Winters out of the USA

[marko]

C'mon! We winter in S. Florida and many people speak English there!

Sure - counting the snowbirds. Many French speakers as well - snowbirds from Quebec.

Seriously, a friend from Los Angeles visited us last year in Lauderdale but spent the first few days in Miami on his own.

He could not believe how little English there was. He had gone to an American style restaurant --Average Joes or something-- and his server didn't speak a word of English.

 

[braumeister]

I was surprised at how much French I heard in northern Florida as well. I used to spend time in the panhandle and the percentage of Canadian license plates I saw on the road was remarkable. Not sure if it's still that way, but once upon a time.

 

[utrecht]

C'mon! We winter in S. Florida and many people speak English there!

So does everyone else. I cant even get out of my neighborhood onto the main street due to the increased traffic. Seriously, Ive ever seen anything like it. Every 5th car has an out of state license plate (or out of Country in the case of Canada).

 

[Golden sunsets]

US too but you have to realize that those that prefer southern US are looking for familiar territory while you are looking for adventure. Those a very different objectives. Many of our friends go to AZ, Palm Springs and the TX Gulf but they are just looking for golf and tennis in the winter.

The beauty of the PVR area, particularly the Nuevo area, is that tennis and golf on multiple courses is also available. If you are considering renting in PVR next year I would not wait until fall to look for a rental. Now that the economy has finally improved it is becoming increasingly difficult to find long term rentals. We have just signed our contract for the 2017 season over a year away.

 

[Golden sunsets]

How easy is it to rent a good place in PV? I was there for two weeks a few years ago and it seemed like the people that had the nice places (not necessarily expensive) had them booked every year for the same period. It almost seemed like I would have to inherit a lease or something dde00 Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

BMC-try VRBO.com. I would start looking now for 2017. Also Bucerias is the next town north of Nuevo with a large Canadian expat snowbird community. It is still an easy ride into PV, but a bit more laid back- a beachfront town with a lot of restaurants and easy access to large supermarkets.

 

[brett]

bmcgonic...

We have not rented yet in Thailand for an extended stay. We typically stay for three-seven days in one spot. Small hotels, chalets on or near the beach, etc. We book based on value. So in cities like Bangkok, KL, Penang, etc. there are very attractive offers at very good 4 and 5 star hotels. We take advantage of these but typically do not stay in them in the popular beach areas that cater to foreigners.

We book a little ahead but do much of it on the fly-booking two-four days ahead.. We have booked hotel in Bangkok for our arrival and departure. We did the same in KL and Penang. On our upcoming trip we have a week tentatively booked in Ko Lanta, another booked in a quiet area of Phuket, and a B&B in Siem Reap for a few days. Nothing else in Cambodia or Viet Nam. We will keep our schedule open and book a week ahead or so. Out of 8 weeks we have a good idea of where we will be staying for about 20 days.


Last year we planned on visiting friends in Australia. We watched the flight prices and booked our flight to Australia from KL about two weeks ahead of time. Air fares are much lower in SE Asia and we grabbed a great fare when it became available. For this trip we did book our flights inside Thailand, to Cambodia, and back to Bangkok from Hanoi because the advance pricing was extremely attractive.


We would definitely consider a longer term winter rental in Thailand at some point. Right now there are too many places that we want to visit. We tend to book ahead if for places that are very well regarded on Tripadvisor and are difficult to get on short notice. But this is true for all of our travels.

In Costa Rica we rented a condo for a month, then travelled about on our own for a few weeks.

 

[Chuckanut]

Winter? What Winter? Baby it's Warm Out There!

 

[brett]

-22C today where we are. Warming up to -13C this afternoon. Snow on the ground but roads are bare for the most part.

 

[REWahoo]

-22C today where we are. Warming up to -13C this afternoon. Snow on the ground but roads are bare for the most part.

+23C today where we are. Warming up to +26C this afternoon. No snow on the ground but roads are paved for the most part.

 

[kcowan]

The beauty of the PVR area, particularly the Nuevo area, is that tennis and golf on multiple courses is also available. If you are considering renting in PVR next year I would not wait until fall to look for a rental. Now that the economy has finally improved it is becoming increasingly difficult to find long term rentals. We have just signed our contract for the 2017 season over a year away.

We own in PV but my point was that if your main activity in retirement is golf, then PV is not the best location. Our golfing friend belongs to El Tigre. Playing the other courses would be a treat.

 

[iac1003]

Golfing is quite expensive in the PV area. DH is leaving his clubs behind.


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[Bamaman]

Costa Rica, Puerto Rico or Panama are at the top of my list.

 

[youbet]

C'mon! We winter in S. Florida and many people speak English there!

The Canadians?

