Dream or Nightmare?

[gardeningal]

Shedding the stuff is no problem, but how to you come back and go back to work? We are in our early to mid 50's and have enough savings for a year or two, but realistically will have to come back and work a few more yrs. until we can completely retire. We want to go while we are still in good health and able. We just spent a week in the sea of cortez and both of us found it hard to come back to land life, even though we both have jobs we really love.

Agree with the early post about life slowing down and needing much less. For the week, we didn't have any electronic diversions and we are both pretty hard core computer users, but didn't miss it a bit. Plenty of boats, fish, weather etc. to occupy or daydream and read.

[eryka]

Originally Posted by gardeningal

Shedding the stuff is no problem, but how to you come back and go back to work? We are in our early to mid 50's and have enough savings for a year or two, but realistically will have to come back and work a few more yrs. until we can completely retire. We want to go while we are still in good health and able. We just spent a week in the sea of cortez and both of us found it hard to come back to land life, even though we both have jobs we really love.

Agree with the early post about life slowing down and needing much less. For the week, we didn't have any electronic diversions and we are both pretty hard core computer users, but didn't miss it a bit. Plenty of boats, fish, weather etc. to occupy or daydream and read.

Hi GGal, any chance you could talk your present employer into giving you an unpaid leave of absence for a year? (in this economy, they might see it as a win-win) Then the bigger challenge will be adjusting your head to coming back to work for a couple of years, but at least you'll have the comfort of a job you like to look forward to.

That said, a week may not have been a long enough test - you weren't out long enough to deal with problems like laundry, provisions, water, etc. Any way you can do a somewhat longer trial run before jumping?

[gardeningal]

We still have one child in high school, so we are realistically two yrs out. Actively, looking for a boat now. I just think it would be hard to come back to your old life after cruising for a year or two, wonder what experiences others have had.

[wind_magic]

I usually try to stay out of the "girl threads" because the ladies should have a place all their own, but this thread really strikes home for me because I am in the middle of downsizing too.

What has helped me the most is simply pretending I am already on the boat, that means cooking for myself, not jumping into my vehicle and driving to the store every time I need something, getting rid of things I won't have on the boat, and that type of thing. It isn't as easy as you might think, you'll know the first time you turn the air conditioner off and make yourself sit outside on a chair or in front of a fan.

I have also taken up activities that I would not normally be interested in, I have a bicycle to ride for example. Riding a bicycle has really helped me a lot, I have learned a lot about bike maintenance, fixed plenty of flat tires, learned to carry all the tools I need to fix it when I ride further away from home, and the like. Besides biking I also try to camp more, or at least sleep outside more, sometimes I just throw things into the back of the truck and drive somewhere and sleep under the stars just for the fun of it, I have even done this in deep winter with a huge pile of blankets!

Getting rid of actual stuff has been hard for me too, but it is getting easier. Now that I have a method to it, it seems to have taken on a life of its own, and I honestly feel better every time I get rid of something. I was and am overwhelmed with junk and I didn't realize how much of a burden it was until I started doing something about it. Getting rid of things is very liberating, and at some point you start to feel that if you take it to its logical conclusion you will be free to just walk out the front door and wander off into the world and do whatever you want to do without regrets.