Where is best place to retire/live aboard

[pcedtech]

Okay I am getting ready to retire and have only sailed inland. i would like to find a place to semi retire and live on my 30 ft hunter. It has to be someplace WARM, Kansas City is just too cold in the winter for these old bones. I have looked at California coast(south) and it is pretty expensive and way too much traffic. I am looking at Florida but not sure east or west or north or south.
since my boat is a Fresh water only boat I am concerned if maybe just staying IN-land might not be the best idea. I don't have the bug to do the ICW(yet).. Any one out there have any preferences? I am taking a trip to Florida for a couple of weeks in March so want as much info as I can get from people who know more then I.
thanks for any help.

 

[sailaway78]

Retired living

When I first retired, I lived aboard in far S.Texas. Lots to like there, primarily very inexpensive to live. Wonderful weather. But damn, it was 30 miles to a decent grocery store, two hours by motor before I could raise a sail. Getting a part for the boat, well, don't even go there. I now live on the east end of lake Ponchatrain, about 25 miles east of New Orleans. This is about as good as it gets. Year round sailing, well almost. Easy access to about anything you would want. Weather is not quite as nice, but much less costly than Fla. I would highly recommend the gulf coast area. Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama. Lots of wonderful sailing here, plenty of protected bays. And lots of really nice friendly people. Plenty of sailboats. Of course the gulf coast has hurricanes, but if you just watch and prepare, is mostly an inconvenience. I have survived 4 of them, with almost no boat damage. I did loose my wind generator in Katrina. If you are going to be checking out Fl. in March, may I invite you to a raft up here on the coast. A bunch of us are going to have a big raft up the weekend of March 20. If you would like, drop in and check us out. You will be make welcome, and the first round is on me.

 

[Franklin]

I hear Somalia is a great place for boaters

 

[kloudie1]

Couldn't agree more, Nice N Easy.. except.. SHHHHHH not too loud! Don't want to have to compete with too many folks for the space !! We don't have the "cachet" of some places but it is a fine part of the country. Nice to sail across to New Orleans for some fine dining and fine sailing.. or out to the barrier islands for longer trips.. four-five days to the Yucatan and about the same to Key West.. Only thing I've noted is that our water seems to be a little thin.. about 6 foot draft is a practical max, it seems like. Seems like the coast from Applachicola to New Orleans is fine for finding a place to live aboard, and still have access to the gulf.. places can be found that are reasonable.. There are spots of the high priced stuff, but many reasonable places.. I don't live aboard, but a few folks in this marina do.
Happy today the marina here got a wireless connection working so I don't have to go to the cafe to use the computer!

 

[sailingdog]

North Carolina might be a good choice... not as subject to hurricane damage as Texas, Louisiana, Florida, etc... not as unbearable in the summer time either.

 

[Warren Milberg]

Here is a place, somewhat different than Kansas City, worth exploring....

http://www.sancarlosmexico.com/index.html

Check out the Sailing Forum there.

 

[Rick D]

Mexico

Have had several friends retire aboard in Mexico in a couple of places. All are/were very happy with that choice and it helped make their dollars go much further.

 

[pcedtech]

I have looked at Mexico and sounds like fun, but I really have to be in the US and fairly close to some sort of airport. I hate putting those limits on things but it is a fact of life. The gulf side of US sounds more like the right place to be. But not seeing a lot of inlet ports easterly of new Orleans area. See the ones around Lake Pontchartrain. Any ideas of points of entry along the coast?

 

[windward54]

I thought about cruising in Mexico long term as well...then the first grandchild showed up and sunk my plans.

 

[larryw]

Roger that on the first Grandchild. The boat we bought ten years ago to cruising is now for sale; a '94 owner version (2 cabin) Bene OC400 with all the bells and whistles. Looking to downsize to a Hunter 326.

 

[Ross]

I think that it depends on your needs. The gulf coast is quite long and I am sure that not all of it is resort oriented. There are places on the chesapeake bay that are quite affordable but are so remote as to be not unlike the area N&E referred to in S. Texas.
Being near a transportation hub is desireable for many reasons and therefore more costly. Hospitals, libraries, theaters, food stores, Doctors and Dentists are a must if we will continue in good health.

