# Where would you live if you could live anywhere?



## EricABQ

For me it would be the San Juan Islands of Washington State or the Mendocino Coast of California. 

Both beautiful places with nice climates. 

I actually fully intend to retire in the San Juans, but the Mendocino Coast will probably be out of reach financially.


----------



## emiellucifuge

Somewhere wild, far from human influence with beautiful scenery and an intact ecosystem. A warm climate preferrably.
My dream job I think would be to conduct research in the African bush or manage a national park or something


----------



## jani

Somewhere were its warm around the year and people talk English!


----------



## EricABQ

emiellucifuge said:


> Somewhere wild, far from human influence with beautiful scenery and an intact ecosystem. A warm climate preferrably.
> My dream job I think would be to conduct research in the African bush or manage a national park or something


Have you been to Africa?

I got to go one time while I was in the Navy. We pulled into Mombasa for a couple of days. I didn't make it out into the bush because of limited time off the ship, but it was still an exciting place to visit. Hot as hell though. I've been to a lot of really hot places but nothing like that. It was hotter than I thought it was even possible to be.


----------



## EricABQ

jani said:


> Somewhere were its warm around the year and people talk English!


Any particular place in mind?


----------



## ptr

I used to date a girl from NZ and on the two trips down there we were lent her Granddads house on the estuary of the Waikato River (50 miles south of Auckland), I could see myself retiring for real down there!










/ptr


----------



## jani

EricABQ said:


> Any particular place in mind?


California, Miami or Australia.


----------



## OboeKnight

For some reason I've always dreamed of living in a house in the middle of a forest, with no humans for miles around. Beautiful trees and animals, with warm sunlight trickling through the canopy. 

This would never work out as a performing musician, but one can still dream :lol:


----------



## jani

OboeKnight said:


> For some reason I've always dreamed of living in a house in the middle of a forest, with no humans for miles around. Beautiful trees and animals, with warm sunlight trickling through the canopy.
> 
> This would never work out as a performing musician, but one can still dream :lol:


You would become a mad composer and some years after your death some people who got lost in the woods accidentally find your house and find your scores and take them to museum inspector and then the inspector tells that the scores are at least 100 years old and local orchestras start to play your work, the audience is glad that they are able to hear tonal composer with a fresh sound. Oboists start to love&hate you, some start to hate you because your music is too difficult to play for them, some love because it pushes them into new levels of mastery!¨


----------



## deggial

@OK: commute every day!

I'd like to move to Munich. My German is terrible, though...


----------



## OboeKnight

jani said:


> You would become a mad composer and some years after your death some people who got lost in the woods accidentally find your house and find your scores and take them to museum inspector and then the inspector tells that the scores are at least 100 years old and local orchestras start to play your work, the audience is glad that they are able to hear tonal composer with a fresh sound. Oboists start to love&hate you, some start to hate you because your music is too difficult to play for them, some love because it pushes them into new levels of mastery!¨


Yes...alright I'm doing it! If you guys don't hear from me anymore, I'm in a lonesome forest somewhere without internet access.


----------



## emiellucifuge

EricABQ said:


> Have you been to Africa?
> 
> I got to go one time while I was in the Navy. We pulled into Mombasa for a couple of days. I didn't make it out into the bush because of limited time off the ship, but it was still an exciting place to visit. Hot as hell though. I've been to a lot of really hot places but nothing like that. It was hotter than I thought it was even possible to be.


Yes I spent 4 months there working on a research project. Namibia to be precise, but Ive also been to South Africa & Botswana - all fantastic.
Namibia was indeed bloody hot, 45C (115F) at some points of the day. And the sun is unrelenting.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

There is an island in the North Sea, off of the German coast, called Sylt. It is just a small island, 38 km from one end to the other and a few small towns. It is a stern and severe place, a land of sand dunes, roaring sea and cold winds constantly blowing in, and yet for me there is no place on Earth dearer than that.

















