We have done both.
30 years ago we cruised an older 40' steel ketch. Very simple. Did not have: inside showers, hot water heater, HVAC, holding tank, water maker, generator, freezer, autopilot, chart plotters, cameras, radar....
We did have a single 55 hp industrial Ford engine, Aeries wind vane, 5 HP/roll-up dinghy, one manual salt water head, 100 gal water tank, 80 gal diesel tank, an RDF, an old depth depth finder, VHF, paper charts and one battery bank. While cruising we installed a roller furling genoa, SSB, sextant, hand-held GPS and small wind generator. No car, no house. No broker, no insurance. Before cell phones and internet.
Yet we cruised for an enjoyable 5 years, 13K miles at 4-6 knots via the Med, transatlantic, east-south-west Caribbean. Stayed many months in Italy, Greece , Spain, Grenada/Trinidad, Panama, Guatemala and Belize.
Now we have a 30 year old, twin screw, heavy displacement 45 ton trawler with multiple aging but well backed up systems. In a year we have covered 2K miles at 6-7 knots and now in the Bahamas.
Real differences: (+) space, comfort, ice; (-) our age, complexity, cost, maintenance time, roll. Improvements in communications, WX information and electronic charts are the same for power and sail. Although the boat is capable, we probably will not undertake more than 3 day crossings.
At this point I would call it an even trade-off. In general we feel that sailors live closer to the water, weather and have easier interactions with local culture. Respect is due.
Everyone enjoys the same surrounding nature and culture, no matter what you have. And, as noted above, there is always a bigger and better boat around the corner.
