££

[ryanroberts]

The only way I can think of making cruising work (bar the tiny probability of a startup coming off) is by combining it with digital nomad working, which certainly won't be Shrimpy level voyaging. The potential tax breaks from being non resident and not taxed in the place you are living are huge if you are a tech worker in the UK. I can rough it if needed, but I see enough floating hobos in the UK to know that's not the kind of life I want.

 

[Kelpie]

The only way I can think of making cruising work (bar the tiny probability of a startup coming off) is by combining it with digital nomad working, which certainly won't be Shrimpy level voyaging. The potential tax breaks from being non resident and not taxed in the place you are living are huge if you are a tech worker in the UK. I can rough it if needed, but I see enough floating hobos in the UK to know that's not the kind of life I want.

Digital nomad visas certainly are a great option if you have the right skills. But people have cruised full time for decades.
You can live off a pot of money, and when it runs low either sell up, go home for a few months to top up the kitty, or pause in a country where you're allowed to work.
You can set yourself up with property, stocks, or other investments.
Or you can work on e.g. superyachts or offshore with either fixed periods away, or freelance.

 

[Old Harry]

Why is it that, whenever this question of cost comes up, posters assume the OP wants to go long-distance sailing on a shoestring?? Hunter11 hasn't said so.

as one gets older medical issues will come to te forehand could be expensive, but depending where you are at the Tim, you can plus no circle of friends to help you.Good ?

 

[nortada]

Money Makeover: ‘How do I retire abroad but keep my £100,000 in Premium Bonds?’

Might be of interest

 

[BobnLesley]

The only way I can think of making cruising work (bar the tiny probability of a startup coming off) is by combining it with digital nomad working...

We had two sets of friends who worked online whilst cruising and both found the same constraint: Many of the places they wanted to spend extended periods didn't have strong/fast enough wifi, so it was usually short visits to the islands/backwaters with longer periods, often in a marina near to larger population centres.

As one gets older medical issues will come to the fore...

A major contributor we saw amongst older cruisers not sailing further and/or returning home was the arrival of grand-kids; grandma didn't want to miss out on them and/or they needed to go home to provide free child care for said grand kids.

 

[Graham376]

A major contributor we saw amongst older cruisers not sailing further and/or returning home was the arrival of grand-kids; grandma didn't want to miss out on them and/or they needed to go home to provide free child care for said grand kids.

No longer surprises me how many grandparents, having been tied down for years by their own children, have their plans ruined by the arrival of grandchildren.

 

[BobnLesley]

No longer surprises me how many grandparents, having been tied down for years by their own children, have their plans ruined by the arrival of grandchildren.

A (perhaps the) significant factor in our setting sail in our early forties and indeed having enjoyed a couple of extended motorbike trips before that, was the absence of rug rats. To be fair, grand kids look like they could be a bit of a laugh, but the pre-qualification requirement just wasn't worth it.

 

[harvey38]

A (perhaps the) significant factor in our setting sail in our early forties and indeed having enjoyed a couple of extended motorbike trips before that, was the absence of rug rats. To be fair, grand kids look like they could be a bit of a laugh, but the pre-qualification requirement just wasn't worth it.

I'm very pleased to be çhild free, it allowed me to follow my dreams and I'll continue to do so?

 

[Graham376]

I'm very pleased to be çhild free, it allowed me to follow my dreams and I'll continue to do so?

Just don't do a dna test, you may find some you didn't know about

 

[Kelpie]

I'm very pleased to be çhild free, it allowed me to follow my dreams and I'll continue to do so?

I can't imagine cruising without a kid. Not only can he crawl in to the tiniest of spaces, he remembers where everything is stowed when us oldies can't even remember what day it is!

 

[Graham376]

I can't imagine cruising without a kid. Not only can he crawl in to the tiniest of spaces, he remembers where everything is stowed when us oldies can't even remember what day it is!

If he's anything like one or two child terrorists I know, most likely because that's where he hid it.

 

[BobnLesley]

I'm very pleased to be çhild free, it allowed me to follow my dreams and I'll continue to do so?

