Just Starting Out

[gwatkinsr]

My wife and I are seriously thinking of living aboard once the last of the kids leave the nest. I know this is a broad question but what recommendations you any of you have on were to live and what countries are the most hospitable? We would more than likely not live in the US. Thanks inn advance for your insite and comments.

[boatman61]

Welcome to CF..
The most hospitable country I've found is Portugal... there are others lower down the scale that I'm comfortable with but... this place 'fits'...

[Celestialsailor]

Welcome to the forum. Kind of a loaded question. What are you looking for and what experience brought you to the thinking that the US is a bad place to liveaboard?

[goboatingnow]

Living in other countries typically required residency visas , have you got these? Your question is very broad and needs more explanation.

Dave

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, gwatkinsr.

[S/V Antares]

I would recoment a maximum of 25 Degrees north or south of the equator. Still a lot of options and good climate.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Everywhere has plusses and minuses - and those also depend on each person.

Likely considerations (in no particular order and not exhaustive):-

- Visa restrictions
- Weather (not simply how much sun, but also the stuff that affects boats - like Hurricanes!)
- Cost of living
- Local lingo
- How developed (or not)
- Location (getting there - and back!)

Most places have at least something going for them, if only for visiting.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by S/V Antares

I would recoment a maximum of 25 Degrees north or south of the equator. Still a lot of options and good climate.

+1 Who needs to be cold...

DoJ has some of the major considerations sussed out.

The last one can be major for older folks when proximity to kids and grandkids is important. I know several grrandmas that ache to see the grandkids more. Hard to do from Asia to NY...

[zeehag]

17.63552 latitude, -101.55402 longitude
is just as good as any to sail to--and remain in for a bit of time...only in winter, tho--summer is stormy season here....

[Kettlewell]

Too many variables for there to be one right answer for everyone. The East Coast of North America to the Caribbean is a pretty nice area for it. You can get everything from cold northern rocky coasts to the perfect sandy beach with nobody in sight, and then don't forget the quaint villages and interesting cities. Just the East Coast of the USA provides 2000 miles of cruising grounds, and then you've got Canada to the north, and the Bahamas and Caribbean to the south. Most of it is accessible by day hopping, with the occasional short offshore passage. But, maybe you are from Europe or Australia and that might very well change a lot depending on visa issues, etc.

[Cheechako]

Depends onwhat you like; seclusion? Wild areas? Parties? New cultures? Supermarket handy and car parking? The Caribe is very easy to live. The one thing about being on a boat.. you can always move! I have to say, no hardly ever bothers you most everywhere I've been.... unless you're asking for trouble. The only exceptions being the most populated areas in Southern Florida, San diego etc.

[Kettlewell]

What do you mean by "hospitable?"

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here and posting. There are many international folks on the forum and they'll do better at answering your questions than I.
I like Hawaii but Hawaii doesn't like liveaboards or boaters in general so this isn't the place to come. Besides, it's the U. S.
kind regards,