If You Could Live Anywhere on the Planet for Six Months, Where Would You Live?

Keeping in mind the following criteria:

  • You need to work, and to do that you need broadband Internet access.

Huh, well, that’s about the only really crucial criteria. Fire away.

39 comments

  1. Reykjavik, Iceland.
    I have a fascination with Iceland – the rish, artistic culture, the barren beauty, the people… um, Bjork…

    Definitely, Iceland.

  2. Hmm. We’ve been talking about this a lot. Tokyo would be right up there for me for six months with the only caveat being that it wouldn’t be enough time to learn the Japanese language very well – luckily I would have Sachi with me. It is such a foreign, yet modern and quirky place. The food, the gadgetry, the interesting people.

    The Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway would be a perfect place to write a book or something.

  3. Easy, Masos De Pals in Catalunya, Spain. its five minutes from the beach, 1 hour from Barcelona, 1 hour from Girona Airport. Great weather, great food, great people. I stayed there for a months two years ago and it was fantastic.

  4. I can’t think of any city or region I’d prefer over where I am now (Atlantic Canada). I could live without snow, but I can’t imagine my kids growing up without its experience.

    Maybe I’m just unimaginative.

  5. The Island of Ibiza, Spain. I’ve been a house music DJ since I was 16, never been, but it’s my mecca. Paris comes in as a close second.

  6. Bristol, Quebec. It’s a little anglo area nestled into the Ottawa Valley just west of the city of Ottawa. Gorgeous scenery, ever-changing weather, abundant wildlife and some of the most gracious country-folk in Canada.

  7. I have to agree with Dave Bristol/Norway Bay, Québec. Close enough to a large city centre (Ottawa) for cultural events, though there’s enough going in and around the community itself to keep one amused. Good shopping options. Can be secluded or have the community feel depending on where you want to locate. Familiar surroundings, friendly, wecloming year-rounders. Slower paced than the frenzied pace of the city. (Again, which is close enough if you need that burst of manic.) Lots of great outdoor sporting options (biking, water sports of all sorts, hiking, caving …). All this wrapped in a blanket of simply beauty.

    Second choice, one of the smaller communities on Prince Edward Island.

    For either place, I’d choose the May to October time frame to live there.

  8. Darren: can it be any sort of work? Or does it have to be geek related? Please explain.

    If any sort sort of work would suffice, i’d go to Alta Badia, Corvara in the Italian Alps, and would work as a ski instructor.

  9. Bobby: Well, I guess it’s your fantasy. In this scenario, it’s got to be sit around and type with internet access, but go nuts with the skiing.

    Strong work everybody, keep them coming.

  10. For 6 months regardless of time of year I’d say Paris, Melbourne or Barcelona but I was considering moving bases for winter (Jan and Feb specifically) and Buenos Aires was the front runner.

  11. It depends on what I’d want to indulge: my deep-seated desire to learn a proper tango from a hopefully less-than-proper dance instructor; or my love of thick accents and prodigious amounts of ale. It’s a toss-up between:

    Buenos Aires, Argentina
    and Halifax, Nova Scotia

  12. Oy, that’s tough. I had so many places run through my brain as possibilities: Sydney, Paris, Thailand, Florence, Prague, Hawaii, Mijas (Spain)… how to narrow it down? I think I would ultimately choose Paris because I’ve always longed to visit, and I can speak French fairly well. I think for a 6-month stay, a language barrier would be a big deterrent for me. If it weren’t for the language barrier, I would have chosen Bangkok or Prague (so much culture and history, and apparently really cheap!).

  13. Thanks for all that.

    Laura: I guess the language barrier is a bit of an issue, but I figure in six months one could pick up enough to buy groceries and order dinner. FYI, I’m afraid Prague is no longer cheap. I understand that Croatia is the new Czech Republic.

    Russell: I lived in Dublin for two years. It’s a wonderful city, and I’m very fond of it, but beautiful? I’ve got to disagree on that one, and most of the Dubliners I know would back me up. It’s got a few nice spots, but it’s generally like the Liffey, brown, grubby and a bit too uniform.

  14. Fiji for sure. My sweetie and I would love to sail there one day…and never come home.

    I have a friend who is moving there in January to open a poi school!

  15. Oaxaca, Mexico. Even with all of the recent problems and poverty it’s still a great little city with lots of culture and history.

  16. Lisbon. Cheap, good food, good strong red wine, great nightlife, good music and a wonderful place to go for long walks through crooked streets.

  17. Not trying to be smart, but I’d love to do something like one of those semester-at-sea cruises…they have internet – don’t they?

    I’m greedy, I want to see lots of places.. maybe spend a few weeks in each port.

  18. My wish would be to work at home, right here on Bowen Island. I’d like to travel, but just travel to see things and meet people – not to work!

  19. Ditto Reykjavik, I was there this summer and it was fantastic, very friendly people! Iceland is a big playground if you like the outdoors. If they had an IT industry there I could easily support myself for six months and hike on weekends 😉

  20. Well, I’m going be trying this out next spring by living in Berlin for 6-months (perhaps a bit longer if it works out well).

    I’ve been visiting friends there for the past year and a bit, and have become pretty smitten with the place, people and culture. Lots of artistic / creative things going on, inexpensive (compared to London), great night life, I could go on, but I’d end up boring you….

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