It makes us dangerous though:
Over the years I've witnessed a few and been told of many more instances where family or friends have been giving their kids sound advice or even instructions/orders as to how to properly conduct their lives if they want to get on in the world and thereby avoid penury or worse; to be asked in response: "But what about Bob & Lesley?"
This apparently is a very difficult question for parents to explain away and we apparently are 'different' and set a 'bad example/dangerous precedent'.

 

[Graham376]

It makes us dangerous though:
Over the years I've witnessed a few and been told of many more instances where family or friends have been giving their kids sound advice or even instructions/orders as to how to properly conduct their lives if they want to get on in the world and thereby avoid penury or worse; to be asked in response: "But what about Bob & Lesley?"
This apparently is a very difficult question for parents to explain away and we apparently are 'different' and set a 'bad example/dangerous precedent'.

I know the feeling. Having a very misspent youth and no children that I'm aware of, I'm usually held up as a bad example. I try to avoid children except for little girls when they reach 20,30,40,50..................

 

[BobnLesley]

... I try to avoid children except for little girls when they reach 20,30,40,50..................

I can do with kids once they get old enough to take to the pub or out on the motorbike with you, but little ones are irritating and babies are just plain scary; I got tricked into holding my eldest nephew when he was about three days old (he's 40 now) and I've never let anybody put one into my arms since; you just know that nobody's going to see the funny side if you drop one.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Oh come on guys .
As a father of two and a grandfather of two , I love them all to bits .
But once my two got to an age when they could deal with the wild world I just got on with my life .
Before then it was give and take,
The grandkids are their responsibility, popping back each year to spend some time I felt I did my bit .
The great thing now is technology as made it much easier to keep in touch face to face and not just a phone call .

 

[sailaboutvic]

I can't imagine cruising without a kid. Not only can he crawl in to the tiniest of spaces, he remembers where everything is stowed when us oldies can't even remember what day it is!

I'm for one happy to see you getting on with life plains while you boy young , at that ages it's much easier to school him on board .
It's as they get older it gets harder especially if they can't mix with children their ages .
As much would have it , there many more cruising children now then there was some years back .
Enjoy

 

[Graham376]

I'm for one happy to see you getting on with life plains while you boy young , at that ages it's much easier to school him on board .
It's as they get older it gets harder especially if they can't mix with children their ages .
As much would have it , there many more cruising children now then there was some years back .
Enjoy

One thing I have found with home schooled liveaboard kids who are used to interacting with adults is, you're more likely to get a sensible conversation, rather than the grunt when many UK ones answer the phone.

 

[sailaboutvic]

One thing I have found with home schooled liveaboard kids who are used to interacting with adults is, you're more likely to get a sensible conversation, rather than the grunt when many UK ones answer the phone.

There is a down side tho , we found the once that don't interactive with other children having a conversation with them is like talking to another adults and that's quite sad I think.

 

[Graham376]

There is a down side tho , we found the once that don't interactive with other children having a conversation with them is like talking to another adults and that's quite sad I think.

Not having children, I have no axe to grind and what I say now is a generalisation, based on my experience. I find that Portuguese kids (this may apply to other nationalites) are much more confident and easier to talk to because they have grown up in a different environment where the family is still a unit and, when parents go out for a meal, they take them with them at all ages, rather than leaving them at home with a baby sitter. I find many UK kids less able to converse with adults and will head for their room rather than join in.

 

[BobnLesley]

One thing I have found with home schooled liveaboard kids who are used to interacting with adults is, you're more likely to get a sensible conversation, rather than the grunt when many UK ones answer the phone.

I agree that they're generally more mature and certainly more responsible - for themselves and others - than their land-based peers, but I also agree with Vic, that early maturity is perhaps something of a double edged sword. Additionally - admittedly based on observing rather than personal experience - those livaboard/boat-schooled kids appear be better educated than those attending school formerly, but this head-start seems to be lost if they're home-schooled for their secondary education; particularly the latter half of it. They're certainly well educated, but often don't seem to end up with good formal qualifications, with the majority seeming to leave the family boat for a job with the charter/flotilla fleets, or on a super-yacht; no doubt fun, but you're unlikely to make a decent living at it.