Senior Wanderlust?

[Julie Moriarty]

Cliff notes primer - we're selling the house in the Chicago area and looking to warmer climates...

We've been getting more than one showing a day since listing our house a bit over a week ago. It's very intrusive in one's life to have to live in a model home.

Yesterday we were sitting at Pepe's, while three buyers rummage through our home, enjoying 1/2 price Margarita Tuesday, when I blurted out, "I am so sick of being shackled by owning a house!"

Then we started talking again about buying a sailboat and cruise until we die.

Is this common among senior citizens?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I think as we grow older we all would like to have fewer restrictions, responsibilities, etc. And yet, even with a lot of travel as my wife and I have since we retired, it's nice to have an anchor somewhere. A place to which you can retreat and enjoy as a comfort zone.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Cliff notes primer - we're selling the house in the Chicago area and looking to warmer climates...

We've been getting more than one showing a day since listing our house a bit over a week ago. It's very intrusive in one's life to have to live in a model home.

Yesterday we were sitting at Pepe's, while three buyers rummage through our home, enjoying 1/2 price Margarita Tuesday, when I blurted out, "I am so sick of being shackled by owning a house!"

Then we started talking again about buying a sailboat and cruise until we die.

Is this common among senior citizens?

I'm not a senior citizen, but we have a fund going with plans in 3 years or less to buy a Hans Christian 43 or similar. My job takes me throughout the Caribbean, so I can work and sail until I retire, and then it's around the world!

Start reading books by Gary "Cap'n Fatty" Goodlander, long-time St. John resident and world sailor. He'll get ya wanting to be free from "dirt dwelling."

Did you not move to FL yet? Move to the sea and start sailing. Watch and learn all you can. Read up on navigation, weather, storm sailing, anchoring, weather, etc. while you seek a vessel.

Books to read:

Modern Marine Weather (Burch)
Storm Tactics (Pardey)
The American Practical Navigator (Bowditch)
Celestial Navigation (Wright)
Creative Anchoring (Goodlander)
Buy, Outfit, and Sail (Goodlander)
Marine SSB for "Idi-Yachts" (Brown) *has some pull out quick references, so get the hard copy and buy it new

All you really need to know is keep the keel pointing down, the mast up, and keep the water on the outside of the boat. Try not to hit anything that's not liquid.

[Julie Moriarty]

I haven't got a hold of any Can'N Fatty books yet but I have been reading his columns in Cruising World for years. He's quite a character and a Chicago native. Those magazines are what gets you thinking, when you see couples sailing the world. Fatty and his wife have been at over 50 years but once age and/or health beaches them, they will have a hard time making it on land because they aren't wealthy and boats always depreciate. My SO keeps trying to lure me to the sea life but if the equity in our home goes to buying a boat, there won't be enough left to buy a house should our sailing days have to end. As for moving, the house just went on the market but we have had interested buyers. One made an offer, said they loved it, then came back with his mother-in-law who put the kibosh on the deal. Something about not having a place to eat???

[Jamie Buxton]

Well, you have to have some place to live. You either rent it or you own it. If you rent it, you're not as tied-down; you can pick up and move more easily. If you own, picking up and going is more complicated. The upsides to owning are that you have more control over the place, and you're not subject to changes in the price of renting.

[roger wiegand]

In preparation for retirement we bought a house on a bigger piece of land with a 110 year old barn that has been converted to a workshop. We did a deep energy retrofit on the house and a remodel/addition intended to make it livable on one floor with sensible utility costs for the next several decades (I hope). We intend to travel a lot, but also to have a comfortable home when we can't or don't want to travel.

The idea of being seasick for weeks at a time has less than zero appeal, as romantic as the idea of sailing around the world sounds. We have friends who sail a lot and their descriptions of all-night vigils in storms trying to keep from being run down by tankers in the Mediterranean make it sound more like an exercise in sheer terror than fun. I'll keep my adventures on dry land, thanks.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Buying used, we tried the p/u, 5th wheel and camping thing for a decade. In the end, everything depreciated and we realized we preferred driving to those places in a regular vehicle and renting a motel. The annual maintenance, winterizing, packing, unpacking, insurances and licenses just didn't appeal very long for us.

