Robin P
Well-known
I'm about an hour and a half south of Roger and can confirm that there are bargain priced houses in our nearby villages too.
Wouldn't want to make promises to anyone that they'd find it ideal here but year round we're on average 6C/11F warmer than the west of England.
Aside from the pleasant surprise of buying a house four times bigger for two thirds the price of what we sold in Gloucestershire the most delightful part of being here is losing the sense that the world is overpopulated.
Wouldn't want to make promises to anyone that they'd find it ideal here but year round we're on average 6C/11F warmer than the west of England.
Aside from the pleasant surprise of buying a house four times bigger for two thirds the price of what we sold in Gloucestershire the most delightful part of being here is losing the sense that the world is overpopulated.
FrankS
Registered User
"But then, it is in the nature of old men to believe that the world is going to hell in a hand basket."
Love that, Roger!
Thanks oldtimer. (Luckily my modest pension is indexed.)
Love that, Roger!
Thanks oldtimer. (Luckily my modest pension is indexed.)
tbhv55
Well-known
Finglas
Established
Frank,
Re-reading again your criteria it seems to me you wish to stay at home except in the harsh winter months - do I have that right?
That being the case - you wouldn't need to be tied to one warmer location but could do long term renting (3-4 months) in different countries each year.
You will get to see more of the world - without making firm commitments and the language barrier in some places would be no big deal.
I have been to Costa Rica on and off for 4 years and I can tell you it would not meet 2 of your criteria (inexpensive cost of living and personal safety) are 2 big issues that could disappoint you.
The RFF member here who suggested Kentucky - might be onto something in that you have a neighboring country that has huge variety yet strangely familiar and opens the possibility of overland RV living too?
If you do want to try a warmer/cheaper/safer place in our winter months why not try Peru? To me this beats Costa Rica/Panama/Southern Europe.
all the best,
John
Re-reading again your criteria it seems to me you wish to stay at home except in the harsh winter months - do I have that right?
That being the case - you wouldn't need to be tied to one warmer location but could do long term renting (3-4 months) in different countries each year.
You will get to see more of the world - without making firm commitments and the language barrier in some places would be no big deal.
I have been to Costa Rica on and off for 4 years and I can tell you it would not meet 2 of your criteria (inexpensive cost of living and personal safety) are 2 big issues that could disappoint you.
The RFF member here who suggested Kentucky - might be onto something in that you have a neighboring country that has huge variety yet strangely familiar and opens the possibility of overland RV living too?
If you do want to try a warmer/cheaper/safer place in our winter months why not try Peru? To me this beats Costa Rica/Panama/Southern Europe.
all the best,
John
Platinum RF
Well-known
Cuba meet your criteria
taskoni
Well-known
As Jon suggested Malaysia is a great place to spend your winters. I am currently in Penang and I love it! Wonderful people, wonderful food, great places to hang around, and very very cheap.
Regards,
Boris
Regards,
Boris
kuuan
loves old lenses
much agreed.
if you like to give Asia a try I'd recommend Thailand, great culture, very good food, a fun and easy going place and quality / price ratio is hard to beat, cities e.g. Chiang Mai, Hua Hin. Malaysia, Penang has been becoming a retirees favorite, even greater variety of very good food, one could argue a bit less fun, beer is dear
@ taskoni: have you visited Taiping? Not far to the south from Penang, an amazing place, incredible it has not been more discovered
Out to Lunch
Ventor
I see this post gently sliding into Babylonian chatter and I'm signing off. To the OP...whatever you do, make sure you truly understand what you and your partner want out of a particular retirement location....and then research the hell out of a variety of options. Cheers, Peter
Sparrow
Veteran
... now that is a really good idea.
Platinum RF
Well-known
You may disappear in thin air when you get in or get out. Also not the safest place to live.
Sparrow
Veteran
If you fancy flying a bit further the east side of the Adriatic is really good value ... the Euro is holding down the local currencies and they're pretty safe by north american standards ... even Albania is fairly relaxed these days, and north of there all the way up to Trieste is quite settled these days.
Although its winter in the Med you'd probably not notice ... just remember your raincoat
Although its winter in the Med you'd probably not notice ... just remember your raincoat
zauhar
Veteran
We visited Portland, Ore. a while back, that's a fabulous place, beautiful environment and friendly natives. Not sure of the cost of housing. I think the winters are reasonably mild (more rain than snow).
I can't suggest Philly, the last winters have had a Canadian tinge, and it ain't as cheap as it used to be.
Randy
I can't suggest Philly, the last winters have had a Canadian tinge, and it ain't as cheap as it used to be.
Randy
kuuan
loves old lenses
Peter I am sure you agree, hopefully the wording 'Babylonian chatter' direct after 'Thailand, fun and beer' will NOT augment a limited view someone could have of this truly great country.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Randy,
Portland is a very cool city. Bike friendly, good mass transit, and has progressive thinking people.
Last winter was the tale of two Portlands: in Portland Maine the coldest winter on record; in Portland Oregon the warmist winter on record. Bonus is that Seattle is not that far away if you need a bigger city.
Also consider water supply which is becoming a scarce commodidy. The only parts of the U.S. that have a sustainable water supply is basically the North west and the northeast. Canadian water by treaty feeds California where half our produce comes from. In Texas and California there are severe drought conditions. In places like Arizona the water supply is being depleted.
For me coming from New York many places will have about half the cost of living. I looked into Savannah GA. a very pretty city. Went in August to see what it was like during the most humid time. The air is clean and I actually think the smog and pollution in NYC in hot weather is a lot worse and is more oppressive. As long as you are in the shade it isn't so bad because the air moves and it is not stagnant and close like in New York. The bad about Savannah is crime. We were told not to be out after dark. In Savannah I loved the southern manners, and I wish we had that polite way of the south in New York.
Cal
Out to Lunch
Ventor
Nah, Thailand is still on my list.
kbg32
neo-romanticist
Roger,
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Post–World War II baby boom were between the years 1946 and 1964.
Cheers,
Keith
kbg32
neo-romanticist
Cal,
I found the same politeness in Texas. But at night, after work, these were the same people who covered themselves in bedsheets burning crosses on other peoples lawns......
x-ray
Veteran
I have about $1300 in my Paypal account.
That might not do it but if you scrape together a little more you get a really nce & free darkroom and 450 sq ft studio with 10' ceilings. You'll only be 5 minutes from the lake and 60 min from the mountains.
x-ray
Veteran
mfogiel
Veteran
I have been discussing the same topic with my Canadian friend yesterday, although he has also a EU passport. I would heartily recommend the Mediterranean. Depending on what languages you speak, there is a lot of good choices. Malta ( very warm, low taxes for retirees, English spoken, fairly cheap), Portugal ( 10 year tax exemption for retirees - not sure if this applies for non EU citizens, very cheap, nice expat community in the south), Spain, still cheap, Italy, somewhat more expensive, but extremely beautiful and best food in the world (very friendly people), France, best overall balance between civilisation and joy de vivre, but more expensive, particularly Cote d'Azur. I have missed out some other places to think about: Croatia, Greece, Cyprus. Once you spend a winter around the Mediterranean, you will not want to go back to your freezer.