Tldr; I love my job, hate the Netherlands, want to move somewhere warmer but where and how?

[smallcircles@social.coop]

@Gina ah yes, that is true. I have family living there, but they emigrated from NL long ago, at the height of the Cold War and going the safest country to be in, in case of a nuclear war. They are now long-time house owners with big overvalue. 😅

[_elena@mastodon.social]

@Gina addendum: are you looking into staying in Europe or far off places are being evaluated too? A dear Canadian friend who's an entrepreneur has gone many times to Aruba (in the Caribbeans) and she LOVED it. The official language is Dutch... just putting that out there...

[_elena@mastodon.social]

@Gina oh no! sorry to hear that! ok let's strike off Malta then

[teacher_rick@mastodon.nl]

@Gina Andere suggestie dan; wmb beetje een verborgen parel (maar ook wel vergane glorie): San Remo - Italië
Vlakbij Nice en Genua voor 🚅🛫
Monaco op een steenworp.
Fietsen langs de Middellandse Zee; bergen als achterland (Ligurië - Bloemenriviera)
Prima eetcultuur (toeristische restaurants mijden). Strand, zee, zon.

Mijn puberkids waren erg enthousiast (en ik ook wel). Ook vanwege het winkelaanbod.

[jlin@fosstodon.org]

@Gina my personal response is don’t be afraid of spending money. Of course be responsible and budget, but not doing something you want to do (campervanning) just because you might spend savings is a mistake. You can try a low risk version. Rent a van instead of buying one, take a week long trip somewhere to see if you like it, do experiments, and going for longer trips if you and your cats end up enjoying it. I wish i could go over to europe for a longer stay.

[accordingtowouter@mastodon.world]

@Gina I understand you, Gina. I have also moved countries and lived abroad for long periods of time. I have learned one thing: other countries have their issues too. And much of what I read in your topics (except for the weather) also exists in other countries. And in some cases, it is even worse organised. I just wanted to share that with you (and yes, I know it sounds pessimistic). The proverbial greener grass.

[gina@fosstodon.org]

@_elena open to other places too. I actually visited Curaçao in september last year, with the same purpose. Hated it 😅 It felt too small, boring, and filled with a certain subset of Dutch people I could live without.

Love the suggestions btw, thank you for brainstorming with me 😁

[gina@fosstodon.org]

@AccordingtoWouter absolutely, and I'm a big believer of "where ever you go, there you are."

[smallcircles@social.coop]

@Gina

Do you want to go for bustling city life, or quiet rural life? I was attracted by those TV programs of Floortje Dessing "Alone on the World", for instance the edition where she visited a family living in the Belise jungle. Surrounded by Nature, though not far from road and city. Those examples are a bit extreme, of course, but the general idea for the non die-hard hobbyist "lonely planeters" is fine.

[teacher_rick@mastodon.nl]

@Gina oh, jammer dat je dat zo hebt ervaren. Ik had de kans om in ‘n onderwijsproject daar te stappen - door situatie gezin hier in NL niet gedaan, maar het zit nog wel in mijn achterhoofd.

[smallcircles@social.coop]

@Gina Chili is also rural galore, beautiful nature. Speak Spanish fluently (if you don't already), 2nd largest language, always handy.

[angelomassaro@mastodon.social]

@Gina perhaps Trieste would be a good option?

[accordingtowouter@mastodon.world]

@Gina I think the south of France could be a good choice for you. Cities such as Toulon, Fréjus, Cannes or Nice. Larger but not too large, good weather, good food. Close by beaches. Or further inland and smaller towns such as Draguignan, Grasse (famous for its perfumery).

[smallcircles@social.coop]

@Gina

On that safety list btw, there are some surprising positions.

[jannem@fosstodon.org]

@Gina
Maybe according to your definition (and maybe not even then). We have an apartment in Ginowan, a city of about 100k, and directly connected to Urasoe, then Naha in the south; and Chatan and Okinawa City in the north.

To me this is still urban (if not the big city vibe of, say, Osaka or Tokyo). Many japanese consider Okinawa as a whole as the far-end of nowhere.

We have streetlights and sidewalks. That's at least semi-urban to me.

[_elena@mastodon.social]

@Gina aw no worries! I have an American friend who emigrated to Valencia, Spain and LOVED it (she didn't speak the language when she first moved there). She's been in Valencia for several years now...

France and Italy may be hard to navigate for people who don't speak the language... but from my superficial knowledge, Spain seems a more welcoming country to expats. My two cents - take this with a grain of salt

[smallcircles@social.coop]

@Gina here is that democracy index. The EIU list is I think the official one, but last publication dates from 2024. I hoped to find 2026 and was curious how they'd rank the USA with Mr. T and all that jazz.

https://freedomforallamericans.org/democracy-index-rankings/

[josunobo@shelter.moe]

@Gina
That's funny, I went to Amsterdam two years ago, and I thought "What a nice place to be !" 😂 What do you dislike there ?
I'm in Strasbourg, France btw !

[not_a_label@toot.lgbt]

@Gina I have friends who have done this and I lived on a small boat for 10 years. The practicalities and relative discomforts are all manageable in good weather. The thing that people can struggle with is friendships/community/connections… you and the people you meet are constantly moving around so there’s a lot of goodbyes and some find that difficult.

You’re also right to not want to blow all your life savings to do it!

[gina@fosstodon.org]

@josunobo the weather, how expensive it is, the constant rain, how crowded it is, the constant cycling through the rain, the lack of nature, the horizontal rain, not being able to drive anywhere.