Paradise - the best spot on earth

[unclemick]

Hmmm - well I'm not one to blab but:

Think Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz.'

Second place - mabbe the Missouri Ozarks.

heh heh heh - of course I've yet to try to kayak West Texas! So I'll keep an open mind.

BTW: I'm a little down on large bodies of water after Katrina. Ah yes - it's spring on the high plains and the Missouri's at flood stage.

 

[Sheryl]

Talking about wonderful, remote islands, I'll let out my favorite place on the planet; Rarotonga. The Marquesas are nice and various other islands but Rato is accessable, exotic and comfortable. Off islands of Fiji are pretty neat too.

One of my coworkers claims Rarotonga as his favorite place in the world too... guess I'd better check it out. Hows the scuba diving there?

 

[yakers]

One of my coworkers claims Rarotonga as his favorite place in the world too... guess I'd better check it out. Hows the scuba diving there?

We got our PADI cert there. not quite as good as Fiji but very nice. Better than what we saw in Belize a couple weeks ago. Mostly we do snorkeling and there is a lot of that. In Atuitaki we had a boat drop us off on a deserted motu for the day, just wife & I & basket of food. Castaway for a day. Even got some snorkeling in

 

[saluki9]

We got our PADI cert there. not quite as good as Fiji but very nice. Better than what we saw in Belize a couple weeks ago. Mostly we do snorkeling and there is a lot of that. In Atuitaki we had a boat drop us off on a deserted motu for the day, just wife & I & basket of food. Castaway for a day. Even got some snorkeling in

I'm really jealous. My wife and I have wanted to go to rarotonga for a few years now.

How did you get there and where did you stay?

 

[spike]

I've been to the Seychelles and found them Ok, but not paradise for me. But then again everyone has different taste. I've traveled everywhere I wanted to see, so I have lots to compare. Sometimes just being on vacation with a nice drink and great weather magnafies the experience.

I remember being there on one island with a retired newspaper man from England and his father bought one island. Hotel and casino companies tried to buy the island but he would never sell. He wants to be buried on the island next to his father. He lives with a companion on the island and that's it. Very private just the two of them and the tortises.

 

[audreyh1]

I grew up on Fiji. Lived there 9 years. It was spectacular - scenery & snorkeling. But I also remember it as being very, very, very humid.

Audrey

 

[haha]

He lives with a companion on the island and that's it. Very private just the two of them and the tortises.

Sounds about as thrilling as brain cancer.

Ha

 

[sagenx]

Hi, i am based in South Africa, Seychelles are a popular tourist destination for us. Basically two islands and both very small and remote. Beautiful but very remote and very quiet. If you could live there for say six months and then spend six months in a city you would be okay. Mauritius is another option, much bigger and bustling, kind of like Nassau. Both are offhore tax havens. useful if you have a web business!

 

[Andy R]

I have been traveling and working via my laptop for the last two years and come across some amazing places. My personal favorite place on earth is a small island in Brazil called Ilha Grande. It's very small, laid back, affordable, beautiful nature (hiking, beaches, crystal clear water). It would not be a very good retirement location IMO. There is one car (belongs to the police) and not a single bank or ATM. If you want to relax and forget about stress, I would recommend this little hotel (reserve the upstairs room with an ocean view and hammock on your balcony) for a week. It costs about $60/day including a nice breakfast.

As for a livable city that is very nice, I really like Florianopolis, Brazil (where I am now). It's an island about 200 Sq Miles and has some great neighborhoods (Jurere International). I compare it to Hawaii but instead of Polynesian influences you have samba and bossa nova. For those of us with US$ Dollars our advantage is currently not very good because of the week dollar (and strong Brazilian Real).

One of my personal favorites places in the USA is in the Colorado Rockies. There is are a couple of gaming towns in Gilpin County (Black Hawk and Central City) about 40 minutes west of Golden. There is a tiny road from I-70 to Central City called "Oh My God Road" and it winds up the steep mountain side revealing an amazing view of the Continental Divide. With gaming in the county property taxes are nearly non-existent and amenities of the casinos (restaurants, entertainment, etc) are only going to get better with time. So my pick would be a nice place on the top of a mountain in Gilpin County, Colorado with a view of the Continental Divide.

If any of you go to the Seychelles, PM me, I know a guy who has a big catamaran for charter there and he might hook you up with a discount if it's not chartered. I did some research about going to the Seychelles for a few months and working from there and was surprised to find 1.5Mbps internet connection easily available.