Best place you have been

[foundnemo11]

Personally, Rincon Puerto Rico was the best place That inhave been to. I remember waiting 45 minutes to de-ice the plane, few hours later I was in 95 degree weather swimming, snorkeling, fishing, and just living the life. I am sure there are many great places far better than here. I would like to take a vacation in the near future and I know a lot of people here have been to many different "paradise" locations. Where is your top place and why.

Also places that would be affordable/safe to live. I plan to become a snowbird once my daughter is finished with school ( years down the road) I run a business that's primarily spring, summer, fall. It would be great to be able to retreat to paradise on my time off, but then again I might not want to come back.

So lets hear it...

 

[DUPioneers]

Best diving: Raja Ampat area of Indonesia. The sheer amount and diversity of life there is indescribable. I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to dive those waters. I watch my video footage of those magical 8 days and shake my head in awe....and I'm the one that shot it!!!

Best overall spot: Fiji. Add up the people, the lifestyle, the beauty, the diving, AND the fact that it's every bit as easy for us west of the Mississippi to get to as the Caribbean, and you have what is truly the best tropical place I've ever been.

Best place in the Caribbean: Little Cayman. Hurricanes have had a negative impact on the diving on this little treasure; but the funky, laid back vibe and the fact that I proposed to my wife while on a dive there mean that Little Cayman will always have a special place in my heart. Oh, the fact that I landed a 20# permit there on a fly rod that I built, while using a fly that I tied doesn't hurt...

 

[ace_92101]

Coral Sea (GBR): Unbelievable. It was a 15 hour steam out of Cairns in very rough seas. I've done a lot of blue water sailing, and it was rough. However, once we got there it was perfect weather. 150 foot viz and unreal coral and fish life.

Red Sea: Great fish life and very good coral, both hard and soft. Combined with a trip to the Pyramids and Luxor and it doesn't get much better.

Fiji(Kadavu): Great fish life and good coral as well. When I was there, 15 years ago, infrastructure was basic, but was a great place to visit.

 

[ace_92101]

Personally, Rincon Puerto Rico was the best place That inhave been to. I remember waiting 45 minutes to de-ice the plane, few hours later I was in 95 degree weather swimming, snorkeling, fishing, and just living the life. I am sure there are many great places far better than here. I would like to take a vacation in the near future and I know a lot of people here have been to many different "paradise" locations. Where is your top place and why.

Also places that would be affordable/safe to live. I plan to become a snowbird once my daughter is finished with school ( years down the road) I run a business that's primarily spring, summer, fall. It would be great to be able to retreat to paradise on my time off, but then again I might not want to come back.

So lets hear it...

As far as retirement, I know that both Thailand and Malaysia have tax packages to encourage retirees to move there. Thailand has good, not great, diving. But the culture, food and weather are great. I've only dove peninsular Malaysia. The best diving is in Borneo, but it's not as developed. The Philippines would also be a good option. I've made 7 dive trips to the PI. It's definitely cheap with some great diving, depending on where you are. Bali would also be a good option.

 

[DUPioneers]

As far as retirement, I know that both Thailand and Malaysia have tax packages to encourage retirees to move there. Thailand has good, not great, diving. But the culture, food and weather are great. I've only dove peninsular Malaysia. The best diving is in Borneo, but it's not as developed. The Philippines would also be a good option. I've made 7 dive trips to the PI. It's definitely cheap with some great diving, depending on where you are. Bali would also be a good option.

Ringing endorsement of Bali, here......

It's probably the most spiritually moving place I've ever been. It's also a great launching off point for the rest of the western pacific for diving.

That said, potential terror attacks are always a concern in Bali - Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world and many of the poor young men are at substantial risk of radicalization, due to rampant unemployment and few prospects for improving their lot in life.

It's not something I'd obsess over, but should be added to any list of "pros and cons" if you're considering relocating to Bali.

 

[Speckled Grouper]

Guam, USA!!!

This place is amazing. It has everything you need, including the biggest K-Mart in the world, lol.

And not to mention, it's a 4 hour flight from the Great Barrier Reef!

 

[ace_92101]

Guam, USA!!!

This place is amazing. It has everything you need, including the biggest K-Mart in the world, lol.

And not to mention, it's a 4 hour flight from the Great Barrier Reef!

Biggest K-Mart???????

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Down Under for me!

 

[foundnemo11]

wow.. all these places seem amazing. I wish I would be able to check them all out. I think indonesia bali, guam all sound good, plus they all seem to be affordable living. I was looking at Austarlia, it seems that this place is a lot more than NY for cost of living. Anyone know anything about Costa Rica? I hear a few things about this place and nothing I hear seems bad about it, but thinking central america being a white guy who knows.

the whole area around The Great Barrier Reef sounds amazing. Visiting there is one thing I will have to do. Living there would also be amazing.

 

[ace_92101]

As I mentioned, Bali is a very nice. I've been several times. It's a fairly big island, with a lot of living options. Its much cheaper than here in the US. Most tourist are in the south and middle of the island. The diving is very good and varied. Expect to see almost all of the fish and corals you'd see in a LFS.

