Fixed it for ya Nothing against muslims but while this jihadist crap is going on i will avoid malaysia or indonesia....just in case. The vast majority of muslims are fine its the 1% that can ruin your day. My reason though would be the heat & humidity thats the main reason im leaving the phils its the same there & like singapore.its just so friggin hot you dont want to do much . A NZ expat here i know loves indonesia & is leaving here soon to live there . I would like somewhere with 4 seasons for me spring/autumn are the best times of the year. for those 6 months you can do anything barely breaking a sweat.. I think anyone thats considering moving to asia needs to seriously think about RELENTLESS heat/humidity & continuous sweating . Most expats here have at least the fan going 24/7 & a lot sleep with the aircon on ..It will be nice to go to sleep without the hum of a fan going in the background . You do aclimatise to it . When i first come i had the A/C going all the time now i rarely turn it on but the fan goes 24/7 without it on i just start sweating like a hooded rapist :lol: I like a bit of exercise but even a walk down to the beach is enough to make your shins sweat. You sweat from places you didnt know had sweat glands lol
I've recently been looking at Chiang Rai in Thailand. It's in the very north of the country and it gets cold enough in the winter to need a blanket on your bed.
The politics in Malaysia is a problem too, the ruling party favours the ethnic Malays, it creates a feeling of entitlement and discontent.
Renovator, it may be too far for you, but there are a lot of places in Central & South America with wonderful climates.
I'm not really referring to individuals, it's more a collective mindset of the dominant group in a society. Birth rates are declining across the world as a whole (ignoring Africa), the largest demographic that has been impacted by these declining birth rates are Mulsim families, in fact it's been suggested that Muslims could in fact breed themselves into a tiny minority in the next 100 years (I'll try and find the reference). This may bring an increase in conflict as extreme Islamists seek to arrest the decline and influence of their religion (I think we are already witnessing that). Furthermore, Islam is an "exclusive" religion and Islamic governments across the world have used or are using aspects of the Islamic religion to enforce their power. Thirdly, the uncertainty of the world's economic future is increasingly putting pressure on governments to adopt nationalist policies, now all of these factors combined can result in the situation for non-Muslims (or outsiders) in an Islamic country becoming increasingly tenuous. Like reno said to me once when we were talking about Malaysia and The Philippines, "Islam is the elephant in the room". And Malaysia doesn't have a brewery.
yes it certainly is the elephant in the room . The last thing i would like to be in the middle of is a religous war/tensions in my retirement .I want to live somewhere where theres nil religous tension ..Its my choice others will have differing opinions .My wish is everyone could get along regardless of religion ....were all just people .
All good, I think I've seen it or something similar anyway. From what I've seen in Malaysia, the country itself already has a religious divide going on. The West coast is quite liberal as far as Islamic countries go while the East is a lot more traditional.
This could be it: http://www.aei.org/files/2012/03/21...ge-still-curiously-unnoticed_102606337292.pdf
I live in (and prefer) Chiang Mai. It is a little busier than Chiang Rai, but in a good way. It has all the amenities you need from a city, without it being too busy. I can eat any kind of cuisine I desire in restaurants or buy a range of local or imported food from the supermarket. Cinemas, bowling alleys, an ice rink.... the list goes on Plus it also gets cold here in winter (well it is cold once you get accustimed to the summer and spring temperatures!) If it was a 6month/6month split, I would say Northern Thailand is best from August to February.
I'm booked for a holiday to the Chiangs next year but unfortunately due to my schedule I have had to book it during the floody rainy season round July/August. I've been to both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai previously and being accustomed to living in a rural area in Australia, my preference is for Chiang Rai. That being said I don't mind Chiang Mai, I just wouldn't want live there for any extended period of time. Personal preference.
Colombia - For someone who invests in real estate, Medellin would be a good choice. Ecuador - Several excellent micro climate areas, but real estate could be risky in the future. Correa has stolen most of what he can from international companies and has been overspending. Now that the Chinese seem to be cutting off the credit card the easy days may be over in Ecuador. But if you didn't invest much or just rented, I think Ecuador has several excellent places (Cuenca, Cotacachi, etc.) Vilcabamba was a good area, but an expat influx lead to a tripling of the price of land/housing. Panama & Costa Rica - These areas have been discovered but a shrewd real estate person can always find a deal.
More importantly if you end up making the move one day I suspect you may want to be close to some nice waves. The following link is great for general background info and geographic locations... http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Asia/Philippines/ I reckon both these links will keep you busy researching and may well give you the ability to make some informed decisions.
Also worth considering if the whole "Asia thing" is too much: Andorra (investor visa isn't cheap though), Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus. Doug Casey made a big deal about Argentina lately.
Doug Casey has been making a big deal about Argentina since he bought property there years ago. I know more than one person who is/was living in Buenos Aires and nearby provinces that have left or are planning to leave. BA is a very interesting city, but Argentina is a serial defaulter and has just defaulted again. Rampant inflation and very high tax on imported goods. In this last instance, there was no need for a default.
Another coconut casualty last night ...again !! note the damage so close to where its supported it takes a lot of force to do that .