Hard to decide

[island princess]

I'm on the fence , I've lived about aprox. 5 to 6 mo each year sick 2013 , got a 38 ft c/c pearson 1985, all refit over last 4 or 5 yrs. Very little left to do. To my boat.
That being said , I'm having a hard time letting go of my furniture , trade tools which I not longer use at 73 yrs old , won't to live aboard more mos or full time , can probably do till I'm about 85 yrs old I'm in good health ova all. Its so hard to LET GO of stuff. My kids are all ova the country and I'm a widower of 11 yrs.
Should I let go of the land belongings n house , I could rent in my old age if needed. Or keep the home to use in hurricane season in the summers , n boat in the so. In winters . Or just LET GO live aboard full time for now , homes in n. Ohio , boats in s.c.
What do you guys think ???, appreciate any help or input , thanks so much.

[island princess]

Let change that been about as stated in first post since 2012, 6 yrs on n off 6mo. At a time approx. Thanks again .

[Dennis.G]

If you can afford it, keep house but go sailing for 6 months or longer. You will find either you can let go, or if you really need the stuff.

[Homeward13]

I'm facing the same problem, not sure what to do with all my blacksmithing tools (anvil, tongs, forge, ect.). Seems like something that could come in handy for repairs but unsure of where to store them!


I am also from Ohio and thinking about sailing within the next couple years. Same pickle.

[JPA Cate]

To Island Princess and Homeward13, I agree with Dennis G: if you can afford it, lock up your stuff, and rent out the house. Come back to it, if needed. As long as you can maintain it, or have it maintained for you, it is likely to appreciate over time.

As to the stuff we accumulate, well, there's whole big sections of our life that stuff represents to us. Most people feel okay with having sold it on for others to use, once they've bit the bullet, but still, it can be emotionally hard. That's actually normal, and a CF Google Custom Search (under the search button) will reveal what others have written. It is not universally hard, some folks seem to enjoy it, but I found it hard.

Island Princess, I don't know how it is for elders, in Ohio, but there are areas in North Carolina, outside of Asheville, that seem to be quite elder friendly, if that's important to you.

Ann

[RaymondR]

You need to go out and find a "gold digger" to marry. That'll take care of the house, cars and pretty well everything else you need to get rid of by the time you get all the legal fees paid. Before doing so form a company under an assumed name in say Bermuda and transfer the boat to it. Then you will be free and clear of all encumbrances and can go cruising with peace of mind.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Homeward.

[Homeward13]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Homeward.

Thank you! Team work makes the dream work! Any help is much appreciated!

[Homeward13]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

You need to go out and find a "gold digger" to marry. That'll take care of the house, cars and pretty well everything else you need to get rid of by the time you get all the legal fees paid. Before doing so form a company under an assumed name in say Bermuda and transfer the boat to it. Then you will be free and clear of all encumbrances and can go cruising with peace of mind.

I've got the nurse practioner wife to keep us going but we will be sailing on savings only, with her working only when we start to run dry..

[406Columbia]

I'm certainly not toward the latter years of life but stuff like trade tools is just stuff. Chances are if you haven't used it in years you don't really need it. The wife and I have land and just over years you end up with so much stuff.

It's all good useful stuff, just not needed. I've got more trailers, tools, generators, spare lumber, welders, saws, etc. Extra clothes, tents, etc. But......If we haven't used it in years were just cleaning house.

We rather have more time, more cash and less stuff that's not used. What's better than travel and a adventure ? My uncle once told me to travel light. He said pack half what you think you need, then half of that and three times the money.

[boatman61]

Yup... Jeans and T shirts are for sale worldwide..

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Yup... Jeans and T shirts are for sale worldwide..

Fact and often times your well served to buy local stuff anyway so you blend in a bit better.

[roverhi]

If you want to cruise full time, do it. You can move the boat around the world or just up and down the East Coast to avoid bad weather. Renting the house can have issues but hiring a competent rental management agency to take care of it while you are gone will hopefully take care of that. You can wall in a portion of the garage/house to store your tools and personal stuff. Try out the cruising for a while and if it works think about selling the property. The cruising lifestyle seems like an idyllic situation but few people stick it out for the long term that's why I say try it before selling your house. For what it's worth when you get too decrepit to live on the boat you'll probably be too far gone to live in the house in any case. You'll be going into a managed care situation or live with one of your children.

I'm the same age as you but wife will probably outlive me so I keep a boat to putter on and sail occasionally. No problems with being on the boat and actually feel it's good for my physical and mental state but I'm not getting any younger. Nothing on the horizon that will keep me off the boat but at our age our health could crash in a moment. We won't live forever. If I was a bachelor would do what your thinking. As it is have been married for going on 45 years and wife has no interest on boat living. Will stick with keeping the boat as a hobby with occasional short cruises.

[JPA Cate]

Hello, again, Island Princess, if you don't mind, I'd like to add a little to what I wrote. I did have a hard time letting go of "stuff", but two things bothered me--if selling it, I wouldn't get near what it had cost (remembering saving up before buying things?), and the letting go of my history with said stuff. For me, I found it was a consolation (I gave it all away at St. Vincent de Paul) to think that someone "down on her luck" would have a chance to get a lot of nice things otherwise out of reach for them. Even if it was one of the volunteers, they were still less fortunate than me. I really do like the concept of re-cycling what still has useful "life" left. Your tools could help a young apprentice, or a divorcee interesting in doing her own work, for instance...the important thing is that they're not being wasted getting dusty.

Hope this helps.

Ann

[Cheechako]

Keep the boat in Florida or anywhere you want, keep the home. Sail 6 mo's a year or so. Done this a couple times. Stored stuff if I sold the home. A lot of stuff you dont need to store, but I was extremely glad some of it I did.