I haven't been to Guam yet. I've always wanted to take the old Continental Airlines Coral route to Guam. It does have the advantage of being a US Territory. That said, I know it is an expensive place to live. The diving is said to be good, but not great.

Northern Queensland is amazing. It's got an easy going lifestyle and great tropical weather. The diving on the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea is world class. The only downside is that the GBR is fairly far from shore. As you mentioned, it is expensive to live there.

If you want a cheaper Australian option, you might want to look at Darwin and northern Western Territory. I've dove Darwin, which has limited viz! The northern Western Territory is rural but is said to have some great diving.

I haven't been to Costa Rica. One diving advantage is that you have two coasts that are very different. You might to also look at Belize and Honduras, which are both cheap, have large expat/retirement communities and have very good diving for the Caribbean.

 

[DUPioneers]

wow.. all these places seem amazing. I wish I would be able to check them all out. I think indonesia bali, guam all sound good, plus they all seem to be affordable living. I was looking at Austarlia, it seems that this place is a lot more than NY for cost of living. Anyone know anything about Costa Rica? I hear a few things about this place and nothing I hear seems bad about it, but thinking central america being a white guy who knows.

the whole area around The Great Barrier Reef sounds amazing. Visiting there is one thing I will have to do. Living there would also be amazing.

Costa Rica is a great place to live (low taxes, English is widely spoken, people are friendly, health care is decent) - but, unless you plan on getting on a liveaboard for a 24 hour night-time crossing to check out Cocos Island, there is MUCH better diving elsewhere in Central America.

Ace is right when he mentions Honduras and Belize - both have good diving, thriving ex pat communities, and are cheap. That said, if you have chronic health issues, their standard of medical care does not approach what we are used to in the states.

The issue with living in Australia is that it's more than a little difficult for an American to establish residency down there. I don't know the current requirements, but if you were serious about it, substantial research into what it would take to expatriate would have to be done.

 

[whyamisofly]

You might to also look at Belize and Honduras, which are both cheap, have large expat/retirement communities and have very good diving for the Caribbean.

I would move to Honduras in an instant if I could. The diving/scuba was incredible and the people there are just as great. Belize was very run down and I wouldn't care to live there.

 

[saltyair]

(Asia) Australia and Vietnam - everyone should experience.

(Europe) London England and Hungry

(North America) - Newfoundland and Banff Alberta close third los cabos Mexico

(Central America) - costa rica

(Africa) - South Africa (only place in Africa I have been)

 

[ace_92101]

(Asia) Australia and Vietnam - everyone should experience.

(Europe) London England and Hungry

(North America) - Newfoundland and Banff Alberta close third los cabos Mexico

(Central America) - costa rica

(Africa) - South Africa (only place in Africa I have been)

Agreed on Vietnam. Diving was so so, but a great county to visit. I don't know about the retirement practicalities.

 

[snorvich]

Best diving depends on your definition of best.

Amazing critters: Kangaroo island or southern Australia for sea dragons, Philippines and Southern Papua New Guinea (Milne Bay) for unusual animals, St. Vincent for sea horses and frog fish, Lembeh Straits in Indonesa (North Sulawesi) for the totally bizarre.

Colors: Various parts of fiji but also Northern Papua New Guinea in places, Solomon Islands

Pelagics: Cocos Island, Northern Papua New Guinea for pelagics including Orca, Galapagos

 

[mayjong]

best i've been is Honduras.
however- monterey is pretty freakin awsome!

 

[snookduff]

I had the pleasure of living in Okinawa Japan for seven years. The diving was amazing. Loved diving the sinobe sea wall. All soft coral. Awesome night diving. Then there was the toilet bowl. Lots and lots of bat fish and moray eels to feed then a 300 foot straight down wall to search and fly free. So clear you could see the bottom even though you couldn't go that deep. God I miss diving there.

 

[ace_92101]

I had the pleasure of living in Okinawa Japan for seven years. The diving was amazing. Loved diving the sinobe sea wall. All soft coral. Awesome night diving. Then there was the toilet bowl. Lots and lots of bat fish and moray eels to feed then a 300 foot straight down wall to search and fly free. So clear you could see the bottom even though you couldn't go that deep. God I miss diving there.

I agree with you! Okinawa is very under rated, especially the outer islands. I've dove Miyako-Jima and Ishigaki-Jima. Very good coral and fish. Miyako also had some great beaches and is a great place to visit. I only wish I could have dove Kerama, which many people say is the best in the archipelago.

 

[Bergvid]

GBR of course, how many place have a reef on one side and a rainforest on the other.

I am just lucky enough to live here.

 

[r-balljunkie]

just back from the Philippines. several different islands with varying levels of development. Boracay was too crowded/touristy for my liking. Palawan is the next on my list, which has phenomenal diving, easy lifestyles and everyone speaks english.