Hello, all! Longtime lurker on Reddit and now on Lemmy. I’ve tried looking into getting out of the US as things aren’t looking too great as I’m sure many of you know, but wanted some tips from those of us who have gotten out. Where did you decide to move to, and what were the things you looked at when deciding to move there? How did you go about the process? What are some stories you can tell about the immigration process? Where can I start? How can I realistically make it happen? I hope this isn’t silly to you all, as it matters quite a lot to me and I’m genuinely interested in getting away from here for good. Thank you all for your time!
Purchase a small capable cruising sailboat. That’s what I did and that’s what I’m doing.
Assuming you’re serious, can I ask a couple questions?
What are the laws like with boats? Can anyone just be in international waters indefinitely, and or where do you
berthdock/slip?How much sailing experience do you have / how much is recommended?
The laws vary greatly. You can also legally be someplace and be told to leave or else. Also depends on the country / city etc etc. Yes you can legally stay in international waters indefinitely, as long as you aren’t posing a danger to navigation, aren’t in a major shipping lane, etc etc etc.
I anchor out or grab a mooring and it’s been about 6 years since I’ve been in a slip. I’m also off the grid with solar and wind and also have a tiny Honda petrol generator. The most I’ve paid for a mooring is under $500 month, anchoring out costs nothing.
How much experience you need? Well technically none. How much is recommend? As much as you can get. Start with the ASA 101 - 10X(?) courses.
Some people buy boats and live at the dock / slip. Some pay for a mooring. Some anchor out. Some cruise, meaning stopping for a while, then going someplace else, repeat.
Living at the dock requires the least amount of knowledge, you just find a place that has liveaboard slips, purchase a boat that the slip transfers, get insurance, move aboard.
A mooring / anchored out - means you’re off the grid and require your own power, water, etc etc etc. Also requires you to own a dinghy, as that’s your car for getting to land and back home.
Cruising is total and completely all encompassing life and lifestyle change requiring considerable amounts of new knowledge. Knowledge that without you will most likely die or worse, get others killed.
Then no matter what group you fall into, you always have to keep an eye on the weather. Always.
If you seriously want to undertake any of this, you’re going to be doing a f*ck tonne of reading.
What do you do about bathroom/shower/internet? Are you employed?
I have a bathroom (called a head on a boat), I have a composting toilet, or when underway and legally allowed (distance from land) I just do bathroom things overboard. I have a tiny shower area in the boat, but 99% of the time I bathe in the cockpit of the boat to help keep moisture out of the cabin. I at the moment use T-Mobile to get online, but when in another country I’ll pick up a local prepaid SIM card. I was employed until May of this year by an employer and decide to strike out on my own doing contract / freelance IT work and the occasional side job doing something boating related.
That’s awesome, I could technically do this as well. I’m guessing T-Mobile is probably a lot cheaper than starlink. What’s your battery situation like? Do you find you collect enough solar to charge them while running a laptop? What hobbies do you have, if it sounds like you spend all your time on the boat?
How big is your boat?
I don’t use Starlink because I am not a Musk fan even though it’s the better deal.
I have 400AH 12vdc LifePo4 (lithium iron phosphate) batteries, 500w solar, 400w (peak) wind and a Honda eu1000i generator. Usually I make enough electricity to run a low powered laptop no problem (Lenovo T15g2 and a X1 Carbon 65w & 45w power bricks). If I’m running the Dell G15 (240w power brick) I almost always will have to eventually run the generator.
I’ve been teaching myself how to open and run a YouTube channel. So I’ve been learning everything that goes into it from being able to shoot video that doesn’t suck balls, to post production, all the backend stuff, merch, and on and on and on. So that whole mess is now my hobby. I’m on most social media if you care to search. There’s not much right now for sure.
I go ashore a few times week when in port, see the local attractions, hang out with other cruisers and people that I meet, and of course work on the boat. I also do some volunteer work trying to get donated laptops and whatnot out to people who otherwise don’t have the means, and teach them how to use them. All free of charge or obligation.
My boat is a Bayfield 29. Small boat, small problems, small bills.
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/bayfield-29/
Thank you for this information! Best wishes out there, cheers.