Retirement - feeling off with the hobby

[bigbill]

I have contemplated that same
move

The daily cost of living in Canada has become untenable. Grocery prices along with the low quality of food makes life pretty sucky here. The extreme car culture means added cost of living as it's very difficult to exist in most of Canada without a car. When my GF and I were deciding on a place to move to, we had so many options in terms of being able to live car-free, it was insane. Too many choices, literally.

We're also super progressive people and the growing alt-right political climate here is also making this an easy choice. I'm no fan of the federal Liberals, but the CPC will go full-steam ahead with austerity measures that will erode the standard of living for regular folks here even more. The "war on woke" is a war on sexually progressive people and who knows what kinda shit we'll see happen here.

The red hot housing market in Edmonton gave us the push we needed.

 

[Mebad23]

My country of choice is Vietnam however I speak Spanish , so hmmm. I have considered places in tbe UK as well. Or even a Scandinavian country.

 

[Qster]

My country of choice is Vietnam however I speak Spanish , so hmmm. I have considered places in tbe UK as well. Or even a Scandinavian country.

What's wrong with Spain or Portugal. My favourite city in Europe has to be Barcelona. While Portuguese is not exactly Spanish, you can get by with Spanish and I found the people there to be amazing and it is a little cheaper than Spain to live in.

 

[bigbill]

We bought our place in Portugal, in the Algarve. My GF is Portuguese, and so this made it a natural choice for us, but the pace of life and cost of living were huge considerations.

She's one of those awful "drain on society" foreign students that came to Canada to go to university - then decided to stay. Earned her PhD and has contributed a fuck-ton to Canada over the last 45 years...huh.

 

[Mebad23]

Spain and Portugal are really great choices. I stayed in Lisbon for 2 months when got discharged from from the military. One of my moms grand parent came from the island of madiera. I can get by in Portuguese but I have to listen very close . I do agree the people are very hospitable. My Spanish in Spain would be not difficult but different . I speak fluent French . I love the Bordeaux are of France. I could live anywhere that didn't have all the north American bullshit.

 

[Albertaman]

What's wrong with Spain or Portugal. My favourite city in Europe has to be Barcelona. While Portuguese is not exactly Spanish, you can get by with Spanish and I found the people there to be amazing and it is a little cheaper than Spain to live in.

Lisbon is mostly overlooked, but would be my choice in Portugal. And Đà Lạt in Vietnam (as a home base at 1500 m elevation).


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[Rubmegood]

Sorry to see you go @bigbill selfishly speaking we will miss your input to the forum. But ya gotta do what ya gotta do, I guess.

 

[Mebad23]

Ho Chi Minh for me. I was going to move there before covid . It would have been a happy ever after story but the reason for going there was no longer . Covid Kiboshed it. I love everything about Vietnam , the people the culture the geography Food . Omg the women.

 

[Mebad23]

Hey maybe Bigbill can be our international Information source. Give monthly reports here. Ijs

 

[bigbill]

The GF and I have had some amazing massage experiences in Lisbon - couples sessions are very common. They're expensive compared to the rates for other things, but at $300CDN for an hour with two staffers (you choose the combination of genders), it's actually amazing value considering the experience you get. That rate is also for the highest-end of the spectrum and the staff are model-attractive with nearly unreal physiques.

Lisbon also has a vibrant swingers scene with tons of meetups and opportunities to meet other people. There's even groups of Canadian expats organizing - though I'm not sure why, in Lisbon most people speak at least decent English and meeting local folks is way more interesting.

In addition to the adult scene, Lisbon is one of my favourite European cities, period. Paris sounds romantic but is dirty and crowded and French people are not even remotely as kind as Portuguese people. Rome is nicer than Paris, but is still touristy and not as nice a a place to spend time as Lisbon. Now, Lisbon is INSANE in the summer like all major European cities, but outside of August, it's fantastic.

We really wanted to move to Madeira, but Funchal has become very expensive to buy and you have to fly a lot to explore, and the airport there is very unreliable thanks to winds generated by topography. We could have barely afforded a low-end studio in Funchal (and I mean barely) compared to a fantastic "T2" (2-bedroom) apartment on the mainland.

 

[Qster]

French people are not even remotely as kind as Portuguese people.

^^^This, I would never move to France simply because of the people, while I loved the scenery around Monaco & Nice, the people, they are simply rude. And the further north you go, the closer you get to Paris, the ruder they become. Once you pass Lyon, the attitude is unbearable. It is worse if you speak French as they don't consider Canadian French to be French. Parisians are so full of themselves.

If Vietnam, my choice would be Da Nang, just that nice balance between a major city with a coastal resort vibe.

 

[ObiWanPotato]

hey BB. drop us a line with some stories of your adventures every once in a white. best of luck

 

[Mebad23]

^^^This, I would never move to France simply because of the people, while I loved the scenery around Monaco & Nice, the people, they are simply rude. And the further north you go, the closer you get to Paris, the ruder they become. Once you pass Lyon, the attitude is unbearable. It is worse if you speak French as they don't consider Canadian French to be French. Parisians are so full of themselves.

If Vietnam, my choice would be Da Nang, just that nice balance between a major city with a coastal resort vibe.

The north of Vietnam is not as hot as the south. The heat is crazy in HCM

 

[Wills_willie]

BB. It's been a blast reading your adventures. All the best in Portugal, also one of my favorites, friendly, reasonably priced, beautiful country, great wine and easy to get around. We've been pretty much all over the world and like to keep exploring with Canada as our home base. Ah, Madeira, spent some time there, so quaint, awesome people, and the food....., but alas expensive.
Hope you enjoy your new found home.
All the best to you and your lady.

 

[turts]

Me too. I'm out...for the umpteenth time. no explanation required. bye for now.
turts