Average cost to live aboard in the med...sorry!

[GHA]

Did anyone encounter any residency problems?

None so far, including often being in one country way over the 180 days. Keeping head down, anchoring mostly and listening to long term local expats gossip if any problems are likely.

 

[truscott]

I'll jump in for the non-EU perspective. We spent the last two and a bit years sailing through the Eastern Med. NZ Flagged vessel. Wintering in Turkey and Greece. Average was 30 Euro per person, per day. We did not hold back on eating out whenever we felt like it. This included all boat maintenance, marina fees, flights home, rental cars, trips to see stuff, boat upgrades, etc.... You could do it for more, and if you really wanted, you could do it for less. As others have said, "how long is the piece of string?" . Our first year out, we bought Health Insurance in Turkey as part of our Residency deal. We claimed a total of $0. I did get sick, and the residue from that held up my current work visa in the UAE, so not sure how effective not claiming that worked out...but there you go. Winter in Turkey was a lot of fun, but we did spend a lot on the boat too. Bought a new Life Raft and didn't use it. Not sure how you rate that cost/benefit ratio. Put new windows in and didn't leak a drop. Cost/Benefit.... still not sure, but happy factor...out of this world! Our time in Greece was absolutely brilliant. Loved it all. Will go back in a heart beat (in fact the boat is still there). A UK friend got sick during our winter there and when we visited him the experience was horrific enough to give me a Panic Attack resulting in my own AF incident. Fortunately enough the late hour at the time and lack of available options allowed my own drugs to kick in and bring me back to an even keel. In hindsight, I would buy a ticket and fly to anywhere else in the world rather than front up to A&E in Ag Nik in spite of the fact that everyone I know, who has had to check in there, has survived the experience (Nostrodamus of this parish has a post on his blog that sums it all up. It is as horrific as he says.). We also sailed Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. Again... memories of a lifetime. I had a Leave of Absence that guaranteed me work if I chose to return, and as I really love what I do, I welcomed the opportunity to return and bank a bit more while I can. We don't enjoy the luxury of state pensions, however small you may think they are, so making money while we can is still something we will do whenever we can. We have plans to explore the Great Loop of the "Americas" as well as some of the Caribbean (coming from the South Pacific, not all of it is as interesting for us, as it is for many Europeans. Seen 100 white sand beaches, seen 1000.). The Rivers and Canals of Europe also beckon. In the interim, we plan to continue sailing in the Eastern Med. Just not full time. Your views may differ.

 

[KellysEye]

If anyone is thinking of heading to the Caribbean we spent just over £1,000 a month, marinas aren't cheap but a month in the Venezuelan out island costs nothing. It was paid from rent on a flat and house we owned in London. Beware of one off costs we had to replace a broken 3,000 rpm generator with a Westerbeke 1,500 rpm one, total cost including fitting £8,000.