Best place to live?

[ron17571]

So tell me of your ideal place to live,with boating and fishing and weather n such in mind.No rich n famous type places either.

[LostInBoston]

im a fan of south florida. PLenty of protected waters for some high speed boating. great fishing. great restaurants, access to everything year round boating and biking. And i love warm weather. I just havnt been able to convince my gf that its better then new england.

[ron17571]

Ive been there in the winter its nice,sure is one humid place in the summer,the snowbirds have it right.

[artemis]

Puget Sound, Washington, USA.
Look at a chart; check out the weather for various ports as well as housing costs; look at the arts and entertainment listed in various chamber of commerce websites. If you are driving there and must pass through Oregon, DO NOT STOP! It rains all the time there, housing is expensive, mad dogs bite children, the people are unfriendly to non-natives.

[Wynand N]

a bit further than you expected.....Perth, Australia

[Bergalia]

Nah, Wyand N - wrong side of the country - best place - unbeatable place - is the Far South Coast of New South Wales, Bergalia. Fishing, boating, aplenty, and the only famous person is me....:D

[antonfourie]

You live near Coolangatta then Berglia, I got a mate that lives near there, you might know of him, being that he was the skipper of the dive boat that overturned ..

[SailDesign]

Ron,
"No rich n famous places"? That's a bit limiting, y'know, for those of us who live in (or near) such places.
Steve

[MarkC]

with boating and fishing and weather n such in mind

New Zealand:

- if it hasn't already been all bought up by the North Americans or Japanese. Quick flights to the American continent (but, good-luck finding a job)


Tasmania, Australia

- value plus, most European climate part of Australia, fantastic cruising grounds (I am not a fan of the tropics) Southern Ocean, Bass Straight Islands, food!!!! (but, good-luck finding a job outside of Hobart)

Darwin, Australia

(yeah, I said I didn't like the tropics, but you might - besides in Darwin there aren't so many 'retire-ees')
- cruising grounds (islands to the north - East Timor, PNG, Indonesia) thai food (but, good luck finding a job that pays well).

Europe????????

Germany, North Friesian Island 'Amrum'

north of the island fronts the North sea with a surf and deepish water - back of the island is the flats. Beautifuuuuuul place. Yacht harbour (dries out). I dont know if it is cheap.

Germany - Bremmerhaven

housing to spare. I dont know if cheap, good yacht harbour, maritime everything. (but good luck finding a job)

[Poida]

Wynand, Perth Autralia and you live in South Africa. What's the connection. Why do you like Perth?

[Wynand N]

Wynand, Perth Autralia and you live in South Africa. What's the connection. Why do you like Perth?

With the exodus of white South Africans to down under, there should be more of us in Perth than Aussies;)

Actually Poida, my old lady and I goes there once a year to get away from minibus taxis, affirmative shopping of the local tribes, rape, murder etc.

To me Perth is a second home, same climates, same culture so to speak, ride on the same side of the road, barbie's, beer and open spaces:cool:

[LostInBoston]

Nah, Wyand N - wrong side of the country - best place - unbeatable place - is the Far South Coast of New South Wales, Bergalia. Fishing, boating, aplenty, and the only famous person is me....:D
Is Adelide anywhere near there?

[Guillermo]

Galicia....? ;)

[MarkC]

Lost in Boston:

Adelaide is near - but that is relative in Australia, being oniy a thousand kms away...

Adelaide is where I grew up. Great place. Only Tasmania is cheaper to live than Adelaide. Great beaches (big tides, wide and white sandy beaches), great weather (hot) mediteranean hot and dry and dusty style. Great food - seafood!!. Good housing. Dingy racing heaven. 2 or 3 yacht harbours. Great yacht cruising grounds once you are out of the 2 gulfs (especially around Kangaroo Island) - or use a centerboard yacht and cruise the Gulf of Saint Vincent and Spencer Gulf. You can also cruise on the murray river, found a little bit south of Adelaide.

Easy to find jobs?? maybe.