 

[6miths]

Capetown is beautiful - geography, people and weather. Garden route for dolphins and penguins. Great wine country. Beautiful beaches - awesome surfing and windsurfing. Good and inexpensive healthcare if needed. USD goes for miles and miles. English is the first language. Main expense is getting there.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Capetown is beautiful - geography, people and weather. Garden route for dolphins and penguins. Great wine country. Beautiful beaches - awesome surfing and windsurfing. Good and inexpensive healthcare if needed. USD goes for miles and miles. English is the first language. Main expense is getting there.

The last time I was in South Africa it was a very dangerous place. Has that changed?

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[brett]

We were in South Africa four years ago. Cape Town is indeed beautiful-certainly one of the most beautiful cities that we have visited. We did a driving tour from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town.

We never felt unsafe BUT we were just dumb tourists. We have friends who have emigrated recently from SA. We have met a number of people who are planning to leave. The big issue is personal safety. They have all told us that crime and personal injury are all to common. The live in constant fear, it is always on their collective minds.

 

[Nemo2]

Chatted with a young South African couple at Genoa airport in November.....they thought Cape Town was 'relatively' safe, (but you still had to be careful).......Jozi, on the other hand.....

 

[6miths]

I have always felt safer in Capetown than in Philadelphia, Miami or New York but maybe that is just me. Also seemed like a safer bet than most large South American cities. One can get in to trouble pretty much anywhere by being foolish. In my experience, South Africa is almost like two countries, Capetown is in the better part. Many of the people emigrating from South Africa are doing it for their children and for fear of where the country will be in 20 or 40 years.

 

[MRG]

I have always felt safer in Capetown than in Philadelphia, Miami or New York but maybe that is just me.
...snip..

That's just you!

I threatened Megacorp I was leaving well before the assignment was done because of personal safety.

Everyone we asked said we were in a great area, just off the Atlantic. When I was asked why we inquired, it was that we thought someone had put a laser scope on us from afar. The standard answer, yes that could happen.

Also my past m*nager was only in Capetown came back with malaria. No thanks, but it's a beautiful place, cheap too.

 

[pb4uski]

Seriously, a friend from Los Angeles visited us last year in Lauderdale but spent the first few days in Miami on his own.

He could not believe how little English there was. He had gone to an American style restaurant --Average Joes or something-- and his server didn't speak a word of English.

What is more unbelievable is that as a society we tolerate it. Learn English or go home.

My grandparent immigrated from Spain and Quebec, respectively, and knew little English when they arrived. They learned it. They still spoke Spanish and French at home and with family, but outside the house it was English (not necessarily great English, but English nonetheless.

 

[MichaelB]

What is more unbelievable is that as a society we tolerate it. Learn English or go home.

My earlier posts may have opened the door to this, so how about we all drop the "foreign language in the U.S." discussion and get back on topic, which is travel destinations outside the U.S.

 

[braumeister]

It's rarely mentioned, but I've always considered southern Brazil to be an ideal location for a longer vacation. If you're partial to larger cities, then Porto Alegre, Curitiba, or Florianópolis would be great places to live. There are also at least a dozen small cities that are just delightful IMHO. Blumenau, Caxias do Sul, or São José dos Campos are just a few. In that part of the country, you would need at least a little Portuguese, although a fluent Spanish speaker could get by.

 

[brett]

We are tentatively planning for an extended winter trip to Brazil and Argentina next winter. Some of the areas in Brazil that you mentioned are on our list.

South America has some great beaches, interesting cities, and the FX exchange rates, assuming they hold somewhat constant, are excellent for our flailing CAD.

 

[Bir48die]

I vacation both in both Mexico and the Caribbean. I can be in Cabo in four hours and PV in six. I have to do red eye's and travel for 12-18 hours to go to the Caribbean. You however being in NY can get quick and less expensive flights to the Bahamas, West Indies, PR and Dom Republic. Also to the Belize and Cancun area. Both have their advantages. East is water much prettier than almost all of Mexico. If you go to Mexico your grocery bill will be much less. All comes down to personal preference.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

It's rarely mentioned, but I've always considered southern Brazil to be an ideal location for a longer vacation. If you're partial to larger cities, then Porto Alegre, Curitiba, or Florianópolis would be great places to live. There are also at least a dozen small cities that are just delightful IMHO. Blumenau, Caxias do Sul, or São José dos Campos are just a few. In that part of the country, you would need at least a little Portuguese, although a fluent Spanish speaker could get by.

(I cannot get my goddam android to let me spell C u r i t i b a . It keeps turning it into a different word.)

I was quite enthralled by the place until I learned that it had an enormous crime rate.

From all I can gather, look elsewhere.

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