Fstoppers moved to Puerto Rico. Have you had the desire to move?

[BTM_Pix]

46 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

Wow Tokyo that would be quite the change! Not too fond of cities that big but it certainly is a beautiful city with amazing history behind it. 

The prospect of returning to live in the UK for extended spells is just too onerous for either of us, particularly in its current fractious and directionless state.

I figure if I'm going to have to pay through the nose for accommodation to live in a country where I have very limited insight into what the actual fuck is going on around me then I'd sooner do it in a place with decent public transport and cheap cameras

46 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

I doubt I would fit in there very well. I am not really too polite LoL. 

The politeness becomes infectious when you are there though.

99% of the grumpiness that I encounter in places like London is usually just a defensive reflection of everyone else being like that.

Flash mob videos are one of my guilty pleasures because its amazing and very moving to see the transformation in bustling, often snarling public spaces when a bit of unexpected spontaneous niceness is visited upon them.

 

 

[webrunner5]

I am not too sure what has happened to the "Civilized West"? It seems this country is tearing it's self apart, and it started Way before Trump came on the scene. The politics is just poisonous anymore here. They is no compromise now, just a defeatist mindset. People have become just plain nasty to each other. Everyone seems on edge. A Huge change from when I was young here. And it is easy to get swept up into it. Yeah would be nice to live in a polite society, free of  serious crime. Yep, might be the place to go..

[User]

13 hours ago, kye said:

Then again, if you just stop watching TV and do projects instead you can accomplish quite a lot over time.

Absolutely. I haven't had a tv for 30 years... traded it for an internet addiction

13 hours ago, kye said:

every place you go is an opportunity for you to see how other people live and to potentially adopt a few of their habits into your life.  Unfortunately as you get older you fit into any single culture less and less, and when you come 'home' you find that you no longer fit in there either.

I guess it depends on just how much one is willing and ready to engage in their new surroundings. But you are right about not fitting in if'n you ever return... which doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing... as long as one has a few good folks around to have a strange laugh with.

I believe it's well and understood that so much of the experience we will have shifting to a 'new' land will have to do with how we hold ourselves and participate in where we've moved from. And as much as I like the idea of setting up in a cheap beautiful country and developing a really wonderful drug addiction, I sort of know that this really isn't a way forward... so engaging in the local culture and building relationships is absolutely paramount. Moreover, having something reasonably challenging to do will be equally important as well.

I understand that we all have different interests, but I'd be curious who here has their eye on a 'place' that they feel could be 'right' for them, where that is, and why? Anyone? @Márcio Kabke Pinheiro mentioned Algarve. Part of me has joking about moving to Pakistan just to get away from all the uncomfortable 20 something social justice warriors who have made life in the West (particularly North America) so unnecessarily frustrating. I recently started watching Seinfeld as an antidote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YHz493rnLw&feature=youtu.be

 

[kye]

6 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

I figure if I'm going to have to pay through the nose for accommodation to live in a country where I have very limited insight into what the actual fuck is going on around me then I'd sooner do it in a place with decent public transport and cheap cameras

Japan is one of the places that an old-school WTF travel experience is still available in the modern age.  Many big cities are understandable now because of things like google translate (especially the augmented reality camera mode) and the common basis of Latin derivative culture, there are differences of course, but not "I've been watching this for an hour and still have no idea" type situations.

In Japan you point Google Translate at the writing and it doesn't recognise the font, you look at the people and everyone keeps to themselves, shopkeepers look at you blankly if you speak to them in English, and you watch what people are doing and often it makes no sense.  Of course, that's off the beaten track away from the tourist areas, but still, quite fun!

