April 22, 2025 • 7 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, working remotely meant she could live remotely, too... so Emma decided to buy a sailboat and go to Florida. Here she is to explain why she made the unorthodox decision to set her sights on the high seas.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
from the arts to sports, and from business to history
and everything in between, including your story. Send them to
our American Stories dot com. Up next to the story
from Emma McCormick. Emma is a Hillsdale graduate who decided
to live somewhere interesting after graduating college because, in her words,
(00:33):
he's a person who loves adventure and doing something new.
Here's our own Monte Montgomery, himself a Hillsdale graduate, with
the story.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
The Allure of the Sea. It's hard not to deny
it when it comes beckoning. If you've ever so much
as looked at a boat, it's hard not to imagine
what would be like to own one. One person who
decided to make those dreams into reality is Emma McCormick,
who did it on a whim.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Of course.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Well, my name is Emma, and I'm a financial analyst
at General Motors.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Right now, I'm a sailor. I grew up in Idaho.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I never even noticed sailboats, didn't know anything about it.
And then after college, when I moved to Detroit, I
was new to the city.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
I didn't know anybody.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
And I was out for a run one day and
I saw a poster that said free, no experience necessary,
learn to sail.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
It's like, that sounds perfect, it sounds like so much fun,
and so I just showed up.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
And it was at a yacht club that had a
race series, and they would take new people and just
put you on a boat. I did some training and
learning with them over the winter, and then sailed with
them and every regatta I could.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
But in twenty twenty, Emma was told she'd be working
remotely and decided to make the most of it. If
she could work remotely, she could live remotely too. But
what to live in was the question she had to answer.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
I thought about a sailboat for a fleeting second, but
then I kind of doubted myself.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
I was like, I probably can't do that by myself.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
So then I thought about a van, and then I
was talking to a sailing friend and we were talking
about the possibilities of doing that, but that was also.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Pretty far fetched. But then I was like, well, you know,
I could probably just do this by myself.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
I don't know, it just seemed like more fun, and
sailing is a lot more fun than driving, and it all.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Came together really at the last minute.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I canceled my lease before I had even officially bought
a boat. The second hardest part about owning a boat
is finding one to buy. Obviously, the first hardest part
is maintaining the boat. All of them are going to
have something wrong with them. I spent almost two full
months searching, just looking into different types of boats, but I.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Ended up finding this boat. I found it.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
It was listed on Craigslist, and the man who was
selling it was ninety two, and he actually only bought
the boat when he was eighty eight.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
And with the boat bought, she did what so many
other people from the Midwest do when spring rolls around.
She went to Florida. But what's her house like?
Speaker 3 (03:27):
So it's twenty five feet long, it's about eight and
a half feet wide. The headroom is actually about four
feet nine inches, which means I can't stand up in
my boat. Technically four people could sleep on this boat.
We've actually slept five for a few nights in a row.
I had actually never slept on a boat until I
(03:48):
bought this. I have a little galley or kitchen with
a two burner alcohol stove.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
It's like your.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Living room, your dining room, there's storage behind them. So
so yeah, I'm generally a pretty tidy person to begin with.
I like things to be organized, which I think is
good because living on a boat in such a small
space where if you're living.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, it's all it's all the same.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
If you leave something sitting out, the whole place looks
like a mess. So I think you just need to
be prepared to put a lot of work into it.
I mean, there's definitely people who live on boats here
who put zero work into it, and their boats reflect that.
But if you want to live somewhere nice like, you
gotta maintain it. I think is be prepared for work,
be prepared for things to take longer than you expect
(04:37):
and cost more than you expect. But to move down
here definitely simplified things a lot down to like one
pot and one pan and a handful of shirts.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So what's living in a marina like? And who are
the kinds of people who spend time there? Unsurprisingly, they're
a very eclectic group of people who certainly like to
talk to Emma.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
The sailing community, the boating community.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Everyone is so kind and so excited and they especially
if you're younger, being around with the marina, Like I
can hardly go to the bathroom because there's bathrooms and
showers and laundry and everything in a in the entrance
lounge area to the marina, So I can hardly walk
there without talking to somebody because there's always people out
(05:24):
and about.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
And there's always interesting people.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
And it probably depends on where you are, Like I'm
in the marina here, so maybe a little bit different
clientele than people who just anchor in some random byo.