Wynand N - I have enjoyed your posts - especially about your steel-yacht construction business. I wonder - have you done your summs to compare manufacturing in SA as compared to Perth?? Just curious. Would you be better off? Interesting place - Perth is the most isolated city on earth (I have family there as well), but I cant judge it like I can Adelaide, Melbourne or Hobart.

[Bergalia]

Sorry Anton, two Coolangatta's on east coast of Australia: One in NSW is further north of Bergalia - about 187 ks, near the town of Nowra. Second is even further north in Queensland. I believe the boating incident you refer to is the Queensland Coolangatta.
Bergalia (pop 36) is about 30k north of Narooma - right on the hump-back whale summer migration route. I can watch them from my windows.
Adelaide, LostinBoston, is way, way south west of me...nearly in the Great Australian Bight. It's a big country Lostin...The size of some of the sheep stations here even scare the **** out of Texans...;)

[Bergalia]

Galicia....? ;)

Trouble is, Guillermo, Galicia is usually full of Scots playing folk dances on the bagpipes...:D

[Poida]

How about a map of the world on the forum wher you can click on cities and link them to members photos of that location on their own website.

So you would for example click on Miami Florida, that would give you a list of members who have photographs of the area which are in turn linked to their website. Members could even advise places to stay and attractions, and we could waste more of our time on this forum.

[Frosty]

We was doing something similar to that on the thread 'google earth' I thought it interesting but it fizzled out.

A few members posted satalite pictures of there google earth localities, house ,boat yard etc. better than a map--its real.

[timgoz]

Southeast Alaska.

TGoz

[westlawn5554X]

Mmm... Somewhere the sun shine always, with low tax and Bikini open air presentation and a cool long island ice -tea... definately my place :)

[luke23]

i love australia.

[safewalrus]

Mars - I hear the canals are nice this time of year! Failing that New Zealand or Cornwall for me!

[safewalrus]

Or Tasmania - the place names are the same (so too are some of the habits of the locals, but we won't go into that will we)

[Roly]

Where ya mates are, the fish are biting,& the beers cold. And far enough away from ppl asking you to fix/build stuff.

[bilbo]

Galicia....? ;)

Actually, I'm a Scot aho's fond of folk tunes - and I'm probably as bad on the bagpipes as anyone you've ever heard.

But do please tell me where is that island with the sandy beach in the background. It needs to added to my list of anchorages to go try, one day.

:)

[Guillermo]

...But do please tell me where is that island with the sandy beach in the background. It needs to added to my list of anchorages to go try, one day.
:)

That is the S. Martin island (Isla de San Martiño), part of the Cíes islands at the mouth of Vigo bay. Probably the place in this earth I love the most.
If you don't want to wait too long, come down here whenever you want and I'll invite you for a sailing there on my good old "Marie".

For general information on the Cíes Islands, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%ADes_Islands
For 360º gorgeous views, visit: http://galicia360.fiestras.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=R&c=Articulo&cid=1032609796990&pubid=983562722078
Google map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=&ie=UTF8&om=0&ll=42.217458,-8.886909&spn=0.055684,0.114326&t=k

Cheers.

[safewalrus]

Hey Guillermo I'm jealous - kinda like Cornwall - with Sun (bet it can be fun in a wind though)!

[Guillermo]

Hi, Mike!
You're invited too!

[longliner45]

Im trying like hell to get out of ohio ,,the govenors stupid,,and the jobs are leaving faster than crap, its cold as a bears ass in winter and you dont see sunshine till summer ,,then blistering humed heat ive heard others say they live in the armpit of the world ,,,,this is the ars hole of it here,,,,,,,anywhere is better,,run like the wind from ohio,,,,,,,,,,just trying to help, longliner

[timgoz]

Hey Longliner, where you at in Ohio?

I grew up in Cleveland (Euclid). Now I'm in SW PA. Except for to many Pittsburghers coming here to the mountains during weekends, it is not bad- geographically.

Our whole state goverment, on all levels, has to be one of the two most corrupt in the nation. Financial misdealings.Taxes up the wazoo. Bad roads. Ect....ect...ect...!!!!!

The mountains, woods, and creeks & rivers sure are nice though. When I grew up by Lake Eire (1960's) we called it the "Dead Sea".
That has certainly been a wonderful turn around.

