Hello all,
Apologies in advance for the long-winded post. I moved to the very top of the Chesapeake Bay region a few months ago for work; in my time here, I've become aware that there is an active and established community of people on the Chesapeake that live aboard their boats, whether as a means to end to achieve financial freedom, or for the sense of personal freedom and adventure it brings. For a little of both of the aforementioned reasons, I've been giving serious consideration to taking this same approach to living once my lease is up closer to the end of the year. That said, my biggest hang up thus far is: how exactly are people finding marinas that are willing to accommodate liveaboards, whether officially or unofficially? Two quick things to note: 1. I get the reasons behind why a marina wouldn't want someone living down at their docks. 2. I'm aware that it's possible to live at anchor or on mooring buoy, but this clearly requires much more preparation and equipment to be able to accomplish full time, both of which I simply won't have starting out.
So how are people managing to execute such a lifestyle in unofficial terms without pissing off the management? As an outsider, I feel like once any place caught wind that you were living there, they'd tell you to take a hike, regardless of whether you've been a nuisance or not. I also have a small commute to work each day (to/from Elkton), so it's not like they wouldn't notice my car in their parking lot, or at least see me regularly coming and going.
With all this said, I'm aware that there's no shortage of marinas on or around the Elk, North East, and Sassafrass rivers, so is it really as simple as bouncing around from place to place until you ideally find somewhere that just allows it? I'd to think I'm overthinking it, but this is a pretty big decision that I'd rather be confident in before rushing into anything. Any advice or insight would be appreciated.
TL;DR - How to find a marina to live at without making an ass of myself.