How about South Africa?

 I'm still looking at English speaking countries for my escape if the November election goes cattywampus. Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland are on the only go for a month list, for various reasons. But I spent 1997-1999 in Cape Town, South Africa and loved it. Sure they have a winter much like that in SoCal where I'm from, but I would survive. Actually, for two years I did.

So would Cape Town be my logical choice or should I check out other places in South Africa? I know Durban is very humid, so that's a no go. I visited Johannesburg for a conference and didn't like the urban feel or the level of crime. A friend walked several of us to our cars, carrying a loaded pistol in plain sight to keep up safe. No, thanks.

I think I would prefer the familiarity of the Western Cape anyway. Going through my list of requirements, weather would be okay with me, not ideal, but fine. Language is a go, since they speak several there, the main one being English. They have a strong infrastructure, and everything works. The cost of living is much lower than in SoCal, and their health care is far superior to the U.S. They did the first heart transplant in Cape Town after all. The ease of life would be fine. One negative is Amazon does not deliver there, nor do they have any presence at all. Hmmm. Huge negative.

There is a vibrant ex-pat community in Cape Town, and I met some of the people in it while I was living there, but most of the friends I made were from bumping into strangers and making friends the old fashioned way. I wouldn't need an ex-pat organization to feel at home. It took less than 3-weeks for me to settle in the last time I was there.

No matter where I go, I'll take these with me, CLICK HERE #ad. 

Now, if I went, where would I settle? I LOVED the V & A Waterfront area. I spent every Friday there, window shopping, using the spa in the V & A Hotel, enjoying lunch and going to a movie. What a wonderful way to end the week. I tried to recreate this routine when I came back to SoCal, but we don't have movie theaters or spas near malls. That's too bad. It would be a hit.

Stellenbosch is the wine region outside of Cape Town. I spent a day there, and could live there happily. It's drop dead gorgeous. Plus the towns are cute, and the people friendly. It's full of college kids, which provides a welcoming vibe.

Simon's Town is right on the coast. It's a historic port city and over the top cute. I only spent a few hours there, but really want to go back to explore it. Maybe I should settle there?

Hermanus is a distance away from Cape Town, but also on a coast. Whales love the coastline there, and visit often. Many people come just to see them. The town itself is small, close knit and lovely. It was a little rowdy when I visited, as it was the finals of some sport I don't follow. Lots of noisy men, drinking and carrying on, but I think that was an isolated event, while the whale viewing is ongoing. 

Okay, so why will I not be settling in Cape Town or any of the stunning towns on my list? Crime. It was really bad when I was there, although I didn't experience any crime personally. A friend was held up at gun point, and his car stolen. I don't know anyone in SoCal to whom that has happened, but it's routine in South Africa. The murder rate was high as were both burglary and armed robbery. I was hoping things have improved in the last 25 years. Sadly, not much, if at all. When I checked recently, I discovered the same issues involving crime. Some efforts have been made to change things, but not enough to have resulted in much improvement.

Although I was able to deal with the high crime rate when I was in South Africa before, I'm to the point in my life where I don't want to deal with any negativity, let alone crime. So, sadly, I won't be spending any time there in the future. I sure am glad I lived there for two years, however. It was spectacular. The scenery, the beaches, the food, the people, the culture, all of it. 

I looked into other places where English is spoken, like in the Caribbean. To be honest, however, I didn't look long or very hard. I do not care for tropical weather. I don't mind rain, but humidity does not make my asthma any better. In fact, it makes it worse. So I won't be moving to any tropical paradise, since it isn't paradise for breathing. 

It looks like English speaking countries do not work for me, I'm off to check out countries where another languages I speak are the norm. My next target is France. Very popular for ex-pats. I won't even bother looking up north, as I am familiar enough with the country to know the climate there wouldn't work for me. So, it's the south of France for me. More to come... 

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Moving Down Under

The next two places I researched while looking to leave the country, are Australia and New Zealand. I put them together in my mind as they are geographically close to one another. I believed, therefore, the weather would be similar, but perhaps with a few differences depending upon location. Before going into too much detail on my search, I wanted to make sure it was even allowable for an American to retire there.

Australia has few requirements for an American retiree to settle there. I meet all of them except for one. Sadly, it's a biggie. You must have $750,000 cash in the bank. I'm sure if someone has a house to sell, especially in expensive places like Los Angeles or New York City, this wouldn't be a problem. But for a retired high school teacher without a house to sell, it's a disqualifier with no work around.

Next I checked New Zealand for the same information. Could a single American retiree settle in New Zealand? Oh, my! The requirements there are worse. You again need $750,000 in the bank, but in New Zealand, you have to invest that money in a business there. Nope. Not even if I had the cash. My goal is retirement, not work.

However, there is another way to enjoy either place in retirement. I could live in more than one location. If I did spend the "perfect weather window" in one place, and rotate to another spot on the globe when they have "perfect weather" I could enjoy living in several places, and not limit myself to just one. Legally I would be a tourist, although in my mind it would be my home for part of the year.

So, checking for Australia, no problem. As an American tourist I could stay from three to twelve months. I wouldn't stay a whole year, of course. That wouldn't be the plan. 

Next, I checked on New Zealand. An American can apply for a visitor's visa and stay for six months, if they do not plan on leaving the country during the six months. Since I would be staying put, probably during the winter months, this would be adequate for my Plan B, living in more than one country during a calendar year. 

The next step, was to check out the weather. I used Sydney as my location and found the weather from December through February to be to my liking. There's a little more rain than I would like, but it's not a deal breaker, since the number of days with clear sky is over 70%.