One thing I would really love is to take up the position of the organist at one of its churches (this is impossible though since I don't play the organ) and daily praise the Lord of this land for bringing me here. And later, when the congregation is gone, I would play some Wagner too...


----------



## Ukko

Vermont in summer and fall, New Zealand the rest of the time. When my lottery ticket hits big... .


----------



## PetrB

No place with native palm trees.


----------



## Crudblud

Somewhere with far less people.


----------



## elgar's ghost

Within the British Isles I could happily settle in Cornwall, a county blessed with a quirky beauty to their rural settings and a cultural identity which is different to the rest of the country. Cornwall is in England but there are Cornish people who don't consider themselves English at all - the county has its own flag which is named the Saint Piran's flag (white cross on a black background), language (similar to Welsh) and there is also a national party (Mebyon Kernow = 'Sons of Cornwall'). Amazing place with a unique heritage and I can appreciate why the locals are both proud and fiercely protective of it.

Away from these shores? Difficult to say as I'm not well-travelled, but it would have to be somewhere temperate - I don't take to hot temperatures and humidity particularly well for any great length of time.


----------



## jani

Crudblud said:


> Somewhere with far less people.


Life is a team sport.


----------



## cwarchc

Lewis or Jura, in the Western Islands of Scotland, or possibly Iceland


----------



## ptr

cwarchc said:


> Lewis or Jura, in the Western Islands of Scotland, or possibly Iceland


My alternate choice would probably an island of the Scottish West Coast, perhaps Islay, but Jura would not be bad choice either!

/ptr


----------



## MaestroViolinist

Scotland. 

















And preferably in this  :


----------



## Praeludium

Paris, Berlin or Koln.

I wouldn't be surprised if most members who answered that they'd like to live somewhere far away from big cities are actually living in big cities.
Those metropoles have 90% of the cultural life. And as a student and a musician, it's the best place to be... If you can afford it, and honestly it looks like very few persons can actually afford living in Paris ! I certainly can't lol
Anyway, I'm tired of my village and of the relatively small town (population : 115 000) nearby.


----------



## Tristan

I love California and I don't have too much of a plan to leave anytime soon, but I also love Europe. If I do not live in California, then I would like to live in Europe, probably Italy (where my dad is from) or France.


----------



## Crudblud

jani said:


> Life is a team sport.


Your wall must be plastered with motivational posters. In any case; I said _less people_, not _no people_.


----------



## aleazk

Crudblud said:


> Your wall must be plastered with motivational posters. In any case; I said _less people_, not _no people_.


lol, that was hilarious. c'mon, crud, _you can_ do it, life is good!.


----------



## EricABQ

MaestroViolinist said:


> Scotland.
> 
> And preferably in this  :


Just imagine the upkeep.


----------



## deggial

MaestroViolinist said:


> Scotland.


even during the 360+ days a year when it rains?


----------



## Crudblud

aleazk said:


> lol, that was hilarious. c'mon, crud, _you can_ do it, life is good!.


I'm doing it, don't worry. What am I doing? I don't know, but it is definitely it.


----------



## MaestroViolinist

deggial said:


> even during the 360+ days a year when it rains?


:lol:

Yup, there's nothing wrong with rain.


----------



## MaestroViolinist

EricABQ said:


> Just imagine the upkeep.


Well of course I'd be bringing my 100 servants with me.


----------



## jani

Crudblud said:


> Your wall must be plastered with motivational posters. In any case; I said _less people_, not _no people_.


Not a single one, just a positive mind,


----------



## Weston

In one of the caverns or lava tubes around Arsia Mons. I could still have internet access, it would just not be in immediate real time. The six month commute to the office would be a little rough, but not that much worse than here in Nashville.


