Dreaming about retiring on a Live-aboard too!

[cees klumper]

Hi all,

Like so many others, my wife and I took up the plan to retire on a live-aboard, December last year. You see, we want to retire to Key West but don´t want to invest in a house because, at some point, realization will dawn that such an investment is only temporary due to rising sea levels. So the alternative, and a romantic one at that, is to live on a boat. Earlier this year we bought a slip in a live-aboard marina on the edge of Key West, so aside from the boat we´re all set.
Then my new job is taking me to Santa Monica next fall, and since there are lots of marinas in the LA area, some of which allow live-aboards, we will buy a suitable boat then as soon as we have secured a live-aboard slip, and already start living aboard, some 5-7 years ahead of my actual retirement.
We´ve been looking at boat types and, for us, it seems the Europa style trawler will suit us best. Our slip in Key West accomodates up to a 55 ft boat, so there will be plenty of choice. Since I like to do mechanical maintenance and other handy work, we´ll be looking for an older boat in good condition, and then just keep it that way, so depreciation should be relatively limited as compared to a new or newer boat.
Anyway, look forward to learning and contributing here. We´re Dutch, live in France at the present time, Switzerland until last Spring and before that Amsterdam, but moving (back for me) to the US end of next year.