5 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

I am not too sure what has happened to the "Civilized West"? It seems this country is tearing it's self apart, and it started Way before Trump came on the scene. The politics is just poisonous anymore here. They is no compromise now, just a defeatist mindset. People have become just plain nasty to each other. Everyone seems on edge. A Huge change from when I was young here. And it is easy to get swept up into it. Yeah would be nice to live in a polite society, free of  serious crime. Yep, might be the place to go..

http://blog.adw.org/2016/10/eight-stages-rise-fall-civilizations/

[User]

 *Edit.

[BTM_Pix]

1 hour ago, kye said:

Japan is one of the places that an old-school WTF travel experience is still available in the modern age.  Many big cities are understandable now because of things like google translate (especially the augmented reality camera mode) and the common basis of Latin derivative culture, there are differences of course, but not "I've been watching this for an hour and still have no idea" type situations.

In Japan you point Google Translate at the writing and it doesn't recognise the font, you look at the people and everyone keeps to themselves, shopkeepers look at you blankly if you speak to them in English, and you watch what people are doing and often it makes no sense.  Of course, that's off the beaten track away from the tourist areas, but still, quite fun!

It is a whole lot more accessible now than it was when I was first working there 20 years ago.

Partly because of technology and partly because of the inevitable seep from globalisation.

The first few times I worked there we had translators/fixers in tow all the time to make sure we didn't get lost or breach some bowing or business card handling protocol, all of which just added to the heightened sense of otherness about the place.

Once we'd shaken them off, it became a whole lot less jarring and unsettling and we started to embrace the weirdness instead of fearing it!

Despite the changes over the years its still got enough of that weirdness and difference to let you know that you are definitely in a foreign country.

It just a lot easier now to find your way back to the hotel when you get lost!

That reassurance actually adds to it because it encourages you to wander about and go where the wind blows you.

Plus, the high tech toilets are a thing of endless intrigue and adventure.

[kye]

57 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

It is a whole lot more accessible now than it was when I was first working there 20 years ago.

Partly because of technology and partly because of the inevitable seep from globalisation.

The first few times I worked there we had translators/fixers in tow all the time to make sure we didn't get lost or breach some bowing or business card handling protocol, all of which just added to the heightened sense of otherness about the place.

Once we'd shaken them off, it became a whole lot less jarring and unsettling and we started to embrace the weirdness instead of fearing it!

Despite the changes over the years its still got enough of that weirdness and difference to let you know that you are definitely in a foreign country.

It just a lot easier now to find your way back to the hotel when you get lost!

That reassurance actually adds to it because it encourages you to wander about and go where the wind blows you.

Plus, the high tech toilets are a thing of endless intrigue and adventure.

I was there for the first time in December, family in tow.  It was a great trip, just the right amount of difference as you say, high-tech toilets included!

I've read and heard so much about Japan that I felt like we didn't scratch the surface much.  We stayed in an airbnb away from the tourist areas and caught trains everywhere, but I think we just didn't get off the beaten path as much as I would have liked.  I would have liked to go to some of the more local food places, ramen especially, but the kids are picky and getting four adjacent seats in those tiny places where it's just the chef and the vending machine outside seemed pretty unlikely.  We were only there for a few days, so if there was a bit more time I might have ventured out by myself and blundered through a some local experiences.

I've put it on my (very short) list of countries to re-visit.  Most countries get put a long way down the list when you have a choice of being somewhere you've been before or visiting somewhere new, but Japan is an exception for me.  The other is Hong Kong, which I really liked - stress free with plentiful English speakers, but busy and interesting with lots of foreign things to look at and experience.  It's gradually getting absorbed into China, so the homogenisation of globalisation will be slightly counteracted as it becomes more Chinese again.  

3 hours ago, User said:

Absolutely. I haven't had a tv for 30 years... traded it for an internet addiction

I guess it depends on just how much one is willing and ready to engage in their new surroundings. But you are right about not fitting in if'n you ever return... which doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing... as long as one has a few good folks around to have a strange laugh with.