----------



## jurianbai

my American dream exist. If I could live anywhere it will be LA, NY or Chicago...lol

Millions of peoples with endless marketting and fun opportunity. LA maybe the biggest chance, since it is warm climate, NY is ok with it's miniature living, simple and easy. Chicago also fine, it is in the middle of continent that will survive disaster or even a war, in case......

I have also listed area such Florida, maybe in Jacksonville, for beach life enjoyment. Or in remote forest of Montana, or Vancouver for its unique geographical location, an isolated coastal city doorstep to snowy mountain. Nor of those I even went before, what do you think?


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Tahiti with a banjo...................


----------



## TxllxT

We like Brighton, London, Biarritz, Antibes, Venice, Prague, the Dutch isle of Texel, St Petersburg & many many other places, that we visit each in a longterm cycle of holidays. When we are on one spot, we imagine living there. After some time spent we move to the next one. That's how our way of living actually looks like: lots & lots of short holidays in an most relaxed & intensely enjoying manner...


----------



## Krummhorn

EricABQ said:


> For me it would be the San Juan Islands of Washington State . . . I actually fully intend to retire in the San Juans, . . .


Orcas would be my choice ... far enough from civilization, but still with some amenities for local shopping, dining. 
Used to live in Anacortes - beautiful country up there.


----------



## PetrB

jani said:


> Life is a team sport.


The team does not have to comprise 11,864.4 people per square mile, though, which is the density of the city in which I live.

Ireland's entire population is about the same number as those who live within the city limits of where I live. My home city, plus all its suburban and the collective nearby small-townships just about equals the entire population of Finland (5.4 million.)

Mexico City, Mexico; population, 8,864,370

Cairo, Egypt; population, 9,120,350

"Crowded' is relative.

If you are in a village of two hundred and fifty people and have no one around you sharing your particular interests, nor are they interested in your personal pursuits, one may as live in a hut on a hill or in a tree-house with no one else around, since the effect is virtually the same, and one is spared the clutter of the other entities 

And only to a degree... The trouble with all team analogies is it makes out whatever the point of the analogy as about to be as important as a high school swim meet or volleyball game.

If I owned a new station, all broadcasting announcers would be docked pay every time they used a sports analogy other than when directly reporting on sport, when it is of course no longer an analogy.


----------



## EricABQ

Krummhorn said:


> Orcas would be my choice ... far enough from civilization, but still with some amenities for local shopping, dining.
> Used to live in Anacortes - beautiful country up there.


Orcas would be very nice, but I think for convenience we will go with Anacortes. We don't want to be too isolated from family we may wish to visit, and the bridge to Fidalgo island makes it much easier to get to I-5.

Plus, we love Anacortes and vacation there often.


----------



## deggial

MaestroViolinist said:


> :lol:
> 
> Yup, there's nothing wrong with rain.


if it wasn't for rain I'd love it too. It's ridiculously beautiful and even eerie (the Highlands).


----------



## ptr

Rain is just the perfect reason for staying inside and listening to music! ..I'm all for rain, rain is the best friend of someone who loves music! Rain, rain, rain!! 

/ptr


----------



## EricABQ

I could live with rain. I'm starting to really burn out on this desert climate. We are in the midst of a fairly epic drought here. It rains next to never.


----------



## Art Rock

We have visited scores of countries, lived in four. If it was just me, I'd go to New Zealand (two perfect holidays spent there). My wife has a veto on that though. So we decided to settle down in a beautiful old city in the Netherlands, where we now run our own art gallery.


----------



## deggial

ptr said:


> Rain is just the perfect reason for staying inside and listening to music! ..I'm all for rain, rain is the best friend of someone who loves music! Rain, rain, rain!!
> 
> /ptr


hmmm, a cloudy sky in the morning makes me morose - and I certainly don't want to get out of the house. Good for music listening, agreed, but pretty bad for everything social; it's a shame about Spring, which can a be a great time for outdoors activities. It's been raining since last night...


