Since we were speaking about boating in hard times, it might be a good time to mention that living on a boat really does make a lot of sense... That is, if you don't try to turn it in to some sort of mirror image of living and working on land.
Boats are meant to be mobile and they do their thing best when they MOVE! I'll admit to having a bit of a problem with those who define themselves as "liveaboards". All too often liveaboard translates to living in an overcrowded, overpriced marina with all of the same hassles of going to a job, owning a car, commuting, and a landlord who does not fix stuff...What is the point?
Sadly a lot of people who take this route do so with the idea that it is a needful step to cutting the ties with shore before they sail off into the sunset and start living the life they want to live. In most cases it is simply a dead end and the list of excuses as to the why folks are still in some awful marina six years on is a long and an apparently endless list of "BUTS"
Not everyone may have noticed it but there has been a revolution of sorts over the last couple of decades... We now all have computers and it as easy for a lot of us to do business from some anchorage with WIFI as it is tied to that overpriced marina with the loud neighbors in the powerboat next to you. On the odd chance that someone anchors too close and you don't like the music they are playing, hey presto up the anchor and move a bit...The revolution goes further as it is not just computers and WIFI and while the US of A keeps talking about alternative energy at some undisclosed future the cruising community has been wired in to solar and wind generation for at least a decade. The days to be tied to a dock for communication and power is very much a thing of the past. What makes it even better is that with the right mindset and a bit of thought it is also a very affordable lifestyle with no need to give up comfort and needful things.
Not camping!
Then again a lot of liveaboard folk are still tied to their jobs and to cut that rather evil umbilical of being a wage slave means some serious looking outside of the box and, for what it's worth, some creative flair/skill as well which if I am not mistaken IS what your employer pays you for...
The really nice thing about living on a sailboat that moves is that you can be home and comfortable anywhere you happen to be. Right now we are weighing the pros and cons of where to be when the next hurricane season comes to the Caribbean. Right now it is a toss up between sailing over to Europe/Med ( we really like the South of France) or sail up to the East coast of the US of A and hang around with friends between Newport RI and the Chesapeake. The fact is that wherever we wind up we will be home doing business as usual!
Which is a long and roundabout way of mentioning a rather important blog (albeit not a sailing or boat blog) and website for people who want to look outside the box and sever that shore bound umbilical... Location Independent Living is a blog which should open up a lot of people's eyes on how you can take advantage of the current revolution in communication and technology to take off now and have a business that supports you in the process.
Over Jammer
3 days ago