I believe it's well and understood that so much of the experience we will have shifting to a 'new' land will have to do with how we hold ourselves and participate in where we've moved from. And as much as I like the idea of setting up in a cheap beautiful country and developing a really wonderful drug addiction, I sort of know that this really isn't a way forward... so engaging in the local culture and building relationships is absolutely paramount. Moreover, having something reasonably challenging to do will be equally important as well.

I understand that we all have different interests, but I'd be curious who here has their eye on a 'place' that they feel could be 'right' for them, where that is, and why? Anyone? @Márcio Kabke Pinheiro mentioned Algarve. Part of me has joking about moving to Pakistan just to get away from all the uncomfortable 20 something social justice warriors who have made life in the West (particularly North America) so unnecessarily frustrating. I recently started watching Seinfeld as an antidote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YHz493rnLw&feature=youtu.be

 

I used to pride myself on not watching TV, but I think I have to shift my perspective on watching YT to it being the same as TV.  That will be a bit of a shock internally when I do!

You're right about where you live being less important than how you live.  Wherever we live, if tourists visited they'd be fascinated and taking photos of all sorts of interesting things that we drive past while thinking about going on holiday to wherever they live.

My list of places I think I would like to live in part-time is Australia (base of operations and family), Hong Kong, and somewhere in Europe.  The wife is pretty fond of Italy, but we recently spent a month there and the people weren't as friendly as she was anticipating.  I've got friends who live in Spain and they say it's nicer than Italy and a lot cheaper too, but they'd have to convince the wife, and the heart wants what it wants and all that

[OliKMIA]

Seriously this is great for them. I love Puerto Rico, a beautiful underrated island. Unlike many Caribbean places, the island is quite big with a lot of diversity. Not much tourism beyond San Juan and a few stupid places. You can totally find beautiful pristine beaches with 3 people standing there. There are jungle, coast, mountain, lakes, surf spots, rivers, etc. The food is delicious and the criminality is not bad for the region.

As a US territory, it has the best of both world: the relative good infrastructure and service of a developed country (highway, stores, emergency services) and the exoticism of a tropical island. No need to deal with customs, immigration and shipping tax. The island is very well connected by airlines with plenty of cheap flights that deserved many cities in the east coast (Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, NYC, etc.).

Hell, I would go there to if could. They got plenty of tax incentive for their business and they probably got this mansion on the beach for the price of a 2 bedrooms in a major US city.

I did this short video showing the island lat time I visited, super cool place

 

[User]

22 minutes ago, OliKMIA said:

Seriously this is great for them. I love Puerto Rico, a beautiful underrated island. Unlike many Caribbean places, the island is quite big with a lot of diversity. Not much tourism beyond San Juan and a few stupid places. You can totally find beautiful pristine beaches with 3 people standing there. There are jungle, coast, mountain, lakes, surf spots, rivers, etc. The food is delicious and the criminality is not bad for the region.

As a US territory, it has the best of both world: the relative good infrastructure and service of a developed country (highway, stores, emergency services) and the exoticism of a tropical island. No need to deal with customs, immigration and shipping tax. The island is very well connected by airlines with plenty of cheap flights that deserved many cities in the east coast (Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, NYC, etc.).

Hell, I would go there to if could. They got plenty of tax incentive for their business and they probably got this mansion on the beach for the price of a 2 bedrooms in a major US city.

I did this short video showing the island lat time I visited, super cool place

 

Nice promo piece OliKMIA!
It's a little too clean and tidy for my liking... but to think that Trump called it a shithole... was he off. Fuck.

 

3 hours ago, kye said:

My list of places I think I would like to live in part-time is Australia (base of operations and family), Hong Kong, and somewhere in Europe.  The wife is pretty fond of Italy, but we recently spent a month there and the people weren't as friendly as she was anticipating.  I've got friends who live in Spain and they say it's nicer than Italy and a lot cheaper too, but they'd have to convince the wife, and the heart wants what it wants and all that

I also like the idea of 3 locations so as to keep things interesting... Italy is beautiful but I also struggle with the Italians  No time in Spain, but I found the Portuguese are very civilized and well mannered.

