Hello! Newcomer here looking for advice!

[rafacond]

Hello there,
I'm going to introduce myself first to this amazing community.
I'm a 27yo guy from São Paulo/Brazil who has quite a lot of experience as a backpacker.
I traveled all around Europe (Western)/Americas(US - Florida and East Coast, Canada - Toronto, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Belize, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile). I've been to Egypt, Israel and India as well. And a lot of 4x4w hard terrain drive and rallying all around Brazil.
I like to do trekking, diving, camping, so I have quite the adventurous spirit.
Recently I've been to Abrolhos-BA which is a archipelago 45 miles off the coast. A place to see whales and do a bit of diving. The place was amazing, but what most caught my attention and made me think a lot about my life as a whole, was the fact that we sailed all the way from the dock to a marine reserve, where there is no hotels so we slept on a 32 feet sailboat over 3 nights of pure joy.
That was last year, but that life-changing experience made me realize i want to dedicate my life to became a sailor.
Most non-brazilians probrably don't know Amyr Klink, he has been quite the influence on me since I was a little boy. His adventures include going from Brazil to Africa on a Rowboat called "lampada" and the circumnavigation around the Antarctic, back in the 80's when all of it was potentially life-threatening.
So, I'm financially comfortable (not enough to just trow money away), I have a fixed income from investments in real-state. And i have a savings account, so together with the money I can get from selling my car, I can buy a blue water ocean cruiser to enjoy with my friends and family.
Buying the boat in Brazil is not a possibility, with an average of 40%VAT over imported products and the cost of shipping it from Europe or North America, it would make it financially impossible.
The good news is I have Portuguese citizenship, that means I can buy the boat in Europe/North America, register under Portuguese flag, using my relatives address, and bring it to Brazil.
I already looked up a sailing school in Croatia that will teach both basic/advanced skills, Navigation sailing and then I plan on training around the Mediterranean/Black Sea for 6 months before venturing into open ocean.
I'll start the the course ASAP with ultra-sailing in Croatia, so my departure is due to middle of the spring season.

So now is when I start asking for help.

First and foremost: My budget starts at US$ 250.000,00 and can't go over much
Equipment-specific related to the boat I should start looking for:
1. <42ft. or <50ft. keeping in mind possible severe weather conditions and long therm storage. Keel type?
2. Rig Configuration, what kind of gear I should look for? Winches: Electronic? User-friendly?
3. Engine Power and fuel consumption (assuming its a diesel) => Independent Power Generator? Possible upgrade to solar panel and/or wind turbine?
4. Central Air Conditioner? (I do want the comfort, and some places around this tropical country is a living hell.)
5. Safety equipment?
6. Easy docking?
7. Nav. Standard equipment? Radar/VHF/Auto-pilot and so on...
8. Bow thruster?
9. Holding tanks/fuel capacity?
10. Water Maker?
11. Special anti-fouling painting for endurance possibly over a year w/o maintenance?
Whatever else I might be forgetting...

Other aspects to consider:
I don't intend to spend nothing more with decoration/repairs/refurbishment.
I have time to come up with a list of good deals, since the ship is due to be bought in September.
I would also prefer the "owner layouts" prioritizing space and comfort over sheer passenger capacity.
Perfect for me:
1 Master en-suite cabin with head and 1 room with bunker beds, 1 washroom. 1 tiny office. Lots of space for the kitchen/saloon.
Keep in mind a lot of possible bad weather conditions and overall haul/equipment stress on the ship until I reach the maintenance dock here.
What's your take on this situation? I never faced this before nor met someone willing to do it. But it should work as long as I don't skip upgrading any essential long-range/safety equipment.

That'd be all for now.

I appreciate any extra information you can provide,
Yours sincerely, and thank y'all,
Rafa

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
It's good to have you here.
This is just my opinion so treat it as such. I think it is much too early for you to be looking at what boat to buy. I would take some sailing courses and get involved with a sailing club to experience different types of boats before getting tied to decisions about what boat and what gear to have aboard.
Go aboard as many boats as you possibly can and sail on a few so that you know what you want and get some experience with a boat you might be interested in buying. Then get the very smallest boat that meets your needs. You'll be thankful for that advice once you start replacing boat equipment.

[Therapy]

Order a Maverick 440.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Rafa.

[sparrowhawk1]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Aloha and welcome aboard!
It's good to have you here.
This is just my opinion so treat it as such. I think it is much too early for you to be looking at what boat to buy. I would take some sailing courses and get involved with a sailing club to experience different types of boats before getting tied to decisions about what boat and what gear to have aboard.
Go aboard as many boats as you possibly can and sail on a few so that you know what you want and get some experience with a boat you might be interested in buying. Then get the very smallest boat that meets your needs. You'll be thankful for that advice once you start replacing boat equipment.

I second that. Other people can give you advice but you won't know what's important to you until you get out there and do it. Trying to buy your dream boat with virtually no experience is almost impossible. Smaller boats are also much more forgiving and if you decide this lifestyle is not for you it's easier to get out of