----------



## sharik

EricABQ said:


> Where would you live if you could live anywhere?


the best place is where, besides a mild climate, they don't make you pay taxes and insurances and other payments, that is - Thailand or Vietnam or India and so on.


----------



## EricABQ

sharik said:


> the best place is where, besides a mild climate, they don't make you pay taxes and insurances and other payments, that is - Thailand or Vietnam or India and so on.


I've been to Thailand a few times, and while a beautiful place, I would not describe it as having a mild climate.


----------



## Sonata

Give me my kids, husband, cats and piano, and put me on some lakeside property anywhere and we'll call it good!


----------



## Ukko

Sonata said:


> Give me my kids, husband, cats and piano, and put me on some lakeside property anywhere and we'll call it good!


Well, at least you rate your husband before the cats; that is not a universal sentiment.


----------



## Sonata

We have two great cats, but my husband gifted me with the piano AND provided half the DNA for the kids. So even if we DIDN'T get along he'd be winning the contest :lol:. I'm fortunate.....nine years after our wedding, I'd still happily choose him for my life partner.


----------



## Il_Penseroso

Well I'm not sure... as long as I could live in a country calm and peaceful without war or any political catastrophe, I'd call myself a happy man... 

In my dreams: Scandinavia, I'd like to live near to the villa Ainola, where Sibelius lived or Troldhaugen where Grieg lived.


----------



## cwarchc

Lots of comments about Scottish weather.
We were in the highlands last June and they hadn't seen any rain for 7 weeks
It was still daylight at midnight







This is a "croft" on the Ilse of Skye with the Cuilin mountains in the background
Just far enough away from "civilisation" but not too far.


----------



## EricABQ

^^^^^^^^^

That looks like my kind of place. I could see enjoying a glass of Talisker while taking in that view.


----------



## cwarchc

EricABQ said:


> ^^^^^^^^^
> 
> That looks like my kind of place. I could see enjoying a glass of Talisker while taking in that view.


This is about 10 miles away from the distillery, down a small singletrack road, with the loch in front of you and the mountains behind, we saw Golden Eagles, Killer Whales (Orca) there's a pod of around 7 of them around the western islands.
It was my idea of heaven


----------



## kv466

Probably an island deep down in the southern Caribbean where I'd have my own restaurant/bar that specializes in American smoked bbq (made by me, of course) and offering live music nightly.

That, or running my own planetarium/multimedia laser theater up in Cuzco, Peru.


----------



## Novelette

Somewhere quiet nestled in the wooded mountains. A bit isolated, but with my pianos, my books, and a very good music system.


----------



## JCarmel

It's not bad where I live....20 minutes to Aysgarth Falls









55 mins to the sea and the characterful harbour town of Whitby.









50 mins to the ancient city of York









I min to the Bus Stop and 5 mins to the Co-op Supermarket!


----------



## Krummhorn

EricABQ said:


> Orcas would be very nice, but I think for convenience we will go with Anacortes. We don't want to be too isolated from family we may wish to visit, and the bridge to Fidalgo island makes it much easier to get to I-5.
> 
> Plus, we love Anacortes and vacation there often.


Anacortes is nice indeed ... although last time I was there it was getting too 'commercial' and lost that small town feel it had in the early 80's when I lived there. We were at the end of 32nd (west of D avenue) right next to the forest and a trail to Cranberry Lake. My parents lived in La Conner.

Kh ♫


----------



## EricABQ

Krummhorn said:


> My parents lived in La Conner.
> 
> Kh ♫


There's a blast from the past. My grandfather docked his little sail boat in La Conner many, many years ago.


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Somewhere colder and rainier than here.


----------



## Manxfeeder

I'd love to live in Cambria on the California coast. It was where I would have ended up if I hadn't detoured to Tennessee.


----------



## Chi_townPhilly

SiegendesLicht said:


> There is an island in the North Sea, off of the German coast, called Sylt. It is just a small island, 38 km from one end to the other and a few small towns. It is a stern and severe place, a land of sand dunes, roaring sea and cold winds constantly blowing in, and yet for me there is no place on Earth dearer than that.


