Bigger is better
I happen to think that bigger is better. I have a 1985 36 and live aboard full time. Before buying, I had sailed both, but several weeks apart. Then I was at a brokerage that had both at their docks, side by side. If you see the two like this, the difference is really quite astounding. The 36 is just plain bigger. I sailed both boats that day. (The broker was a friend, and didn't make me put a deposit down, even though he knew I wasn't buying that day. Easy to do since the brokerage owned both boats.) Anyway, while the 34 was a great boat, the 36 was far and away the better sailing vessel. I had heard many 36 owners say that it was the best sailing boat they had ever owned, and now that I have mine, I concur. The 36 has great headroom, and for liveaboard, much more storage. I'm just now in the process of utilizing some of the "dead" space, like under the V-berth. See if you can find a 34 and 36 side by side and make the comparison.