We all have day dreamed and talked about taking a year to just travel or how about live on a boat right? Well Erica, a Solace SUP team ambassador, has done just that. Along with her husband and two children, they bought a 43 ft boat and transitioned to living on the water. They focused on uncluttering "the stuff" in their lives and started collecting experiences instead. Let's tune in with Erica and see how her family is making this work.
In comes Erica:
I've always been drawn to the water. It gives me peace. It gives me happiness. We were your typical suburban family of 4 who owned a house and two cars. We were happy. We were content. We did, however, like to challenge ourselves. We were constantly inventing ways to push us towards personal growth. About 2 years ago we challenged ourselves to live a minimalistic lifestyle.
The more we paired down our things and live simply the more content we became. Instead of striving to buy more trappings (a.k.a. stuff) we spent more time on each other and making memories.
The natural next step was talking about moving into a smaller space. We talked about living in a trailer for a few minutes then the conversation quickly turned to what boat life would look like. We had thrown around the idea of living on a boat in the past, but it was more of a pipe/retirement dream. Once we started seriously considering it, the more inviting the idea became. I was a stay at home mom and my husband owns his own development company and can work anywhere with a strong internet connection.
We pulled our oldest out of preschool after finding the exact boat we had been dreaming of on craigslist. We rented out the house, packed up all of our belongings and put them in storage. In the beginning of June we made the leap and moved our two-year-old and four-year-old onto a 43 foot trawler. It was scary at first thinking about all the what if's. What if we didn't like it? What if the boys weren't safe? I'm thankful those "what if's" didn't paralyze us and keep us from loving or dream because you know what? None of them have proven to be true. We absolutely love boat life and the boys love it even more! Its non stop adventure for them.
My favorite thing about life aboard is the slower lifestyle. It forces you live in the moment. The people we have been able to meet, so far, are incredible. We have an endless backyard at our fingertips ready to be explored. Almost every day we are greeted by sea turtles or manatees. The up close interaction that our boys get with marine life makes my heart happy. I am thankful we have been able gift with this lifestyle.
Right now we are living in St. Augustine, Florida till march while we finish up some commitments we have locally. In March we will head to south Florida and then April make the crossing to the Bahamas. We will live in the Abacos till about mid June and then....the sky's the limit! We will move when we feel like moving. We will stay when we feel like staying. We have complete freedom and that makes my heart happy.
Of course, my gorgeous solace board will be traveling with us wherever we go. I can't wait to try her out in the waters of the world!
If you like what you read, please hit the share button below and sign up on our newsletter towards the bottom of our page. Check out Erica's bio on our team page. We are all boat shopping now Erica.......thanks. :)