Take care,

TGoz

[longliner45]

lake erie is nice now , fishing is good ,water is clean,,Im in sw ohio, dayton area ,,gunfights are good ,,and per capita we are still no. one for murder,, we beet the pants off of detroit again this year, I live in the country ,,a small town called Enon,,I like it here /but you wont believe the hassle when I put my boat in my own yard,, its ok to have a 40 ft rv ,,but not a 32 ft boat ,,these people are real di...I mean jerks,,they only worry about how tall the grass is ,,they have companys fertilize their yard so they can cut it 2 times a week,,,,,so when they die ,,(not soon enough for me ) someone will say , jee what a nice yard he had,life is for living ,,,build your boats ,and sail them have fun ,,,,,,,,get the last laugh,,,,,,,,longliner,,, I hate to be the one to tell you ,,them aint mountains ,,,thems hillsssssss,,,,,,,,,,love ya all

[Vega]

But do please tell me where is that island with the sandy beach in the background. It needs to added to my list of anchorages to go try, one day.

:)


Talking about that sandy beach, take a better look...yes, it’s a very nice beach and it is a beautiful place, but keep it quiet. There are already several sailing boats there (one of them is mine). It is not crowded yet, and I would really like to keep it that way:p

[timgoz]

Longliner,

I'll keep repeating "these arh ah hills, these arh ah hills..." next time I'm lugging my backpack up the trail from the shelters or dragging a large buck out of the woods.

One thing I like about our hills/mountains is that there generally gentle topography & low elevations do not reqiure you to be a mountainer to get up close and personal with them.

TGoz

[longliner45]

when your carring something ,,,,they are mountains,,,,if your driving in them ,,they are hills ..buy the way how do them good coal fed deers taste compared to the corn fed deers in ohio?

[timgoz]

Don't know. It suprised me to see today in the paper that Ohio generates about 7% more electricity from coal than PA. Maybe I ought to be asking you that.

Weather is definitly turning. We had the first snow to amount to much last night & a little today.

TGoz

[longliner45]

dont get me wrong ,,penn,is much more pretty than ohio, as for the coal ,,we buy it from kentucky and penn , and west va, low sulfer of coarse? my wifes family comes from ky coal minds,, best folks youll ever meet.. cant believe you got snow and we didnt,,,at least your closer to the beech,,,,,longliner

[ron17571]

I was listening to the radio and they said cleveland used to have over a million people and now has like four hundred thousand.as a trucker i always hated the split speed limits there.my relatives in ontario tell me they dont like all the pollution that comes theyre way from the ohio valley.

[longliner45]

yes I agree with them; at one time we were very industrialized, not so much now,,the by product was smoke ,of variuos sorts ,,like I said first ,,is sucks here,,,,, buy the way like you said ( used to have over a million) ,,they probably killed their way down to 400,000,,like most of our bigger towns ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I gotta get out of here..longliner

[Poida]

Longliner, go to Cornwall.:D

[longliner45]

yes there or indonisia,,possibly australia,,you see ( when you only have 3 friends ,,,the pickins get slim)

[Guillermo]

longliner,
you're also invited to the Cíes Islands trip.
What the hell! If we gather enough people, we may even have a fiesta with the seagulls!

[longliner45]

thanks gilly

[Gypsie]

Forget Australia, the rules and regulations and bureaucratic interference in every aspect of your life can only be described as mind numbing. South East Asia is the place, never before has this region been more user friendly for expats whether doing business or making the most of life. You can leave your thatched roof house on the beach somewhere north of Phuket and cruise down to the marina on your Harley to check out your yacht or to the airport from where you can be anywhere in a couple of hours. Shopping for a new computer in super civilised Singapore, catching up with some friends for some awesome diving in Borneo, surfing in Sumatra, crewing on a racing yacht from Hong Kong to Philipines, doing some business in Subic Bay, partying in Bejing, fishing in the ******* islands, its all right here, its safe, its inexpensive and there are no rules. Get a life.

