# Moving to OBX, going to liveaboard, total newbies



## SailAway5567 (Apr 22, 2012)

My wife and I are being transferred to Elizabeth City, we're in our early 40's, no kids at home & have long wanted to own a sailboat, so we've decided to take the plunge and instead of looking for a house....we're looking for a boat to call home. Of course, within our budget it's likely to be more of a "camp"aboard than liveaboard to start with! 

We'll be in E.C. next week to look around and then it's back home to load the U-Haul. 

Would love to chat with any of you in the area...tips on liveaboard and hopefully pet friendly marinas (we have a sailing Black Labrador Retriever and a Hemmingway cat) 

Great website here, very informative. 

Steve & Cindy


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## wingNwing (Apr 28, 2008)

Congrats on your great adventure! We've found living aboard to be wonderful for the last 10 years. Eliz. City seems to be a nice boat-friendly community. Hopefully others can give you specific information; we only passed through on the seasonal migration from Chesapeake Bay to Florida/Bahamas.


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## prof_mariner (Apr 21, 2012)

Where are you moving from and what sailing experience do you have? If you have no sailing or live-aboard experience I -strongly- recommend you at least take some lessons and charter a boat for at least a weekend or two. The "dream" of living on a boat can quickly become a "nightmare" if you're uncomfortable in tight spaces and living elbow to elbow with your shipmates. Also don't forget we have hurricane season coming up so factor that in as well.

My wife and I lived aboard our Express 37 as we cruised most of the Pacific between California, Mexico and Hawaii. It was a wonderful experience for both of us, but we're also seasoned, lifelong sailors and the climates were much more conducive to living aboard. Here on the OBX it can be awfully hot and muggy during the Summer and for 3 or so months during the Winter it's awfully cold. Not to mention the mosquitos and hurricanes. In my opinion it would take a particularly tough individual to live on a boat in North Carolina, especially if you intend on working a normal job at the same time.


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Before looking for a boat, you should look into a place to put it. As I recall, there's only one marina.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

prof_mariner said:


> Where are you moving from and what sailing experience do you have? If you have no sailing or live-aboard experience I -strongly- recommend you at least take some lessons and charter a boat for at least a weekend or two. The "dream" of living on a boat can quickly become a "nightmare" if you're uncomfortable in tight spaces and living elbow to elbow with your shipmates. Also don't forget we have hurricane season coming up so factor that in as well.
> 
> My wife and I lived aboard our Express 37 as we cruised most of the Pacific between California, Mexico and Hawaii. It was a wonderful experience for both of us, but we're also seasoned, lifelong sailors and the climates were much more conducive to living aboard. Here on the OBX it can be awfully hot and muggy during the Summer and for 3 or so months during the Winter it's awfully cold. Not to mention the mosquitos and hurricanes. In my opinion it would take a particularly tough individual to live on a boat in North Carolina, especially if you intend on working a normal job at the same time.


There are lots of folks living on boats all the way up to Maine and Alaska, so I don't think the cold should be an issue, but hurricanes, yes. Normal precautions should suffice. Unfortunately if you are not from the aria you might not have someone to stay with, so you might need some hotel rooms for a few days during the storms, but not an insurmountable issue. Personally I think this would be the perfect area to liveaboard, not too hot in the summer, like Florida, and not too cold in the winter. Still have distinct seasons, that is a real bonus. You can even sail year round if you don't mind chilly weather. In New York we would call North Carolina winter chilly not cold, hardly even a reason to get the heavy comforter out. :laugher


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

We've been living aboard in Toronto for 15yrs. with occasional trips to the Bahamas and the gulf. Don't let anyone talk you out of the dream.
It ain't rocket science ... just look at all the idiots that already do it


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## surgdesigns (Jun 18, 2012)

I'm also a newbie planning to live on my first sailboat. have fun!


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## lautzy (Mar 24, 2012)

I will be following your link. I am in the process of sell my with on living aboard. Your experiences will probably help me in the selling process and in learning. We live in Charlotte, N.C. Will probably move to the Wilmington area on our first boat and start the learning curve. I hope everything works out for you all.


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