The Two Most Common Questions We Get

Our lifestyle is a little different than most, so it's only natural that we field a lot of questions from curious/interested/bewildered people.  By far the most common questions we get are (in this order): "How can you afford this?"  and "How long will you do this?"

The first question, though I have come to expect it, always catches me off guard.   Have you ever walked into someone's house and said, "Wow! Beautiful home!! How much did this cost and how EVER do you afford your mortgage?!" or when you first meet someone do you ask, "Really?  An investment banker?  Interesting.  What are investment bankers bringing in these days?"  I realize the question is innocent and I understand that people are curious about our lifestyle.  The fact that we live a pretty publicly documented existence (thanks to this blog) outside of what is "normal" seems to trump social mores and give people a free pass to ask personal questions that most would never dream of asking in everyday situations.  Even knowing this I am still caught off guard when someone asks us about our finances.   I've touched on it before, but without getting too specific, the success of our lifestyle is heavily attributed to five things:

1. We had/have zero debt 
2. We had a nice little nest egg to start off with (thanks to our wedding) 
3. We owned nothing of any real value on land (like a house) 
4. Scott is a working captain on a steady rotation so we have a reliable income stream 
5. We live a relatively "simple" life and spend significantly less on day to day life than our land-lubbing counterparts

These five things are hugely impactful in allowing us to live the way we do.   That and the fact this is the way we want to live, of course.  Where there is a will, there is a way.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, we have met people doing what we are doing on much, much less, and people who are doing it with much, much more.  If you want to live a certain way (be it on land or sea) get out there and do it your way.  You will have to make sacrifices regardless of your financial situation; you might not be able to have the fancy boat you want, will probably have to sell your house and you might be limited to coastal cruising - but the truth is there is no magic number that I can give you that will guarantee you will get out here and do it.  There are just as many "rich" people as there are "poor" not doing what they want to do.  Whether or not you are going to live the way you dream is up to you, and our financial specifics aren't going to change anything for you.

The other question we field all the time is "How long will you do this?" It's another one we never really have a concrete answer for because, honestly, we don't know.  People jump right in and ask us about homeschooling Isla inquiring whether she'll go to a public high school or not.  High school!? She's not even out of diapers yet.  Truth is, we haven't really thought that far ahead.  I've never been much of a "planner" and instead tend to live my life by putting one foot in front of the other, ceasing opportunities as they present themselves.  If we are still cruising when it's time for Isla to go to school (which I think is age 5?), we will absolutely homeschool (to be honest, I believe very strongly that Scott and I would provide a far superior education for our children than any conventional school would).  As far as high school is concerned, well, if she's anything like her mama we will most likely be shipping her off to military school (I kid...sort of).  We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.  So, back to the main question... how long will we do this?  The bottom line is that we plan to live like this as long as we enjoy it.  When we bought this new boat (being that it was a significant investment) we committed to five more years.  That said, we might sail for five more years, ten more years, or we might cut that short if need be - we have no idea.  We definitely plan to have more children (see, I do plan!) and we'll be making trips back home to have those.  Or maybe we won't.  Maybe we'll have them in Australia or Panama or somewhere else.  We don't really know.  But as long as we all enjoy what we're doing out here, we'll keep on keeping on.

What other questions do people have out there?  Feel free to ask us on our Facebook Page where I post and interact daily!