[Robert Collins]

30 minutes ago, User said:

I also like the idea of 3 locations so as to keep things interesting... 

I used to believe in living in multiple locations but it many ways it ties you down to those locations. Currently, I live in one location (Bangkok) but travel a lot....

Moved to Bangkok 20 years ago. Actually with the internet being universal, it is pretty easy to live anywhere you want nowadays...

[Kisaha]

4 hours ago, kye said:

My list of places I think I would like to live in part-time is Australia (base of operations and family), Hong Kong, and somewhere in Europe.  The wife is pretty fond of Italy, but we recently spent a month there and the people weren't as friendly as she was anticipating.  I've got friends who live in Spain and they say it's nicer than Italy and a lot cheaper too, but they'd have to convince the wife, and the heart wants what it wants and all that

Come to Greece gia na ti vris

("come to Greece to feel cozy about it", or something among these lines. It was a line from a cheesy 80s movie here!)

With 300-400.000AUS$ you can probably buy a family house, an olive grove, and some other Mediterranean trees, being equally close to a mountain or the see, while beeing a few hours away from a major city, and less, from a major archaeological site.

Also, you probably get a passport with it! Greece needs the smallest imvestment in land to get a EU passport, that is one of the reasons a lot of Chinese businessmen buy houses here. That, and the hundrends of habitable islands.

Land is not very cheap, like some 3rd rate country, but you are living into EU, on a "western" influenced country, that almost all speak English, adequate infrastructure, and relatively, a very low crime rate (it used to be no crime at all a few decades ago, we literally were sleeping with doors and windows open, during the summer, until recently). 

[User]

47 minutes ago, Robert Collins said:

I used to believe in living in multiple locations but it many ways it ties you down to those locations.

Agreed. But I think that we'd agree that it's still good to have something of a base, even if it's rented. Thailand is wonderful... nice work Robert.

[kye]

2 hours ago, OliKMIA said:

I did this short video showing the island lat time I visited, super cool place

Nice video!

It is very clean as @User says, but that's a style unto itself, so why not

I especially liked the night time lapses and the drone shot following the bird, very nicely done!

1 hour ago, Robert Collins said:

I used to believe in living in multiple locations but it many ways it ties you down to those locations. Currently, I live in one location (Bangkok) but travel a lot....

Moved to Bangkok 20 years ago. Actually with the internet being universal, it is pretty easy to live anywhere you want nowadays...

Just because you live in three places doesn't mean you can't go on holiday!

I think with things like airbnb it's probably easier to rent rather than buy and have all the ownership hassles.  Of course, you can only live with what you can carry around, so no having heavy possessions like a large monitor, decent studio monitors for editing, a solid coffee machine, etc.  These things are affordable and you could buy duplicate setups for each place, but if you didn't own them then carting them around would be a hassle, especially if you need to fly to get between your residences.

1 hour ago, Kisaha said:

Come to Greece gia na ti vris

("come to Greece to feel cozy about it", or something among these lines. It was a line from a cheesy 80s movie here!)

With 300-400.000AUS$ you can probably buy a family house, an olive grove, and some other Mediterranean trees, being equally close to a mountain or the see, while beeing a few hours away from a major city, and less, from a major archaeological site.

Also, you probably get a passport with it! Greece needs the smallest imvestment in land to get a EU passport, that is one of the reasons a lot of Chinese businessmen buy houses here. That, and the hundrends of habitable islands.

Land is not very cheap, like some 3rd rate country, but you are living into EU, on a "western" influenced country, that almost all speak English, adequate infrastructure, and relatively, a very low crime rate (it used to be no crime at all a few decades ago, we literally were sleeping with doors and windows open, during the summer, until recently). 

Wherever I go I like to have a quick look at real estate prices and look for the lowest price of anything available.