Wow. Just a huge, coincidental wow.

A few decades ago, I participated in a (Fantasy) Role-Playing Game, based on Earth's geography- but with an alternative history. The spot I chose for my fighting character's birth-place? Sylt. To me, it seemed like a really good place for the nascence of a warrior-hero.

That said, I don't know if it's the place for me. [_I_'m *not* a warrior-hero.] But it _did_ make an impression in my consciousness.


----------



## EricABQ

Manxfeeder said:


> I'd love to live in Cambria on the California coast. It was where I would have ended up if I hadn't detoured to Tennessee.


My wife and I vacationed in that area last summer. It's a great place. Lot's of interesting bird life.


----------



## Manxfeeder

EricABQ said:


> My wife and I vacationed in that area last summer. It's a great place. Lot's of interesting bird life.


Lucky! My wife and I spent our honeymoon at the Cambria Pines. I hope it's still there. It was a very romantic location: a high cliff overlooking the ocean, a quaint little town, and Hearst Castle looming in the distance.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Somewhere colder and rainier than here.


Sounds nice I know, in the middle of the Aussie summer but young Jedi- the reality of the cold ain't so nice when your in it....


----------



## Ravndal

Somewhere in France


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Wow. Just a huge, coincidental wow.
> 
> A few decades ago, I participated in a (Fantasy) Role-Playing Game, based on Earth's geography- but with an alternative history. The spot I chose for my fighting character's birth-place? Sylt. To me, it seemed like a really good place for the nascence of a warrior-hero.
> 
> That said, I don't know if it's the place for me. [_I_'m *not* a warrior-hero.] But it _did_ make an impression in my consciousness.


I am not a warrior-hero either, but I do enjoy stories that have such characters in them (and I used to play a bit of Dungeons & Dragons as well), and I too think that little island would be a perfect place for one.


----------



## Ingélou

JCarmel said:


> It's not bad where I live....20 minutes to Aysgarth Falls
> 
> View attachment 14347
> 
> 
> 55 mins to the sea and the characterful harbour town of Whitby.
> 
> View attachment 14348
> 
> 
> 50 mins to the ancient city of York
> 
> View attachment 14349
> 
> 
> I min to the Bus Stop and 5 mins to the Co-op Supermarket!


I've just turned green! I grew up in York and now that I'm a sexagenarian -  - I'm drawn to my roots. I'm still in touch with school friends who live in or near the great Roman city of Eboracum & we had a great time last year, Taggart & I, staying in York to watch a brilliant staging of the Mystery Plays. York also has an Early Music Festival.

Durham is another fabulous cathedral city - where I went to university, & where I lived for another 9 years after Taggart got his first job there.

But 'bloom where you're planted'. We have a lovely house by the sea & not far from another fine cathedral city, Norwich.

I couldn't live outside Europe. I need to feel connected to history. I love places with a) old buildings b) cultural importance c) riverside walks.


----------



## Ukko

I read the book "Sarum" by Edward Rutherfurd. The writing is a little awkward, but the story is fascinating enough. And so is the speculative/guesswork history of the Plain.


----------



## moody

Hilltroll72 said:


> I read the book "Sarum" by Edward Rutherfurd. The writing is a little awkward, but the story is fascinating enough. And so is the speculative/guesswork history of the Plain.


Salisbury is a beautiful city,my daughter went to college there.It has a spectacular cathedral.


----------



## Ritter

Vienna, the city of the music!


----------



## Ritter

moody said:


> Salisbury is a beautiful city,my daughter went to college there.It has a spectacular cathedral.


I visited the cathedral last year, impressive!


----------



## MichaelSolo

Hm, and I am happy where I am. Maybe, I'd want to travel a bit more than I do, but as far as living is concerned, San Diego is hard to beat: a great combination of climate, existence of less traveled places and proximity to what is known as "cultural center" (LA).