[longliner45]

I have friends in low places in malaysia,, some are scary,,,I intend to sail the world in 15 more years ,,,,,,,(ill make the threat ) ,,,,,,,,ill visit you all,,,,longliner

[Ari]

So tell me of your ideal place to live,with boating and fishing and weather n such in mind.No rich n famous type places either.

Malaysia..if you are Muslim, Thailand..if you are non Muslim. Singapore ..if you love 'fully boarding school’ or 'hostel' life, Indonesia..I love spending my holidays there..real cheap..always avoid those crowded area..thousands of isolated island..sailing on tight budget..do you take rice everyday,tiger prawn, fresh water lobster,sea lobster, mud crab,or Australian beef steak and lamb roast ?we have them here very cheap. Ever collect escargot from your neighbours garden for free..no need to apply for fishing licenses..unless you want to become profesional fisherman, enjoy big game hunting ? Wild boars a plenty..licensed to hunt whole year round. In Kuala Lumpur our capital there is little Korea, Little India, Arabs Teritory,Persian area, Japanese area,the Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kee minggles with the locals, Indons, Vietnamese, Kampuchean/Kemboja and even Nepalese have their fair share of that metropolitan city.A group do celebrate Octoberfest complete with the om pah pah..There is 17 public holidays per annum..12 are major merry making festivals..! Malaysia where summer whole year round, population is about 27 millions and there is about 5 million foreign workers in Malaysia at any one time..Maybe that can be used as measuring element for jobs opportunity.Any way there is one Swiss guy who really believe the way to live is to be like the aborigine..so he do spend some few years inside the Borneo jungles with a Penan clan..they go around naked..:) got to hunt him down and deport him..If he doesn't make hell lot of noise about the right of choices for the Penans way of life..maybe he will still have his right of way to go around naked without our goverment giving a hoot.;) So..it is another option here in Malaysia..you actually can choose to be fully cloth, partially cloth or fully naked..for your life.. it's up to you..:D

Those attachment are from Indonesia.

[westlawn5554X]

Ipoh curry fish head ... favourite curry in My favourite Malaysian town.:)

[Poida]

Gypsie, I will reply to your post about regulations in Australia, but first, I'll have to get a permit.:o

[safewalrus]

Ah! malaysia land of my youth, they tell me it's changed a bit, for the better too! Must go back one day! (longliner would you go back to that other asian country who also had some problems during the same era, you know the one I mean?)

got me a medal to pick up, but maybe they'll ship it to me - if my goverment lets them, nice people! (Malaysians - not my goverment!)

[Ari]

got me a medal to pick up, but maybe they'll ship it to me - if my goverment lets them, nice people! (Malaysians - not my goverment!)

Got a few friends who originated from England and treat Malaysia like their second home. One guy drove around in his beautiful dark green coloured Jaguar limo and paddle himself around on the wheel chair when out of the Jag. Bought three small bungalow houses in a row and renovate all of them to include a huge indoor swimming pool in between two of the houses, for this couple from London, the climate here must have suit them very well..he got himself another wife..a local Malay.Poligamy is a norm here but this is the first time I came across an English couple that accepted poligamy and the wife give no hoot about it..

am not very sure about any medal to be collected..but you are welcome..you can choose any 'medal' or 'trophy' you had like to collect..but bear in mind..they might love you so much and will never let you go away..! Personally base on personal experiences I have got no complain..I lost a big chunk of my freedom..ahh..a fair trade in..!

[Frosty]

Ari ,

Im taking a yacht down to Singapore middle Dec. We might just stop by at Admiral for a night--then Klang.Pulou Pisang, sabena cove.

Dont know how your friend bought property, although Malys can buy anything they want in Uk. British citizens can not buy Malaysian land in there own name. A Malay must be used as a trustee!!!,Not recomended, or you get involved in the 'grey hair' scheme where over a certain age ( retirement age) you may buy land that the government designates . This is usually ( what I have seen) very undesirable land,-- swamp stuff. You also have to spend over 250,000 ringet, leaving cheap land for Malays. Yeh kinda friendly I suppose.

Condominiums can be bought in a forigners name wherby the land itself is not purchased. Some places in Kuala Lumpur are set up for this.