We enjoy traveling. Last year we spent 34 days in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. Some of the trip we flew into cities. Australia is so big, we flew into most cities save a bus trip from Ayers Rock to Alice Springs. We toured NZ for the 2nd time just using regularly scheduled buses, trains and a ferry from the South Island to the North Island. In a year or two, we plan on a trip to Ireland, Scotland, and Great Britain.

But in the end, we enjoy coming home to our home. As I type this, the cabinets are being installed in our newly enlarged and remodeled kitchen and dining room. The kids, grandkids and great-grandkids won't recognize Nanny and Papa's home when they come the next time. Our home has been a shelter in the storm in several of their lives over the years.

[Julie Moriarty]

I did a liveaboard sailing for a month one time. I didn't want to return to land. I've spent many 2-week trips sailing and was always sad when they ended. I think sailing is in my blood. Family lore says my ancestors were sea traders living on Dingle Bay in Ireland.

But the fact boats depreciate so much tells me you'd better have a big fat nest egg for that time when you can no longer handle the physical work of sailing and maintaining a sailboat because what you get when you sell the boat will be dramatically less than what you paid. One guy I know bought a 10-year old Oyster 53 for $400K, about $800K less than the guy he bought it from. Oyster makes some of the best built sailboats in the world. Not even that fact slowed the dramatic depreciation. We can't afford that. But it's nice to dream...

[Michael Weber]

Went whale watching several times. One of the boat owners described his boat as "a huge hole in the water into which he poured money".

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Oysters are the best deal going, but still expensive for us common folk. It baffles me why they lose their value so much.

As for Cap'n Fatty, he used to write in Sid's bathroom at Connections in St. John, which is no longer there. What a guy. I used to sit at table 1 at JJ's and listen to the captains all tell stories. Learned a lot there. I'm pretty sure he will never come ashore longer than a week or two. As he gets older he may just anchor closer in, but not give up the sea.

It sounds like you know what you are getting into. Pay no mind to those that say it is too dangerous. The risk is part of the fun. I have been sailing for years in the islands. I remember when I used to think 8' seas were high. Now that's a normal day. As you get more comfortable and understand weather, it's all a different perspective. Dangerous? Sure, but not as dangerous as driving on I-40. Now there's taking your life into your own hands.

[Mike Henderson]

Went whale watching several times. One of the boat owners described his boat as "a huge hole in the water into which he poured money".
I've heard the same thing, along with the question, "What are the two happy days in the life of a boat owner?" Answer: "The day you buy the boat and the day you sell it."

And, of course, you won't be able to cruise until you die, unless you die in a shipwreck. Eventually, you'll get too fragile to cope with the seas and you'll be forced to give up sailing. Rough weather on a small boat really knocks you around.

Mike

[Seasickness can also be a problem but most people can overcome it. The first time I went out on a long trip in a small boat, I got seasick and was pretty bad for about three days. But they were not going to turn around for me and eventually I got over it. Some people don't.]

[You also have to think about healthcare. Medicare does not cover you except in the US. And if you get some chronic condition, you'll need to be in a place where you can visit your docs on a regular basis.]

[I always laugh when I hear people express concerns about seasickness on those giant cruise boats. Those things are STABLE. On the ones I've been on, it's just like being on land. On a small boat in moderate seas when you look out the side, you see nothing but sky, then nothing but sea. Up and down, side to side. I learned to grab a rack that goes across the boat instead of front to back. It made sleeping easier in rough seas.]

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Get busy living, or get busy dying.

[Robert Engel]

Here's what's worked for my wife and I:

1. Mortgage paid off by 50 years of age.
2. No personal debt (pay cc's in full every month).
3. Don't finance anything unless its interest free.
4. Save 20% of our salary into investment portfolio.
5. Downsize in what ever ways you need to maintain 1 thru 4.

Yes, I think its normal to want your freedom (again) and part of that is reducing your responsibilities.

This is why so many over 50's are opting for condos or apartment living.

Enjoy life NOW because you don't know what tomorrow will bring.