----------



## millionrainbows

Detroit, Michigan, or possibly Flint.


----------



## MichaelSolo

millionrainbows said:


> Detroit, ....


Detroit???? Care to elaborate why would the crime capital of the US attract you?


----------



## waldvogel

millionrainbows said:


> Detroit, Michigan, or possibly Flint.


I don't live in Detroit, but when the wind is blowing from the Northwest, I can definitely smell it.

As for me, opera season in Berlin, summer in the Sierra Nevada, and midwinter on the Caribbean slope in Costa Rica...


----------



## CypressWillow

Nohant in the Summer, Paris in the Winter. Side trips to Greece and Tahiti. I don't ask much, do I? 
For now, I'm very happy in upstate New York.


----------



## BlazeGlory

jurianbai said:


> my American dream exist. If I could live anywhere it will be LA, NY or Chicago...lol
> I have also listed area such Florida, maybe in Jacksonville, for beach life enjoyment. Or in remote forest of Montana, or Vancouver for its unique geographical location, an isolated coastal city doorstep to snowy mountain. Nor of those I even went before, what do you think?


You should learn a little more about America before you make a decision. In LA or NY(C) you would be taxed to death. In Chicago you could be dead before you pay any taxes. (Unless on welfare, disability, social security, etc. Then, in Chicago, you could just be dead.)


----------



## BlazeGlory

I want to live in the Nexus.


----------



## chalkpie

England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium. 

I would leave the USA if it was feasible, but its not.


----------



## Joe B

Astral Plane 7-B has always seemed like the spot for me, but I'll have to wait until my tenure here is terminated by the man upstairs.


----------



## JJF

Would love to have numerous abodes other than my home in the NC mountains. Tokyo comes to mind to have the resources and experience of that amazing city for a few months. Vienna, though I've never spent an extended period of time there.


----------



## JJF

All major American cities are in trouble and offer diminishing returns for their productive citizens. Monocle magazine does a great job in producing a list of the best cities in the world to live in. For the first time this year, security was added to the criteria.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese




----------



## TennysonsHarp

I've thought of taking up residence in Vienna (I plan on studying abroad in Europe while I'm in college.) But Japan is also alluring.


----------



## Totenfeier

OboeKnight said:


> For some reason I've always dreamed of living in a house in the middle of a forest, with no humans for miles around. Beautiful trees and animals, with warm sunlight trickling through the canopy.
> 
> This would never work out as a performing musician, but one can still dream :lol:


I'm with you (metaphorically, of course). A one-room cabin deep in and high up in the Appalachian Mountains.

With a kick-a$$ stereo system.


----------



## Brahmsian Colors

Somewhere that has a yearly temperature range of 60 to 75 degrees fahrenheit...*if* there is a place where that exists


----------



## hpowders

I just crossed Houston off my list.


----------



## Bulldog

hpowders said:


> I just crossed Houston off my list.


New Orleans will soon get the thumbs-down.


----------



## hpowders

Bulldog said:


> New Orleans will soon get the thumbs-down.


New Orleans was already off my list. I was there for a week last year and I felt unsafe walking on Canal Street, which is one of the main streets. Couldn't wait to get out of there, gumbo or no gumbo!!


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese




----------



## SixFootScowl

I think it would be great to live on a large tract of a square mile (640 acres) or more in the Colorado Rockies. Better yet, make it about 50 square miles and include a whole 14 thousand foot mountain. Colorado has 53 Fourteeners so I think they can spare me one. :lol:


----------



## Pugg

No place like home :angel: and that is where the heart lies.


----------



## Harmonie

Somewhere in Northeastern US. I can not stand the politics of where I live, nor can I stand the fact that we've gone from a temperate four-season climate to summer, summer, and more summer as of late. I want four seasons again, with a leaning toward more winter and less summer.


----------