Thailand is almost identical to this ruling . I dont blame the Malays for there attitude to immigration , if uk had done the same we would not be in the mess we are in now. The world population is obviously not ready for racial integration and we are paying dearly for trying.

I do blame the British Government for not asking for reciprocal agreement and enforcing a reciprocal attitude. Strangley the Malays and the Thais respect reciprocal agreement in most cases,--- as it suits them.

[Ari]

If I'm not mistaken the RM250,000.00 minimum priced of real estate property/land allowed to be bought by foreigners had been reviewed a few years ago..will try to get more info on this.

Hope to meet you at Admiral Marina this December.:)

[longliner45]

as for walruss........I dont hold nothin against no one,,,,,,,,,cept some damn polititions,,,,,,,,,,,,,longliner

[Vega]

The world population is obviously not ready for racial integration and we are paying dearly for trying.


I would say that it is more a problem of cultural integration and mutual respect. That coin has two sides. Race is not really the problem anymore.

[longliner45]

race? people gotta get over it ,,skin color is only the color of your largest organ,,culture is the differance ,,without culture ,,we here in the USA wouldnt have beer ,,brats ,,soulfood or taters,,then ..life would suck,,longliner,,oh yea ,,dont forget chinese food

[Ari]

There is not much race problem in my family. The race got so mix up to the extent that I personally are not very sure about my race, I have to adopt one.
We have Indian bloods (from two clans), Malay (from so many clans), Thai, Burmese, Iban (abo of Borneo), Dutch and don't know what else.

We celebrate any religious or race festival, Muslims, Christian, aborigines, Buddha’s, Hindus. Malays, Chinese, Indians, and Portuguese you name it. Some even inquire why we do not celebrate Oktoberfest? I don’t think we need that. Those beer lovers had been kissing the mugs from sundown until sun up daily. No need to wait for special day. I don’t even know what is Boxing Day. But there are two states here that celebrate it. Even though we are very strict on our own country formal religion, we tolerate other religion so much so some visitors do ask us, are you sure this is Muslim country?

It is neither the race nor the religion that split human being to factions. It is the politicians. The leaders. In there strive to remain in power, they have to keep the voters scared of something. Wary of the others in the surrounding, the unease feeling of having somebody different from us in our vicinity and so on and so on. If we choose to fall into this politicians trap, we have our own self to blame.

Here in this boat design forum, we have members from milky to reddish to brownies to toffee and maybe java or turkish brew, all sort of colours and yet we still appreciate and respect each other good contribution and try real hard to point the right path to others who deviate. This is what the real world should have. We are the real world people, it's up to us to choose.

[longliner45]

right on ari ,,,lets go sailing ,,,,,,,,longliner

[ron17571]

Yep i only have problems with people who do anything to make my life harder,or anyone elses for that matter.Sorry to say u can find people like this anywhere and in any color.

[safewalrus]

As I've often said there are two kinds of people in this world - those who go to sea and those who don't!
Those who go to sea get on with living and enjoy it

Those who don't squabble, argue, fight and generally cause problems

Dont ask me why, that the way it is!

Ari you got it mate, and I do like the idea of celebrating all festivals - you need a few festivals to make life bearable - brings people together too!

[orang laut]

If it needs to be a country, then Malaysia's the place to be, lah! But given the oppurtunity, go to sea, get on with living & enjoy!

I don't reckon there's any other country on this planet that officially celebrates this amount of festivals.. Hari Raya = holiday, Deepavali = holiday, Chinese New Year = holiday... Christmas, Sultan's birthdays, Federal Territory day, Gawai, Thaipusam, etc etc, all equals to more holidays! And alongside the holidays comes this concept of Open House. Visit your friends, visit your neighbours, visit total strangers and be feted with mouthwatering, scrumptious, home-cooked meals, cakes and cookies....how the country manages to get ahead economically with all this obsession with food still makes me wonder....
Don't matter who you are, where you come from BUT good manners and a little courtesy goes a long way.

