[Rockingham]

Do your friends have experience in such a venture and would it follow logically out of their life circumstances? Would they be financially trapped if they bought a boat? What happens after six months to a year when the newness of the experience wears off and the constraints seem more of a burden?

Here is an example of what I am getting at. A friend of mine from college had success in several house flips and in scoring good antique finds, so, when his marriage failed and he was uncertain what to do next, he sold his remaining real estate project, put most of his stuff into storage, bought an annuity with a chunk of his savings, and moved onto his recreational boat to save money. He figured that it would last about six months or a year.

Seven years later, my friend is still on his boat, now relocated to Baltimore Harbor. He spends his time reading books, watching old movies, dating, dining out, and seeing the local sights. For medical issues, my friend has Johns Hopkins. He would relocate and move back on land to marry again, take up a conventional job, or to be near family, but my friend is not looking to do any of those things just yet.

My point is that for my friend, the choice of life on a boat was a logical adaptation to his circumstances that continued because it was successful. Most of all, my friend enjoys but is not trapped into living on his boat. He could easily give it up.

[amorphous]

No experience in living aboard a boat, but financially experienced and in good health. Just getting on in their years, must either hire people to help them with their current residence or sell to scale back.

They're a lot like your friend it seems, except another consideration for them is they often support their children by taking care of grandchildren when needed. They could still do this, to some extent, on a boat or in an RV. But would not be as available to do so, as they are now.

Large family dinners, holiday get-togethers would not be possible if they sold their home of course, but could be held at their children's homes.

I think your friend was wise to consider his alternatives if things didn't work out. Certainly they are carefully evaluating the move too.

One thing I see, after the great comments/advice, nothing is certain when a person(s) make huge changes in their lifestyle. What is certain is we're all growing older, and need to plan for this. Are there things we still want to experience, things we're no longer able to do, somehow share with others our success in the process?

Occasionally one needs to evaluate where you're at in life, what's coming down the road, and plan accordingly. That in itself is worth the time and effort to dream big.

You make very good points.