"I could live here..."

[jeanine]

Carmel,ca. For us it is paradise. Our first visit in 1972 we stayed at the Highlands Inn. Our room was a little cottage called Macbeth. Through the window we had a glimpse of the ocean through the trees. Cottages are gone now, still one of our favorite hotels.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Ah yes, I remember feeling that way about Carmel the first time I visited.

[corpkid]

Rio (amazing place, honestly)

Sydney, AUS

Downtown Orlando (oh wait... :) )

[Wendy The Wanderer]

yes, I could spend alot of time in Rio!

[ricki]

We actually did this. Eight years ago we took a month to do Quebec and Nova Scotia. As the ferry docked in Digby, I said to my DH, "This is so beautiful, I could live here!" ( and that isn't even the prettiest part of Nova Scotia). We stayed in a B&B for a week in Lunenburg, fell in love with the area, the South Shore, went home and came back two months later and bought an 80 year old house on the ocean in a village of 300 wonderful people. A bit of paradise! We've spent 5 months there every year since, until we sold it this year so we could travel more. But we are renting up there for the month of September--too many good friends that we would miss to leave altogether.

 

Other places I could live? The Swedish Archipelago, St. Mawes, UK, Aix en Provence, and maybe a tiny bit of time in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong.

 

Meanwhile, it is beautiful Sarasota for the bulk of the time.

 

Ricki

[caviargal]

I could happily live in Berlin, Bologna, Rome, Salzburg, Vancouver. I have spent a good bit of time in each and if I was younger, I would be figuring out how to spend at least a few years living in Europe.

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

We actually did this. Eight years ago we took a month to do Quebec and Nova Scotia. As the ferry docked in Digby, I said to my DH, "This is so beautiful, I could live here!" ( and that isn't even the prettiest part of Nova Scotia). We stayed in a B&B for a week in Lunenburg, fell in love with the area, the South Shore, went home and came back two months later and bought an 80 year old house on the ocean in a village of 300 wonderful people. A bit of paradise! We've spent 5 months there every year since, until we sold it this year so we could travel more. But we are renting up there for the month of September--too many good friends that we would miss to leave altogether.

 

Other places I could live? The Swedish Archipelago, St. Mawes, UK, Aix en Provence, and maybe a tiny bit of time in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong.

 

Meanwhile, it is beautiful Sarasota for the bulk of the time.

 

Ricki

 

I love St Mawes too......spent many family vacations there through the 70s and 80s. It's still beautiful, but so much busier these days!

[ricki]

I love St Mawes too......spent many family vacations there through the 70s and 80s. It's still beautiful' date=' but so much busier these days![/quote']

 

Do you remember the rather modest and shabby Hotel Tresanton? It is now very posh.

 

Ricki

 

(Sorry for hijacking this thread.)

[Jancruz]

Love just where I live in Mandalay Bay, CA (20 minutes south of Santa Barbara) right on the ocean..we wake up each morning look out the window and feel like we are on a cruise ship!!

Jancruz1

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

Do you remember the rather modest and shabby Hotel Tresanton? It is now very posh.

 

Ricki

 

(Sorry for hijacking this thread.)

 

Of course....it's now owned by Rocco Forte's sister Olga Polizzi, and not too far away in the Tamar Valley is Alex Polizzi's (If you're in the UK she's "The Hotel Inspector") Hotel Endsleigh.....equally lovely!

[ricki]

Of course....it's now owned by Rocco Forte's sister Olga Polizzi' date=' and not too far away in the Tamar Valley is Alex Polizzi's (If you're in the UK she's "The Hotel Inspector") Hotel Endsleigh.....equally lovely![/quote']

 

Thank you--we will have to check out the Endsleigh on our next visit to the UK.

 

Ricki

[corpkid]

We also fell in love with Nova Scotia on a cruise. We ended up renting a FANTASTIC log cabin for 3 months a few summers ago. Lucky for us we both work remotely as consultants. The time changes are a huge problem so it's nice to stay close to EST. THAT was a dream summer!!!! Worst was our 2 months in Hawaii. I was getting calls at 3am from the NE. Wonderful place, annoying time zone! :)

[ricki]

We also fell in love with Nova Scotia on a cruise. We ended up renting a FANTASTIC log cabin for 3 months a few summers ago. Lucky for us we both work remotely as consultants. The time changes are a huge problem so it's nice to stay close to EST. THAT was a dream summer!!!! Worst was our 2 months in Hawaii. I was getting calls at 3am from the NE. Wonderful place, annoying time zone! :)

 

Nova Scotia is magical! It is said that the only time people lock their cars is during rhubarb season and zucchini season. Otherwise they come back and their car is filled with rhubarb or zucchini!

 

In our little village, nobody locked their homes, no one removed the keys from their cars, etc. It is like stepping back in time.

 

Ricki

[corpkid]

We were about an hour out from Halifax. This log cabin should be featured on HGTV! It was THAT nice, right on the water and growing up in Boston lobster was a big deal - and my good GOD(!) lobsters??? And then we'd take side trips to PEI and buy 100 oysters right as the farmers were packing them for mass sale (raspberry bay is my favorite) and we'd drink way too much wine while shucking those little suckers.... sorry, I'm projecting.. hahaha :o BEST SUMMER TO DATE!

[Arusha]

Dittoes on previous posters' picks of:

• St. Mawes; just about anywhere in Cornwall would do for me
  
• Canadian Maritimes, especially PEI
  

Also:

• Maine midcoast
  
• California coast (about 50 years ago)
  
• Tanzania: the Serena Lodge perched on the ridge of the Ngorongoro Crater
  

But there are so many more places to see...

[AWED23]

Singapore if I did not already live in paradise...Friday Harbor, WA. :D

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Well here I am in Lisbon just spring arrives, and I could easily live here.

[cbb]

We were in Lisbon in September and our guide told us that in Portugal American tv shows are shown in English and so everybody grows up hearing English spoken and that most people are bilingual.

 

He said that in Spain the shows are dubbed into Spanish and so most are not bilingual although those in the tourism industry and some of the younger generation are becoming bilingual.

 

Ahhh, the influence of the American "arts" on the world!

[cbb]

I forgot to say that we much preferred Portugal to Spain...Portugal is just gorgeous!!

[winegirl]

Victoria BC, or Portland, Oregon areas (climate, scenic beauty, access to outdoor activities year 'round)

Madison, WI or Minneapolis, MN (quality of life/amenities/culture/universities)

Stockholm, Sweden (spectacular, excellent transit, culturally rich, comfortable)

Anywhere in Holland, Belgium or Switzerland (see Stockholm, plus cuisine)

Alsace-Lorraine, Burgundy, Normandy or Brittany, France (quality of life, looks like "home," cuisine, climate)

 

No hot weather areas for us!

[corpkid]

OH dear Victoria and Vancouver - yes, we actually wasted the time of a real estate agent in both. Though I'm not sure we wasted their time as this is ALSO on the list. We sure do have a list!!! Vancouver really appealed to us with the skiing nearby and the somewhat temperate climate as well as the "whole scene". PLUS the people are simply the nicest going around!