boat and vehicles, but no double taxation. St. Brendan's Isle has a helpful description of that process. We think that could be a good approach for our 2019 cruising plans.

https://www.sbimailservice.com/becom...rida-resident/

You should talk to your tax professional about the best residency approach for you.

Cheers, RickG

[sandrunner]

Originally Posted by Alberg30Shill

Anchorage Marina in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Big city living and everything you need across the street (Safeway, Ace Hardware and West Marine!), great employment in DC metro area, great restaurants and the Chesapeake Bay to sail on :-) You can buy a 35 ft slip for under $10,000 with quarterly coop fees of $150!!! The British Royal Navy declared it the best deep water harbor in the world when they found it and never found one better. It's a hurricane hole too, useful on the East Coast.

This is from their site for the 35' slip (available ones range from 10-25k)

Owner Quarterly Charges CO-OP Fee $451.00 Metered Electric $40 minimum Owner Live-a-boards $40

That's a heck of a lot more than 150- are they rapidly raising fees?

[boatpoker]

Live aboard at Port Credit Yacht Club (just west of Toronto) for 23 years with occasional soujourns through the Great Lakes and some winters in Bahamas.
Why do I live there .... because I can