I understand that you can't just say a house a quarter the size should cost a quarter because it costs more to build a bathroom than a bedroom, plus there's an overhead for it being useful (as a place to live) but you really should be able to buy a tiny studio apartment for $50k in most major cities.  That doesn't get you around the foreign ownership laws, but I'd have a few here in Australia and spend time between them when I could.  It would also sort out lots of problems with housing affordability and some of the social problems surrounding it.

I've followed the Tiny House movement for some years now and that's quite a promising thing.  Not necessarily because a caravan built like a wooden garden shed is the answer, but because they're pushing the perceptions of why we need to have large houses.  In the US, and lots of countries I believe, there are minimum sizes for building houses and I heard they were introduced during an economic slump as a way to ensure the building industry had more to do.  It will be great to see those standards relaxed, even if other more relevant ones are to take their place, as it opens up a lot of possibilities.

[IronFilm]

19 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

Currently browsing short term rentals in Tokyo....

Add browsing rentals in New Zealand to your reading list

 

[Orangenz]

On 1/30/2019 at 10:28 PM, kye said:

Actually, we're not so different in terms of size: https://www.commsec.com.au/content/dam/EN/ResearchNews/2018Reports/November/ECO_Insights_191118_CommSec-Home-Size.pdf

Average size of new homes in US 202.0sqm and Australia 186.3sqm.  Existing houses would be interesting to see the stats on, but I think that the US has more extremes.  

NZ is not part of Australia. Those are new homes, and I agree they are getting bigger as the area of land decreases to almost the same size as the house. The existing average would be closer to 70m2. I've lived, and helped build, in both countries so that's what I'm basing my opinion on.

[BTM_Pix]

13 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Add browsing rentals in New Zealand to your reading list

 

I've never been but no one I've known who has been there has had anything other than praise for it.

I've always been put off by the flight time but, hey, if I'm living in Tokyo I'm practically in the local area.

[fuzzynormal]

The goal my wife and I are striving for is winter in SoCal, spring anywhere shooting a film, summer in Poland, and Japan during autumn.

[kye]

39 minutes ago, Orangenz said:

NZ is not part of Australia. 

True.  I'm not sure why you're pointing that out, but ok

39 minutes ago, Orangenz said:

NZ is not part of Australia. Those are new homes, and I agree they are getting bigger as the area of land decreases to almost the same size as the house. The existing average would be closer to 70m2. I've lived, and helped build, in both countries so that's what I'm basing my opinion on.

70m2 is tiny!  

I lived in an 80m2 two bedroom (it was built as a granny-flat by a friends parents to retire in, but they moved out because it was too small).  It was a little larger than it absolutely had to be, with a small office and an ensuite in addition to the bathroom / laundry, but it was smaller than the two-bedroom unit I used to live in.  

I can't imagine that there are enough 1 or 2 bedroom places under that size to offset the staggering number of 3 or 4 bedroom houses that fill the suburban areas of every city and town here in Australia. It would be interesting to see some stats on existing dwellings but I can't imagine the average is that small.

13 minutes ago, fuzzynormal said:

The goal my wife and I are striving for is winter in SoCal, spring anywhere shooting a film, summer in Poland, and Japan during autumn.

That sounds like a pretty nice rotation!  I'm guessing that you have ties to Poland?  it's not normally on many people's 'must-see places" lists

[fuzzynormal]

9 minutes ago, kye said:

pretty nice rotation!  I'm guessing that you have ties to Poland?  it's not normally on many people's 'must-see places" lists 

That's one reason we go. Eastern Europe is still cheap and not as crowded as other places during the summer. 

Not a huge fan of popular Poland politics, but neither am I in the USA, so no big deal. 

[Orangenz]

4 hours ago, kye said:

True.  I'm not sure why you're pointing that out, but ok

70m2 is tiny!  

but I can't imagine the average is that small.

Because you were replying to me and I wasn't talking about Australia...