 

[sailaway78]

Gulf Inlets

There are several inlets all along the cost, until you get east of Port St.Joe/Appalachicola. From Pennsacola to Pt.St.Joe, you have a couple of 50' bridges, so mast clearance in that area is a consideration. Your boat should not be a problem.East of there, you have to make an offshore hop, as there is no ICW in the Fl. panhandle. This is a nice and very easy passage, taking from 24 to 30 hours to get to Clearwater, the next inlet. Heading east from Lake Ponchatrain is about a day to the open gulf, depending on your starting point. Keep in mind that Ponchatrain is roughly 50 miles long, and 30 wide. Once you get into Mississippi Sound, there is a usable inlet between virtually every barrier island. From the first outlet, between Cat Island and Ship Island, it is an easy days sail offshore to Mobile Bay, with a couple of inlets in between. From Mobile Bay to Pennsacola is another easy day. Heading east from Pennsacola, requires a mast under 50' if you want to go inside. Inside there is a tremendous amount of good sailing in Lake Ponchatrin, and once out of the lake there is a lot of very good sailing inside, across Lake Bourne and Mississippi Sound. I have spent weeks just cruising and exploring this area. Easy access to marinas, barrier islands virtually to yourself. Also you can stay inside, in the ditch, all the way from Pennsacola to the Mexican border should you be so inclined. If you need easy access to air transportation, I would recommend Lake Ponchatrain, or the Mobile/Biloxi area. While there are not the large amount of marinas here, as you will find on the east coast, and they do not have the transient facilities, there are plenty that should suit your needs. While I do enjoy Florida fairly often, it is becoming more and more expensive, and more and more unfriendly for cruising boaters. If you have two or three mil for a condo, and another mil or two for a boat, Florida would be the place to be. But if your just a plain old retired working stiff like me, it is just too expensive.

 

[dvideohd]

you would be fairly mobile....

you could try several places over time... Corpus Christi area... the several Texas Bays... and then points further east... might take you a while to see all you want to see....

--jr

 

[Steve Dion]

Look for low taxes, coastal waters and NO hurricanes.

We live in Nevada (that solves much of the tax issues), our boat is in California in fresh water with access to SF bay (that solves the coastal water issues) and we do not have hurricanes. The California foothills are very nice (warm to hot in the summer), prices for homes are currently very good in California. How much are you planning on spending for a home?

PS: My Hunter Vision 36 came from Stockton Lake.

 

[Ross]

While I would love to be able to tell you that the chesapeake bay is ideal we have been below freezing for about a week and the Northeast river is officially covered with ICE. But in a month and a half it will be starting to look like spring and boats will float and we will have to lay aside our books and go sailing. Those poor folk along the gulf coast don't catch any breaks, they have to sail year 'round.

 

[Ed Schenck]

The honest answer is that you must have two boats, one north and one south. And that's no joke. I spent eight years on Lake Erie. I still sail the summers in Ohio. My bigger boat is in North Carolina, a delightful place MOST of the time. I spend the winters in Florida near Tampa. It is a great place to sail SOME of the time.

Living on a boat that will(not might) be too hot or too cold is no fun. And hurricanes are more, way more, than an inconvenience. I had to put my boat out to anchor this year. So you get the drift.

 

[Benny]

Like boats design, retirement places, are full of compromises. Define your criteria, set priorities, do your homework and hope for the best.

 

[Sailm8]

I dreamed about living aboard and living the life so to speak but my spouse wanted a "home base". We chose Punta Gorda FL. on Charlotte Harbor. This turned out to be the best of all worlds. 14 couples from our marina in Il. have now moved down here to cruise and race. We have the largest racing community in the area and at least 3 cruising clubs that are all very active. I can be in the Keys in 24 hours or as far north as Tarpon Springs. I have year round protected sailing on the harbor and blue water sailing in the gulf out Boca Grande pass or take the ICW to Ft. Myers or Naples. It has reall been the best idea ever.

 

[pcedtech]

Punta Gorda

I have done some searching for houses around Punta gorda and this area looks interesting. Would like to talk more about this area. it would seem the prices of houses is really low right now after the hurricane. There also seemed to be some communities that you can actually tie our boat up in the back yard to escape at a moments notice. My girl firend travels during the week so would love to have the oportunity to jump on the boat or live on/near it to sail during the week and bee home on the weekends. Yet have access to the gulf for those month long excursions. Can you talk more by private email about this area? The New orleans area also sounds pretty good just not sure if it is as warm but it is pretty pretected from really bad weather.

 

[sailaway78]

Housing

Here on the east end of the lake, where I live, there are several houses for sale. Most have been completely refurbished since Katrina. All are on a canal, and are very nice. 1800sqft and up. Most are priced in the low 200's, and some even less. House next door to me is down to 180. Very well protected. We did get flooded during Katrina, but it takes a very strong storm, hitting at exactly the right angle to push that much water up into the canals. Boats have survived all with no damage. Ten minutes or so to the lake. Thirty minutes drive into New Orleans.