Island Retirement Dream

[Jiddy]

Okay, lets talk about a dream. If you could retire to an island, any island in the world, which one would you choose and why? Heres some rules to keep the discussion on track, you make a modest income of $2000 monthly (from investments you made in your youth, the money will always come, every month as long as you live) Your income will grow with the cost of living increase (avg. 3% a year)
Now, would you choose the Atlantic or the Pacific? Would you want a tourist island or a remote island? I just want to see what you guys would say.... so lets hear it.

 

[NaH2O]

Hmmm....this is a really good question.

I would want the pacific side, I suppose. The pictures always seem much better than anything I've seen in the Caribbean, although I'm not sure where yet....I really like the pics of Bora Bora. However, I would want a remote island for the peace and quiet. Although, the comforts that come with touristy locations might be worth the hustle and bustle. I'll have to stew on this one before I make my definate plans

 

[Damsel13]

Hummm...will have to get the Atlas out.

 

[Jiddy]

Thats what i was thinking Nikki, like Hawaii is beautiful, great scuba and still "close" to the mainland. But its expensive and still fast paced. Where an island like Guam, has a tourist section, where you can get many "wants" but still has enough area where you can live in quiet, but the diving isnt that great, but it was a lot dive shops. Those are my only experiences. I would choose the pacific, it seems the corals are more abundant (my opinion) but the flights are more expensive. I was thinking Fiji.

 

[spongebob lover]

geez that's hard for me dood , i like the pacific, i'd go for the turistic island, i used to go twice a year to Acapulco and my dream has always been to buy a house there... why there? well for once.. it's my home land , i'd be closer to my family because it only takes 3 hours to go from there to mexico city, the weather is always awesome... not so much reefs but always fun to go chase crabs :lol: .
After seen pics from Krish's Bahamian thread .... i don't know, i also would like to live there:lolnorth Atlantic ocean? ) , it'd be nice to be able to check out some reefs and stuff and if i got bored of there i could always check out Cuba... have a mojito, a nice cuban cigar and then just go back home :lol:

 

[thekingfish]

Jiddy,
You can live on Guam but then go fly out to islands like Palau once in a while for the diving. I would rather live on a tourist island cause stuff like power and water would be more reliable in addition to paved roads.
Plus I would look for an island under American or at least European supervision/laws and no offense meant but some of the places under "local" rule doesn't seem the best run.
New Zealand is a pretty awesome place but not sure what their cost of living is.

 

[Snowboarda42]

Bora Bora FTW.

 

[Jiddy]

I did some research on Belize and was quite impressed. Not only is it the only Central America/South America Country whose official language is English, but it boast the second largest reef (at 185 miles long) in the world (second to the Great Barrier) along with Mayan Temples/Ruins but it has nurse sharks, manatees and turtles. I was pretty happy with the airfare prices, and if you really wanted to save some cash, you could fly into Cancun and take a bus to Belize, i think ill just pay the extra cash thou. Now im going to have to take a trip it sounds pretty exciting, lol. Has anyone ever been to Belize?

 

[Blazer88]

Jiddy, good call on Belize. I'm actually planning a trip there with my wife in six months or so. I've always heard great thing about Ambergris Caye. I love the fact that there are no cars on the islands, only golf carts on sand-only streets. I had some friends who spent a few weeks there an loved it. Small, low-key, and super cheap. Plus the mainland is just a short ferry ride away to explore the Mayan ruins. That gets my vote so far.