But I do love hearing people's stories and what brings
them here. Like one of my friends like broke up
with his girlfriend and so he just like wanted to
(05:50):
move to a new state, do something different, and.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
It's it's a fun life.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
There's several families with young kids and they have day jobs.
I think one family I'm thinking of, the wife's the doctor.
The husband runs a sail bringing company, and they've got
their whole family lives on their catamaran.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
But have any of her friends from up north come
to visit. Of course they have.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
That's funny.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
I told all my friends, Hey, I'm in Florida. I
have a boat it's warm and sunny.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Come visit.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
And I wasn't sure how many people would actually jump
on that and buy a plane ticket come down, but
everyone I've told about it has I have guests basically
every weekend, which is a ton of fun.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Most of them have.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Never been on sailboats, and so they love my boat
until I show them a friend's boat that's bigger.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
But no, they're impressed.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
And just a delightful piece. And a special thanks to
Monty Montgomery for snagging it, and a special thanks to
to Emma McCormick for telling her story. She had some
time to do remote work, and she did what so
many Americans do. She pursued her own version of the
American dream and decided to live on a sailboat in
a beautiful marina, in a beautiful part of the country
(07:14):
where it was nice and warm. The story of Emma
McCormick sailing away while doing her work here on our
American Stories. Folks, if you love the stories we tell
about this great country, and especially the stories of America's
(07:35):
rich past, know that all of our stories about American history,
from war to politics, to innovation, culture, and faith, are
brought to us by the great folks at Hillsdale College,
a place where students study all the things that are
beautiful in life and all the things that are good
in life. And if you can't get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale
will come to you with their free and terrific online courses.
(07:55):
Go to Hillsdale dot edu to learn more.
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
from the arts to sports, and from business to history
and everything in between, including your story. Send them to
our American Stories dot com. Up next to the story
from Emma McCormick. Emma is a Hillsdale graduate who decided
to live somewhere interesting after graduating college because, in her words,
(00:33):
he's a person who loves adventure and doing something new.
Here's our own Monte Montgomery, himself a Hillsdale graduate, with
the story.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
The Allure of the Sea. It's hard not to deny
it when it comes beckoning. If you've ever so much
as looked at a boat, it's hard not to imagine
what would be like to own one. One person who
decided to make those dreams into reality is Emma McCormick,
who did it on a whim.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Of course.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Well, my name is Emma, and I'm a financial analyst
at General Motors.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Right now, I'm a sailor. I grew up in Idaho.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I never even noticed sailboats, didn't know anything about it.
And then after college, when I moved to Detroit, I
was new to the city.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
I didn't know anybody.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
And I was out for a run one day and
I saw a poster that said free, no experience necessary,
learn to sail.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
It's like, that sounds perfect, it sounds like so much fun,
and so I just showed up.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
And it was at a yacht club that had a
race series, and they would take new people and just
put you on a boat. I did some training and
learning with them over the winter, and then sailed with
them and every regatta I could.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
But in twenty twenty, Emma was told she'd be working
remotely and decided to make the most of it. If
she could work remotely, she could live remotely too. But
what to live in was the question she had to answer.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
I thought about a sailboat for a fleeting second, but
then I kind of doubted myself.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
I was like, I probably can't do that by myself.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
So then I thought about a van, and then I
was talking to a sailing friend and we were talking
about the possibilities of doing that, but that was also.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Pretty far fetched. But then I was like, well, you know,
I could probably just do this by myself.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
I don't know, it just seemed like more fun, and
sailing is a lot more fun than driving, and it all.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Came together really at the last minute.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I canceled my lease before I had even officially bought
a boat. The second hardest part about owning a boat
is finding one to buy. Obviously, the first hardest part
is maintaining the boat. All of them are going to
have something wrong with them. I spent almost two full
months searching, just looking into different types of boats, but I.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Ended up finding this boat. I found it.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
It was listed on Craigslist, and the man who was
selling it was ninety two, and he actually only bought
the boat when he was eighty eight.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
And with the boat bought, she did what so many
other people from the Midwest do when spring rolls around.
