Best warm country for early semi-retirement?

[OwlHoot]

Any suggestions to places that people have been on hols and thought ... oh, this is a nice place to live?

Southern Cornwall - At least they speak English

[Bacchus]

Southern Cornwall - At least they speak English

sort of

[Mich the Tester]

Any suggestions to places that people have been on hols and thought ... oh, this is a nice place to live?

Namibia, Botswana, Uganda, possibly Zambia and if you speak some Portuguese, Angola. Get yourself a pilots license in South Africa for 20k or so and fly tourists and rich locals around the place. You won't get rich, your income will fluctuate but the weather will be good and it'll be more fun than filling in the 'document version control' section on the standard template ISO conforming Project Budget Request form or talking about synergies with fat, wobbly chinned middle managers for the rest of your life.

Commercial Pilots License South Africa | Commercial pilots licence - CPL training

[hyperD]

Oooh, nice one Mich. Never thought about the flying there. Looks pretty cheap and great scenery.

[Moscow Mule]

I quite like the Cascais/Estoril area around Lisbon. Could see myself there in 20 years.

[Ignis Fatuus]

...
You won't get rich, your income will fluctuate but the weather will be good and it'll be more fun than filling in the 'document version control' section on the standard template ISO conforming Project Budget Request form or talking about synergies with fat, wobbly chinned middle managers for the rest of your life.
...

Anything would be better.

[Support Monkey]

Turkey

Its only 4 hours away, and a large majority speak English, its still cheap, there are no euros (yet) i would head for Antalya its very European Germans, Dutch, and Russians, House prices are on par with the UK there, obviously cheaper the further you get from the airport depending on what your looking for, beach in the summer, skiing in the winter, its got it all

[IR35FanClub]

Turkey

Its only 4 hours away, and a large majority speak English, its still cheap, there are no euros (yet) i would head for Antalya its very European Germans, Dutch, and Russians, House prices are on par with the UK there, obviously cheaper the further you get from the airport depending on what your looking for, beach in the summer, skiing in the winter, its got it all

That got me thinking, i had a look on a map once and thought somewhere a bit inland from Biarrtiz would be good. Surfing and sailing in summer, skiing in winter and only a short drive from the med. Trouble is French taxes are higher than the UK. I was working with a guy who'd moved there and had to come back to uk as they really really screw contractors.

[Lockhouse]

That got me thinking, i had a look on a map once and thought somewhere a bit inland from Biarrtiz would be good. Surfing and sailing in summer, skiing in winter and only a short drive from the med. Trouble is French taxes are higher than the UK. I was working with a guy who'd moved there and had to come back to uk as they really really screw contractors.

Loads of Brits in that area. Pau etc have huge expat communities. That would be a reason to avoid for me.

[nomadd]

Get yourself a pilots license in South Africa for 20k or so and fly tourists and rich locals around the place. You won't get rich, your income will fluctuate but the weather will be good and it'll be more fun than filling in the 'document version control' section on the standard template ISO conforming Project Budget Request form or talking about synergies with fat, wobbly chinned middle managers for the rest of your life.

Commercial Pilots License South Africa | Commercial pilots licence - CPL training

Sadly, the reality is somewhat different to that dream portrayal. Plenty of very experienced pilots the world over already either unemployed or working for slave rates - and very often working months without pay and then never getting paid at all. Spend a few hours on the Professional Pilots Forum (PPRuNe Forums - Professional Pilots Rumour Network) before wasting your hard-earned cash on a CPL (note you will also need an IR, type-ratings and several hundred hours worth of P1 time before your cv would even be considered.) You'll will also be competing with the mass of ex-forces pilots and unemployed commercial pilots with thousands of hours already under their belts. And forget your family, unless they want to spend the next 20-30 years being dragged from one - usually awful - corner of the world to the next every few months whilst you chase work; flying is a known marriage-wrecker, so make sure you have a very, very understanding and supportive spouse.

Other than all that - go for it!