What To Look For In A Sailboat

Don't flame me for asking about sailboats on a car site but I have been looking for a boat in the 30' range for a while.
I half assed learned how to sail in 1977 so I'm not a total newbie at it. And I would take some ground classes to learn as much as I can too. The wife says there is no way possible she's getting on a boat with me again so I might have to work on her a while longer.
Anyway, is there anything I should look for myself on a used boat before I pay for a survey on a boat? There's a lot of boats out there and the newest ones I could afford were built in the 1980's so they have a lot of use already.

I literally grew up on a sailboat, lived aboard as a small kid traveling with my parents every summer. I had my Coast Guard Auxiliary Captains license at 15 through the Sea Cadets.

Best advice I've read here and agree with is find an experienced surveyor of sailboats. The guys here pointed out some really good things to look for but there's so much more. Get a professional to look it over.

Good luck.