Iv'e updated my avatar to reflect my boating experience. Please keep this in mind when responding to my sometimes juvenile boating comments.
You're learning and asking questions. Thats good.
Something to keep in mind regarding capabilities needed for Coastal Cruising.
About a year ago a nice couple took their 34' 1980's vintage Taiwan Trawler all the way from Vancouver Island I think to Cabo San Lucas.
34'...1980's. Probably a sliding rear door, and for sure not a "destroyer" door.
I'm guessing that is a $30-40K boat, and I'm guessing high.
The point is get something you like, and whatever you choose it will work just fine. With a $300K budget you have allot of choices. You could get anything from a nice passagemaker style boat to a very nice fast cruiser. There are lots of tradeoffs to consider.
Things like rough water capability, speed capability, fuel endurance, interior volume are all variables that change quite a bit depending on the boat you buy.
Some will choose rough water capability. But in doing that they generally give up some speed and interior volume. Some will choose a boat that is bigger on the inside. But in doing that they give up rough water capability, or speed, or nice side decks.
All boats are a compromise. You just have to decide what compromises are important to you.