Can pick & choose what I want from civilization and when I want it. Right now I live on the river in a swamp where anyone's appproach is announced a mile away(ok... so "mangrove" sounds a bit more glamourous)... wake up to sea otters squeaking, kingfishers broadcasting morning news, eagles doing kamikaze dives into the river, fresh 'home' delivery catches from fishermen.. at the same time I simply click twice on my mobile, download my emails, write longwinded posts...

Refuse to read the news for a decade now. Refuse to let them plant seeds of fear & doubts in my soul while they flash their mega-watt smiles generated by 1/2 watt brains. Let them enjoy themselves with the scandalous stories of rapes and murders.... don't force all this politics & commercialism down my throat, just pass me the funnies.

Wanna come and live here? No problem. Government very happy to receive. Relaxed immigration laws.. they don't make you run in and out of the country every month like in Thailand. Even if you do still need to leave the country (every 3 months more most citizens), Singapore & Thailand accessible by highway, Medan & Dumai just a ferry ride away. Wanna live here for good? Opt for the Second home /Silver hair (if it doesn't make you feel too old) program..

Language not a problem.. even if you try to speak a few words of Malay, chances are you'll get your reply in english anyway. Heck, even the malay language is such a mix, took out pick from sanskrit, arab, potuguese, english, etc. Racism? A non-issue as most of us can't even be sure ourselves.. got chinese grandma, south-filipino grandpa on one side, indian/ pirate scum ancestery on the other side, thai blood somewhere up the tree, arab step father, german husband... Most of my friends are equally confused. I could only think of 1 (malaysian) person that I know who claims to come from a 'single-race' parentage.

Sure you'd be treated like a prince(ss) if you were born with blond hair & blue eyes, at the same time most of the 'western' world is obsessed over dark skinned. Grass is always greener on the other side. It'll always rain gold on foreign lands and hail stones where you come from. The malay saying concludes that it's always better where you come from, hailstones and all.

[safewalrus]

So Malaysia it would appear to be is paradise on earth - and to think I was there in the middle sixties when they had some problems with geeneyed foreigners who tried to denigh them the right to be free! And they want to thank me (and some 35000 others) for helping them to become what only they could do for themselves! Kinda makes you feel very humble - especially on Armistice Day when most of the western world is remembering their dead from several and many wars!

[Vega]

I don’t know about you, but for me there is only a perfect spot to live and that is in a boat, cruising.

Choosing a single place is unfair for all the others nice places and with time, it will become boring.

I have lived in this place for 20 years. It’s not bad a bad place, if you have to live always in the same spot.:p

[orang laut]

Sure safewalrus... I think greatgramps would've been pretty cheesed off when the Queen's might packed up & left us to Japanese devices in record time... yet gotta thank the Brits for not killing off to many of us ;) we had it relatively easy compared to our close neighbours...

[safewalrus]

Orang laut I may be old but not that old! I'm talking about the sixties post the Japanese war thing (My Father was at that one in your area and he is old!! He's told me so himself)

[wdnshp]

Bermuda

[westlawn5554X]

Bermuda Triangle?

[harlemriverman]

Mykonos

[ron17571]

Mykonos?either a way to describe a certain part of anatomy?or some place in?

[harlemriverman]

Mykonos?either a way to describe a certain part of anatomy?or some place in?
Greece

[Geob]

I will tell you the perfect place on Earth... GREECE!!!

[Gypsie]

Let hear more why Greece is so good.

[RANCHI OTTO]

Paris....

[Geob]

Greece has a very good Mediterranean climate. It is a ideal climate without extreme meteorological phenomena. It does not have high temperatures nor low. It has all the climates from little. Except of course all these it is a country with big historical interesting and culture also. Exist a lot of graphic villages but also entire cities that you remind other seasons!!! There are a lot of beautiful things to do. Of course there are too many beautiful places to live, except Greece.

*If excludes the movement in the streets of Athens, all the rests are splendid. :(

Even in the subject of amusement, exist innumerable cafes, restaurant, night clubs where you can sure find someone in your metres. Do not forget that we have despite very good nightly life.

[Vega]

Paris....

Hum..I have come back from Paris this week and I was quite disapointed. I mean, it's a lovely city, but I remember how it was 25 years ago; the monuments are still there, but where are the French? Lot's of dirt, many homeless sleeping on the streets…. the old magic is gone. I was even afraid to walk the streets late in the night:rolleyes: .

