To which continent to retire?

If you had the choice, to take your yacht (or transport it)(or buy one there) to another region from NA, where would you go?
The question is about mooring, parts, labor, fuel, anchoring, provisions, and anything related to daily living on board.
If your choices are Asia, Europe, SA, which one would you choose?
I know this can be a very personal choice, so I just want opinions based on experience.
If anyone has one?

For me, Scandinavian countries or NZ. But, hard to beat the US variety especially when including Great Lakes and rivers.

After having visited Mauritius, I would certainly consider there or the Seychelles. Mauritius was a UK colony just to the east of Madagascar, mostly populated with indian and french nationallities.
seychilles is just to the north of madagascar.

both wonderful places that speak english.

If you are talking about full time liveaboarding, then it would have to be pretty, civilized, cheap and not so harsh of a climate winter or summer. That leaves the southern Mediterranean like the Turkish Coast and islands or someplace in South/Central America like Costa Rica.

In fact southern Turkey in the winter (although their politics is beginning to suck) and the Croatian islands in the summer might be an ideal compromise of those qualities listed above.

David

Australia, New Zealand, Nicaragua or Colombia (in that order) are on my list for possible relocation...

Like you said this is only a personal opinion but for me it will be Caribbean and here are the reasons:
1. Diversity: Lot of island, and lot of difference in culture, landscape etc.
2. Diving: Infinite pleasure for it, always something new to discover.
3. Climate: just perfect, and even if you want to avoid hurricanes, you can find spots outside of the way.
4. You can get a french taste in Martinique, a Dutch taste in Bonaire, a Spanish taste, a British taste etc etc so nice.

For the budget side well depends on so many things that like anywhere else it can be on the lower side or the higher side depending on your needs, the place and many factors.

L.

Exactly where I am.

garrobito said:

Australia, New Zealand, Nicaragua or Colombia (in that order) are on my list for possible relocation...

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Gee thanks garrobito for dumping us in the same bin as Nicaragua or even NZ

Thailand

My wife and I are seriously considering our options for retirement. There are plenty of places we still would like to visit before deciding, but on the top of our list so far are:

Lankawi, Mayasia

Lycian Coast, Turkey

Ionian coast, Greece

We are off to Japan as soon as I get medical insurance cover

If it ever opens up to sea born travellers Vietnam in a heartbeat.
Until then Thailand and Malaysia.

Whichever continent my kids and grandkids are on.

LeoKa said:

If your choices are Asia, Europe, SA, which one would you choose?

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There are lots of interesting places in the world to visit. Visiting versus living is very different. East coast of NA works for me.

Ted

Tasmania. Friends tell me it's like the US in the 1960's.

Anything tropical is out of the question. Places like Colombia have been hostile to my well-being/health. High heat and humidity are my nemesis. A temperate climate with low humidity and without extreme temperatures suits me.

Oregon:



Southern England:



Central California:

Except in winter when it is pouring icy rain after 40cm of snow and just before 1 week under -25C

L.

Lou_tribal said:

Except in winter when it is pouring icy rain after 40cm of snow and just before 1 week under -25C

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Pretty much the same deal here except it only goes down to -20C and we get 1.2 meter (4 foot) snowfalls. I love it! The extreme weather and the rain is why this place is so amazing.

When you think of how many places you can get to by boat on BC's north coast, factor in how many rivers and creeks there are to explore, then add some mountain ridges and peaks to the list, then visit each during the different seasons...2 lifetimes wouldn't be enough.

Isolated South Pacific islands would be worth an occasional visit however...

dhays said:

Whichever continent my kids and grandkids are on.

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Tough choices when two kids are in BC and one, the only one with grandkids, is in Portugal.

koliver said:

Tough choices when two kids are in BC and one, the only one with grandkids, is in Portugal.

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Easy! 6 summer month in BC, 6 winter month in portugal. You should have great cruises but you need 2 boats or a passage maker !

My wife and I tried rotating between Australia and BC every 6 months for a while, but it is more difficult than it sounds. Taxation issues become a big problem as you are considered a resident in both countries. Its much easier to choose one home base and visit the other as required.

I find that we visit friend and relatives not much more when they are 150 kilometres away compared to 15,000 kilometres.

You can travel almost anywhere on the planet in a day. Its a smaller world than most people realize.

MurrayM said:

Isolated South Pacific islands would be worth an occasional visit however...

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You can't come. We're full. Well, almost. Try New Zealand, although you will need to displace some sheep there.

Simi 60 said:

If it ever opens up to sea born travellers Vietnam in a heartbeat.

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Saigon is our second home. Wonderful.

Forget about taking a boat there but there is no reason to. The interesting sea areas like Halong, Nha Trần and Mekong are all controlled heavily... most coastal and river waters are polluted anyway.

Rent a flat in district 2 and enjoy life!

Insequent said:

You can't come. We're full. Well, almost. Try New Zealand, although you will need to displace some sheep there.

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I was thinking more along the lines of Maewo, Vanuatu...

Acheron2010 said:

Tasmania. Friends tell me it's like the US in the 1960's.

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Yep you can hear the banjo's in the distance on a still night

Wifey B: We stay where we are because of family, friends, and employees. However, we thought of where we'd live if not here. Wouldn't be anywhere cold so count all cold places out. South Pacific has a lot of appeal. Still, it would either be in the Caribbean or Central America. Caribbean could be Virgin Islands, St. Barts, St. Martin/Maarten. Central America could be Panama or Costa Rico. Then Belize (South America) or the East Coast of Mexico have some appeal. And don't overlook just moving a few miles to the Bahamas.

Acheron2010 said:

Tasmania. Friends tell me it's like the US in the 1960's.

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Yes that where we are heading to.

For those thinking of the Caribbean a couple of negatives. In the Eastern Caribbean the English speaking islands have security concerns. Differs from island to island but it is a definite concern. Homeowners/renters frequently maintain 24 hour security guards to protect their property.

Medical care is another issue. A retired person / couple has a greater need of medical care than a 40 year old. Medical Care on the English speaking islands is not up to North American/European/Australian standards.

The French islands are better with both security and health care. These are departments of France (broadly similar to US states/Canadian provinces) and the national government is directly involved with the health care and the security.

Another factor for the Eastern Caribbean island is the difficulty in buying many items, many things are just not carried and thus must be imported when wanted at high cost of shipping, duty and taxes.

Weather is great, the islands are beautiful. The boating community is of significant size but the land based full time expats are much fewer.

One more vote for Tasmania from me.
We did the big shift to Tas 28 years ago and couldn't be happier.
Second choice is NZ, probably the south island bit.
And the end of the day though "home is where the heart is" as they say.
Picture taken from the Hobart signal station, can't claim that I took it which is a shame.