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Alternative Lifestyles and Well-Being

Abstract This study investigated the alternative lifestyle of ocean cruising to learn about human satisfaction and well-being. Cruisers have made a conscious decision to quit their land-based life in an effort to lead a more self-determined and ultimately more satisfying lifestyle. Cruisers own their boats, live aboard and are constantly on the move to somewhere. An interpretive research paradigm using symbolic interactionism as a theoretical perspective was used to guide this study. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 25 cruisers at marinas in Florida and Georgetown (Bahamas), several themes and sub-themes emerged from the data : health (healthier lifestyle, psychological well-being), time together, maturity. The constant comparative method of grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967 ; Charmaz, 2006) revealed that cruising is a self- determined and intrinsically rewarding lifestyle that adds substantially to the physical as well as psychological well-being of cruisers. Self determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) and the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 2001) were applied to the findings.