[RANCHI OTTO]

Lisbona?

[Vega]

Lisbona?

Lisboa is also a very nice town. I was born and lived there for 27 years, but I really don't like to live in big towns. I have moved to Baleal, an old fishing place, where they used to hunt whales (Baleal means whale's place). See the photo on post 61.

There is one night in the year, when Lisboa recovers all its ancient magic: Saint António night (the one that the Italians call “of Padua” but that everybody knows he was“from Lisbon”:P ), the old town feast. In the old Arab quarters (Alfama and Mouraria), Lisboetas get together to eat sardines, drink wine, dance and listen to the Fado, the old Lisboa song.

You are invited. It is on the night of the12th June.

Regards

[Cheesecutter]

Queensland would have to be the best spot.Anything north of
Brisbane, which is just another city.Great weather ,great beaches and great sailing.I mean where do you think all the southern sailors go in winter.Queensland ofcourse.We have the best cruising grounds in the world and we all speak english.And where do all the circumnavigators enter Australia,Bundaberg Queensland.Beautiful one day perfect the next.

[bhnautika]

The beach

[Poida]

Yeah Cheesecutter
Would love to go to Bunderberg, going to Cairns next year hope to drop into Bundy for a while. My son lived there for a while but didn't like the work opertunities so headed back to Toowoomba???

I've gone to Queensland so many times but never dived on the reef, next year make ammends.

[Cheesecutter]

I suppose people will be leaving Toowoomba an masse as soon as they implement their new water plan.Yuk!

[Poida]

I thought they were not going to do that in Toowoomba. It would be interesting how many places in the world recycle their own waste water.

I wonder if you would recognise your own water when it comes out of the tap. Gee I remember doing that three days ago.

Gives "a night out on the piss" a whole new meaning.

[MikeJohns]

I like Brisbane it's a great city to call into.
Bundy is good if you go up the river but the Marina by the entrance is too far to town. Great sandy straights is a miserable area , Tin Can bay is not so hot either. Sailing south along the coast in winter is a beat all the way from up North unless it's the Hurricane season then it's too hot and the stingers make swimming a dressing afair. In the remoter river mouths you cant swim at all because of the biters.

The Whitsundays get interesting, then the reef starts too they are probably as enjoyable as any of the Pacific if you're not looking for cultural difference.

If you get a chance the kent group in Bass straight is a great spot. Then there's New Zealand, that has some magnificent coastlines too.

Tasmania's east and south coast are probably the best crusing grounds in Australia. Port Davey is worth a month minimum. The variable winds mean you can get wind in the right direction by waiting a day or two. The Channel area is a delight of sheltered sandy anchorages nature reserves and uncrowded bays and very good cheap facilities.

But as we say when people patronisingly ask "Whats it really like sailing in Tasmania?" we always say "It's awful........dont come" ;)

Cheers

[Panama]

Many places can be as good as you want to make it.

Panama may be considered if you have a pension such as Social Security. (Yes some of us are old in here). I am approaching this but do not have one yet.

There are places to sail and things to see and do. Cost of living can be very good depending on how you set yourself up. If one is male and single, the night life can be ...well...interesting.

Best if one speaks Espanol and has prior experience in overseas places. It is not for everyone...but...I am having a blast.

[safewalrus]

Yeah Panama your right, a great place for sure! Straight out of the old west are some of those old banana loading ports -preference Almirante, up by the Boco - del - toro on the Carribean side but here are other places equally good! But Personnally I'd stay out of Panama City or Colon - there again I always was a county boy!

[Panama]

I have been to lots of places and I have to say also that the Philippines was really good. A problem is for us older folks who are from the US is the ticket prices back to the USA if there was need for major health care or one of my kin got sick or needed my help. I went to South East Asia as a young man, and I have to say I would not trade it for the world. Even Vietnam in that time was just beautiful. Just wonderful.

A touch of the swashbuckling spirit, a full sail, and the open sea, beer and barbeque on the beech once in a while, and pretty girls.