Welcome to the first of what I hope to be a weekly topic for the community, pulled out of my own list of questions I’ve always wondered about our great mutants here.
These topics will be open for one week (but of course, like any topic, the community can always spin off a conversation into new ones!)
For this week, I’m starting with a real softball:
If you could live anywhere in the world, and cost-of-living, logistics, current events, etc. were not a deterrent, where would you live?
My answer is almost Cliche - it would be Hawai’i (Specifically Kaua’i.) I proposed to my partner there. Our visits taught us that it is truly like nowhere else on Earth, the unique geography (and geology) of the region create a source of natural beauty unlike anywhere else, and as someone with mixed-aboriginal ancestry myself, the slowly-progressing resurgence of true Polynesian culture and representation on the island give me a lot of hope that a cultural renaissance is imminent.
This is a hard one, but it might be Porto, Portugal for me. I just spent some time there, and I loved it so much. It was so beautiful with lots of culture, and access to public transportation on land, river and sea to get to lots of other places.
Thing is… I’ve mostly lived in one state for most of my life… I think what I might like is to live in different places for a while just to see what it was like before settling somewhere… Like, I’ve visited NOLA, but that’s not living in the city… so maybe live for a year in NOLA… a year in Cork, Ireland… a year in Berlin… maybe a year in Beirut, Lebanon… a year in Ankara or Istanbul… a year in Oakland, CA… a year in Portland, Oregon… a year in Minneapolis… a year in Chicago… A year in Rio…
And then decide the best place to live…
I’d go with a Nordic country. It appears that their systems align closer to my values than anywhere else I’m aware of. Sure the weather isn’t perfect but the right gear makes up for that most of the time.
This is gonna be totally boring, but i love where i am right now. I have everything, and everyone, i want close at hand, and i am happier here than anyplace i have ever been. So, yeah, Shenandoah Valley for me!
I’d be perfectly happy right where we are, had we the $$$ to buy new appliances, some furniture, make all the needed major (roof, back porch) and minor repairs, and keep the fridge & pantry full.
Same here, but I would probably change locations based on the seasons. Spring in the Midatlantic region, Canada in summer, Europe in autumn, and California or SE US states in winter. I’d probably throw in a few major cruise vacations, like circumnavigating South America, Africa, and Australia, or long rail journeys to explore new places.
I would really love to have a summer house in Hokkaido and a winter house in Okinawa.
I’ve also toyed with the idea of taking advantage of the retirement visa schemes offerred by many countries in Southeast Asia after I retire, but I don’t think my wife would go for it.
Barcelona for a while, then Anchorage again.
I’d love to live in the Netherlands, up in Leeuwarden. I’ve already lived in Germany which is a very close second.
I feel like if I ever made it to Spain I would never leave.
Northern Germany. Though Gothenburg Sweden impressed me a lot this summer.
You really have to visit places in Scandinavia in the depth of winter to get a feel for the place. A lot of the summers can be magical, but living there every day means there’s not just long, bright summer nights.
ETA: I suppose this also applies to @belovedvillain
I say that as someone who is currently staring out the window at western Norwegian rain. And this is summer
Living in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, I have some experience with severe winters. I know it’s different, but probably not as big an adjustment for myself and my family as some others would have.
I do think the light/dark swings would require some practice though!
Same. I’d probably move a bit more to the east, to get into some better fishing opportunities, but I’m quite happy living here (with the area, I could take or leave the people). Having said that, Ontario is always on my mind. I could happily live out my days on a chunk of the Canadian Shield.
i’ll echo @docosc and others in saying “i’m here”.
i bought the house on this particular Key after consdering other locations (Mexico, Belize, St. Croix, among others) and retired here to my “forever home”. it is everything i wanted.
granted the state has major problems - laws are changing that could affect livability here in the next 20 or so years i got left in me. add to that the climate change making it hotter and more humid, but that will be a problem anywhere in the world now.
i guess i already answered the OP question some time ago (for myself) and here i am on an island in the florida keys. it’s not for everybody - Dear Brother hates it here - but i don’t think i’d be as happy anywhere else.
YMMV.
A small town an hour or two outside of London that has one or two nice pubs (with a coal fire in the fireplace), access to a library/archives, on a train line.
Great Missenden, The Cross Keys pub.
Or Old Amersham.
Both on the Met Line 