She went to Florida. But what's her house like?
Speaker 3 (03:27):
So it's twenty five feet long, it's about eight and
a half feet wide. The headroom is actually about four
feet nine inches, which means I can't stand up in
my boat. Technically four people could sleep on this boat.
We've actually slept five for a few nights in a row.
I had actually never slept on a boat until I
(03:48):
bought this. I have a little galley or kitchen with
a two burner alcohol stove.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
It's like your.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Living room, your dining room, there's storage behind them. So
so yeah, I'm generally a pretty tidy person to begin with.
I like things to be organized, which I think is
good because living on a boat in such a small
space where if you're living.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, it's all it's all the same.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
If you leave something sitting out, the whole place looks
like a mess. So I think you just need to
be prepared to put a lot of work into it.
I mean, there's definitely people who live on boats here
who put zero work into it, and their boats reflect that.
But if you want to live somewhere nice like, you
gotta maintain it. I think is be prepared for work,
be prepared for things to take longer than you expect
(04:37):
and cost more than you expect. But to move down
here definitely simplified things a lot down to like one
pot and one pan and a handful of shirts.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So what's living in a marina like? And who are
the kinds of people who spend time there? Unsurprisingly, they're
a very eclectic group of people who certainly like to
talk to Emma.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
The sailing community, the boating community.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Everyone is so kind and so excited and they especially
if you're younger, being around with the marina, Like I
can hardly go to the bathroom because there's bathrooms and
showers and laundry and everything in a in the entrance
lounge area to the marina, So I can hardly walk
there without talking to somebody because there's always people out
(05:24):
and about.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
And there's always interesting people.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
And it probably depends on where you are, Like I'm
in the marina here, so maybe a little bit different
clientele than people who just anchor in some random byo.
But I do love hearing people's stories and what brings
them here. Like one of my friends like broke up
with his girlfriend and so he just like wanted to
(05:50):
move to a new state, do something different, and.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
It's it's a fun life.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
There's several families with young kids and they have day jobs.
I think one family I'm thinking of, the wife's the doctor.
The husband runs a sail bringing company, and they've got
their whole family lives on their catamaran.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
But have any of her friends from up north come
to visit. Of course they have.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
That's funny.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
I told all my friends, Hey, I'm in Florida. I
have a boat it's warm and sunny.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Come visit.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
And I wasn't sure how many people would actually jump
on that and buy a plane ticket come down, but
everyone I've told about it has I have guests basically
every weekend, which is a ton of fun.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Most of them have.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Never been on sailboats, and so they love my boat
until I show them a friend's boat that's bigger.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
But no, they're impressed.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
And just a delightful piece. And a special thanks to
Monty Montgomery for snagging it, and a special thanks to
to Emma McCormick for telling her story. She had some
time to do remote work, and she did what so
many Americans do. She pursued her own version of the
American dream and decided to live on a sailboat in
a beautiful marina, in a beautiful part of the country
(07:14):
where it was nice and warm. The story of Emma
McCormick sailing away while doing her work here on our
American Stories. Folks, if you love the stories we tell
about this great country, and especially the stories of America's
(07:35):
rich past, know that all of our stories about American history,
from war to politics, to innovation, culture, and faith, are
brought to us by the great folks at Hillsdale College,
a place where students study all the things that are
beautiful in life and all the things that are good
in life. And if you can't get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale
will come to you with their free and terrific online courses.
(07:55):
Go to Hillsdale dot edu to learn more.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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