I did the same check for New Zealand. I looked at both Auckland and Wellington. The temperature in each is more to my liking than Australia. It in the high sixties Fahrenheit. They also have fewer days of rain, and less of it. So, this eliminates Australia for a December through February spot to stay, if I end up leaving the country after the election, and if I end up living in more than one location. So far, I haven't found anywhere with weather I would enjoy all twelve months of the year.

No matter where I end up going, if indeed I do leave the country, I'll be sure to take this with me, CLICK HERE #ad. They have served me well for more than twenty years. Love the convenience. 

My next part of the English-speaking world to check out is South Africa. Since I lived in Cape Town from 1997-1999, I know it fairly well. I'll do a deep dive and focus on the changes there in the last twenty-five years. It may be better, or not. I won't know until I do some digging. I do, however, remember it was a bit cold in winter. I'll need to dig deep to see if my memory serves me well. 

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Beachside Promenade - Cannes

 

The Realities of Picking a New Home

If I end up wanting to leave the country, I need a place to go. Since ease of life is high on my list of necessities, I think starting with English speaking countries makes sense. After all, it is my native language. I considered Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

I started with Canada first, since it's so close. The culture is similar enough to mine that fitting in wouldn't be a problem. I speak French, so I could move to either coast. I've been to both Vancouver and Quebec. I loved them both. The architecture, language, people, food, all of it. It was delightful, and would make really good sense, if I didn't have an issue with cold weather. For many people this would not be a problem, but my lungs do not appreciate temperatures under the mid 60's Fahrenheit. Oops. I couldn't handle the winters in Canada, not even on the coast where it's mildest. Pity. Canada is lovely.

This narrowed my list down by one. Next, I did a little research on the UK, looking for places I might enjoy. I've had Cornwall on my Bucket List for years. After watching several seasons of Escape to the Country on BritBox, the Cotswolds was added to my list of must see locations. The culture is another step away from that of the U.S. There would be lots to learn, but I have visited twice, and met dozens of Brits while cruising Europe. Out of the many I met, only one disliked me even before I had uttered a word. He stated all Americans were loud, pushy and rude. Of course the Brits we were dining with disagreed, we had made friends in the preceding days. They explained he was a grumpy sort, and I shouldn't take it personally. I didn't. The man didn't smile once the whole evening.

But doing research on Cornwall led me to believe it was overrun by tourists much of the year, despite the rain it receives. The same is true of the Cotswolds. The reason so much of the UK is drop dead gorgeous, is the rain, which is a constant much of the year. I read recently that some places haven't had a dry day this whole summer. That would be disappointing. My allegies would go nuts, and I would be miserable. So, although I may visit both places in the future, living in either would be a no go, too cold, too wet. Yet another disappointment.

The third location I selected to check out was Ireland. Some of my ancestors were from there, early settlers in what is now the U.S. They came searching for religious freedom, ironic considering what's proposed by some extremists. A few of my ancestors were even in Jamestown when it was first settled. So Ireland would be a natural for me. 

I ran into the same issue here, however, weather. I had a friend who was from Ireland. He explained it's always raining there. While this is an exaggeration, it's not far enough from the truth to let me ignore his warning. I checked online, it rains between a third and half the time. No, thanks. Lovely, super fun loving, kind people, but nope. 

All this talk of rain and cold weather makes me want to be prepared for it, no matter where I end up living. I already own one of these. Very helpful, CLICK HERE, #ad. This week I'll look into Australia and perhaps New Zealand. 

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Old Town - Cannes

 

Hope for the Best, But Plan for the Worst

 

South Orange County, CA

If you've been reading this blog, you know a friend of mine told me about a 3-year around-the-world cruise in March of 2023. After spending the day doing research, I was sold, signed up and paid a deposit. I then set about getting ready. While doing so, I thought about what to do after the three years was up. I decided to either move to Portugal or into a 55+ community near where I was living at the time. Since the cruise didn't happen, and I hadn't spent three years learning Portuguese, I ended up moving into the 55+ community, where I am living now.

After what happened yesterday in the presidential race in the U.S., however, I'm rethinking my choice of where to live. There is much uncertainty, but one thing I'm sure of, life would not be to my liking in this country if the next president is unhinged. Therefore, I am once again looking for a safe place to call home. Once again, I have only a few months to make my choice and plans. At least this time, I have my previous experience to give me a head start. I also downsized considerably just before my last move.

I'm going to document the next five months on this blog. If the election turns out positively, and there is no longer a need to leave the country, I'll stay put. Otherwise, I'll continue to show what I'm doing to prepare to leave. If I do so, I'll keep posting when in my new home, and write about my travel experiences while living there.

One thing I know I'll take with me, if I end up leaving the country, is this handy device, CLICK HERE. 

There are several factors that will guide my choice of location. I'm going to research each possible location, and use these factors to help me select my possible new home. The most important five are: Weather, Safety, Infrastructure, Ease of Life and Language. The other things which are also significant are: Cost of Living, Health Care, Visa Requirements and Expat Communities.

These would probably be important for everyone thinking about moving to another country, but how important each is depends upon who is doing the moving. As for me, I'm a retired foreign language teacher. I taught German, French and English for over forty years. I have also traveled extensively and doing so is fairly easy for me. Additionally, I lived in Cape Town, South Africa 1997-1999, so moving to another country and fitting in does not frighten me.

Stay connected as we all see how things go in the presidential election, and in my search for a new, safe life abroad. 

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Christmas Shopping in the Summer in Innsbruck - Umbrellas