10 Best Sailing Cities to Retire on a Boat

If you are ready to retire, imagine retiring on a boat, if you haven’t thought about it just yet, maybe when you are done reading this, you may want to jump into this idea of retiring on a boat.

Now, if you have your boat; you should be considering where you want to live as a next plan and the cost of maintaining a boat. And searching for a boating community, around the United States is pretty much easy.

It’s normal for people to consider if the idea of retiring on a boat is safe or hard, you know, all of that thought. However, since, it is only normal to entertain fears of retiring on a boat is not the same as retiring in a home community or something where you can switch on the electricity, have your water run for you constantly, and all of that.

Checkout: 10 Top Affordable Places to Retire on a Budget

The resources that come with living on a boat are finite, which means you have to track your supply. Before retiring on a boat, you need to do your study a lot of things such as where you can easily moor your boat, the size of your boat, cost of maintenance and repair, docking and slip fees, and fueling.

Also Checkout: 9 Expenses to include in your Retirement Budget

Some retirees love fishing whether it is offshore or onshore and as such, will want to retire on a boat. Think of the fresh air you get rushing from the direction of nature itself. Before retiring on a boat, you should know how much hard work needs to be done and how much work needs to be done and how to manage to live on a boat.

If you have done your cross-examination properly consider the pros and cons of living on a boat. I have put together amazing places you can choose to retire on a boat.

Here are the 10 Best Sailing Communities to Retire on a boat:

1.  Portland, Oregon:

One of the advantages of retiring here is that you will find many interesting downtown locations where you can easily visit and good public transit too. There are views of rivers, parks, and mountains and nice views provided by people living in the area.

If you are interested in hiking, skiing, or general outdoor activities including cultural activities you can get them in Oregon.

Well, let’s talk about the climate which is good for growing roses, which is apparently why Portland is known as “The Rose City”, I guess.

The city itself has around 227 parks which include forest parts, and an urban wilderness. The location is about 270 kilometers of bike lanes and walkways which are all marked.

2. Port Townsend, Washington:

Port Townsend is located in the county of Jefferson, it is considered one of Washington’s beautiful locations to retire on a boat. You can enjoy the dense suburban feel it has a large number of retirees.

The historic seaport provides a scenic waterfront, nice restaurants, beautiful galleries, and stylish boutiques. The boating in Puget Sound is not just beautiful but fantastic.

The Olympic National Park is close by and it has great Vistas and routes for hiking. A Victorian-themed waterfront, which gives the historic feel in the neighborhood and explains the attraction of Maritine such as Port Townsend marine science, wooden boat center, and more.

3. Discovery Bay, California:

Imagine retiring to a picturesque beachfront community that allows you to live on the water with your marina if you choose. Discovery Bay is located halfway between Walnut Creek and Stockton in the East Bay of California.

The population is just around 9,000 which has a real town and so many amenities. The waterfront development offers access to the Sacramento-san and private docks to residents and retirees.

4. Punta Gorda, Florida:

This is one of the largest marinas in Florida, it has a swimming pool, golf course, waterfront, restaurants, grocery stores, and lots of boating activities like fishing.

There are also condos, villas if you choose to go living on land, and some other options as well.

In Punta, retirees are quite active because of the activities going on. The downtown has been revitalized in recent years, with a rising number of restaurants and new things to see and do.

There are social clubs you can choose to join maybe golf, yacht club, or others, Punta chamber of commerce has a way they maintain a comprehensive list of these activities.

5. Chattanooga, Tennessee:

One of the low-cost interesting cities you can retire to on a boat. If you love the quietness of a lake, the rapids of a river, or just about anything with Chickamauga Lake you can be sure of getting a boating paradise.

This popular boating destination despite it being a to-mile lake, an impoundment of the Tennessee River. You can check out Tennessee River Blueway, which runs for 45 miles through Chattanooga, you can choose either a river boating experience or a lake, whichever ends up being an option for you is interesting.

6. Tampa Bay, Florida:

It is noted that Florida has a reputation for being one of the best places to retire on a sailboat. It is home to some of the best marinas in the entire country as it is. It has great weather, good restaurants, and homely people.

Many Miami marinas are not found there because Miami is known for its party lifestyle and it is known for its party lifestyle, Tampa Bay is a beautiful place and a place you can trust will be quiet.

So if you are not the wild party type, this might be a good option for you, however, if you are not then probably it is not a good choice for you.

7. Seattle Washington:

When retiring on a boat, it doesn’t mean that you will have to be sailing all through your life. You are likely not going to be sailing every day of your life or even every week unless you choose to because you need to consider how much time you’ll be sailing.

However, if you love sailing that much, then you should be considering Seattle which has access to some of the best sailing around. You can freely sail anywhere from freshwater exploring places like the lakes, and rivers to saltwater which you can’t get in a place like Florida.

8. Traverse City,  Michigan:

Traverse City offers you that peace of not having to face rough seas which may sound awful to you. Traverse provides you access to Lake Michigan, which is considered great for fishing.

It is a tourist city offering plenty of interesting things to do, and amenities that are, however, if you decide to live on a boat full time, it is also a good option, you can just give up retiring on a home for a boat instead because on Traverse amenities such as laundry gym, etc. are found within a walkable distance of marinas.

The cost of living full-time at one of the touristy marinas is around $600 per month.

9. Hampton Roads, Virginia:

Hampton Roads offers exciting access to the Chesapeake Bay. You have the pleasure of sailing around the countryside but if you stay right in the Bay, you don’t have to spend much. You get access to the Atlantic ocean just in case you want to sail beyond the waters of America.

With Virginia’s waterways, you can get a good scuba diving just in case you haven’t tried it, you might want to give it a try, which doesn’t require a lot of work to do aside from sitting on the ocean and watching the world go by you.

The cost is as little as $2 per foot in some places of course. However, it cost about $15 per foot if you are closer to Chesapeake.

10. Destin, Florida:

This is one of the amazing boating cities to retire because it is along the Gulf of Mexico and is a small fishing town. There are plenty of fishing boats which moor a lot around than other cities in Florida.

Destin is located along the short Peninsula just half across Panama City and Pensacola. It is a notable tourist city which has also endless options you can think of such as golfing, shopping, sightseeing or dining.

Those who are beginners boat will have a superb time with the bay and Intracoastal waterway, while more experienced boaters will find it more adventurous especially at the east pass into the Gulf of Mexico which had lots of cross currents and waves.

Wrapping Up

Whether you plan to retire full time on a boat or own your boat is entirely your decision to make.

Hopefully, this write-up guides you on which city to settle for. However, you have to do your little research on the pros and cons of retiring on a boat, especially in the aspect of mooring it around, which some cities don’t approve of, down to the cost of maintaining your boat.

Interestingly, whichever community you settle for it will have its pros and cons that are personal for you.

Also know that buying a boat is pretty much expensive and the price for a Marina for a long time purpose can be also expensive. Whatever your decision may be, good luck with that!