Take away your current location and say you decide you are going to move to the place of your dreams.
Where in the World is it?
US?
An island?
An exotic land?
Europe?
South America?
Asia?
Describe the perfect place, size of your house and what you are going to do. You have 10 years at a minimum in this location.
For me it would be one of three places:
1. Greece-never been there but dream of living an island hopping lifestyle. A small house of 800-1000 sq ft. 2 bed/2 bath and a nice outdoor area with a small plunge pool.
2. Italy-been there twice and love the location to travel all over Europe. The laid back life and food would turn me into a fat guy again but all the walking cities would help. Plus all the history. Again same size house
3. Vietnam-I would buy a nice 2Bd/2Ba condo on the beach in Nha Trang and travel all over Asia. Thailand, the Philippines, Bali, Indonesia and more. Love Vienamese food and happy endings.
Originally Posted by scho63:
So no one is retiring to the Middle East? :-)
Eureka's map in Post 99 shows a very nice weather region in central Iraq, which may be the Tigris-Euphrates valley. Bonus for finding cool artifacts in your garden. [Reply]
If we did this by continent, here would be my choices. I'm sure that I would change some of these if I had more experience in each place, but this is based on my current perceptions. I'll include a Money Is No Object (MINO) choice and a Money Is An Issue choice (MIAI).
North America MINO - Laguna Beach, CA
MIAI - Denver, CO
If the second option was something other than Denver, I'd be there. I can't afford Laguna.
South America MINO - Lima, Peru
MIAI - Lima, Peru
Money probably doesn't alter my choice here. I don't know much about this area, but the nice parts of Lima seemed nicer to me than the nice parts of Buenos Aires and Rio.
Antarctica MINO - Northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula
MIAI - Northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula
Money probably doesn't alter my choice here. I'd pretty much just try to find the warmest spot and a place where it's easy to club seals.
Europe MINO - Paris, France
MIAI - Funchal, Portugal
I'm not sure I'd pick Paris over Funchal even with infinite money. There are a ton of good options on this continent.
Africa MINO - Cape Town, South Africa
MIAI - Nosy Boraha, Madagascar
Yeesh - this is not an easy question at all. I'd probably try to get enough money to move to another continent. Maybe some place like Libreville, Gabon, could top the list just because it's kind of stable. I don't know my options very well here.
Asia MINO - Tokyo, Japan
MIAI - Pusan, Korea
I'd want an area with little pollution and a high propensity for English. I considered Seoul, but the pollution is bad there. Tokyo is not great for English, but it's okay and not really polluted. I could maneuver there.
I'd probably prefer to be in a different Japanese city if there was much English at all, but I think English use declines notably outside Tokyo. Hong Kong is also a really strong contender for the MINO option.
Pusan is a nice MIAI choice because Koreans like to speak English and it's big enough to have some western influences. It's not as upscale as Tokyo, but would be a contender for top spot. I would consider Cheju here, but that's probably not fair since it's a tourist island.
Petropavlovsk is one of the most gorgeous places I've ever seen, but I think Russia's not a good option.
Australia/Oceania MINO - Auckland, New Zealand
MIAI - Hobart, Tasmania
Some place like Tahiti seems like an obvious choice, but I think I'd get cabin fever on a small remote island. I'm also not a swimmer or boater at all. I'd also consider Sydney or Bali for the MINO option. I've never been to New Zealand but everyone who goes there says it's great. For the MIAI option, I'd consider Perth, but I've been to Hobart and I think Tasmania's a nice place. [Reply]
So this seems like a odd choice. You do need private security but not as much as South Africa. Nairobi is a travel hub, fairly stable, and Kenya is a country on the rise. The climate is nice with the city being at altitude. Nature and parks can't be beat. [Reply]
I’d settle somewhere on the South Florida or Southern California coast.
First choice would probably be the Florida gulf coast. I’m thinking somewhere between Clearwater and Naples. Anywhere in between there like Sarasota, Siesta Key, Sanibel Island, Ana Maria Island, etc. is fine.
San Diego or somewhere there about would probably be my next choice. I just can’t stand seeing all the homeless people in SoCal.
Either way, I’d have a 3,000-4,000 square foot home right on the water and I’d spend most of my time around the water, at the pool, on the beach, on my mini yacht (I’ve always wanted a yacht). [Reply]