We can break the problem down into progressively finer detail:
- Continent
- Country
- Waterfront, mountains, or both (or neither)
- Urban or rural
That leaves me with over a hundred countries to choose from still. If we eliminate those in a near constant state of turmoil, under communist or totalitarian governments, or in outright war, we are still left with a large number of countries to choose from. Narrowing things down from here requires examination of the next choice.
Yilin would like to live near the water. Be it ocean, sea, lake, pond, fjord, inlet, whatever. Well, probably not swamp or bog, but you know what I mean. I want to live near mountains. Preferably in a mountain range, but certainly within a 30-45 minute drive. I have no objection to living near a body of water, so there's always the option of living near a mountain lake, or amongst a coastal mountain chain. This clearly limits us geographically from the 80 or so countries that would have remained on our list of places to live.
The last choice point, urban or rural, is really sticky for us. Yilin would like to live in a major metropolitan area, I believe in the thick of things, if you will. Those of you who know me well are probably now laughing at my situation. This is where Yilin and I disagree the most, because I want to go as rural as possible. My philosophy is that if I can see or hear my neighbors, they are too close.
At that point, the conversation usually degenerates and no new ground is gained. This is particularly so, since Yilin analyzes the problem differently from me. She looks at it this way:
- Montreal, or what else?
Fortunately, I was able to convince her of one thing: If we have kids before we move out of NYC, and if we happen to be here when they reach the age of 4, I am allowed to send them to the Shaolin Temple USA, which is the only Shaolin temple outside of China, and it's in NYC.
This is awesome for two reasons: First, my kids will be raised as Shaolin monks and learn kung fu from a 34th generation master. Second, when I visit them on the weekends they can teach me their kung fu secrets. Clearly this is far superior than sending them to NYC public schools. (NYC private schools cost upwards of $20,000 per year, even for kindergarten.)
So, if we can't figure out where we will leave in the near future, my kids will at least be the greatest fighting machines in the world.
6 comments:
Josh,
Montreal might not fit the requirements - I don't believe the mountains are all that close?
I have a few locations that work within your requirements of city, mountain, rural, and water. I do not think you should pursue any of them, simply because then I will never see you (or your brood).
But, because I care, I'm giving you these choices anyhow.
I ignored countries with "problems" and stuck to large cities (~200K+) with large bodies of water close by, and mountains, of course. I'm sure there are others, but pass the list by Yilin and see what sort of reaction you get. =)
1.) Seattle
2.) Vancouver
4.) Anchorage
5.) Salt Lake City (pop. under 200K)
6.) Knoxville (pop. under 200K)
7.) Quebec
8.) Dublin, Ireland
9.) Bergen, Norway
10.) Zurich, Switzerland
11.) Christchurch, New Zealand
12.) Trieste, Italy
13.) Genova, Italy
14.) Just about anywhere in Greece
15.) Acapulco, Mexico
16.) Lima, Peru
17.) Caracas, Venezuela
18.) La Paz, Bolivia (proximity to Lake Titicaca)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/greathomesanddestinations/03gh-sale.html
Well...of course i was going to suggest Greece or any other city near the meditarranian for that matter. Brazil would be next. In my opinion to have a mix of mountain, water, and metropolitan area is near impossible in the US (or near impossible to be done well at least). But your idea of mountains is pretty strict as I know you like that stuff. Montreal is beautiful, perhaps even Vancouver, and i've even considered these places. But the winters are hell. I say move upstate and work in NYC. I can't see jack from my brothers house and he commutes everyday. But you'll have to drive to the mountains, lake, etc.
dusty, thanks for the list. some of those i was aware of, and others i was not. at the very least, we'll have to visit some of them so we can know whether or not we'll like living there. :)
mike, yilin already sent me that article. sadly, $1.8M is outside our budget. seriously, a 30 year mortgage at 6%, with 20% down, would leave me with 360 monthly payments of $8660. that doesn't include property tax which is very high in montreal, and you have to pay the 12.875% GST on real estate! i'd have to make $300k per year just to pay for the apartment, have electricity and a phone, and buy groceries. forget about going out or traveling, and forget being able to afford kids. but it is a nice apartment, and yilin is envious.
phil, ideally i wouldn't have to drive to the mountains as i'd live there. i'd like to be able to get home from work and go climbing or hiking, and not have to wait until the weekend to do so. besides, once i have kids i won't be able to go anywhere, so if i don't live in the mountains i won't get to see the mountains. and winter is my favorite season, mostly because of ice climbing, but also because winter hiking, camping, and mountaineering are vastly enjoyable to the same activities in the summer. oh, and yilin would love to live in greece i think; it's one of her favorite places. but we don't speak greek. :)
What about Stowe or somewhere in northern VT? Then you're close to Quebec/Montreal and in the mountains.
I'm seriously thinking about moving out west - maybe Seattle, Portland or Vancouver. I don't know anyone out there, so for selfish reasons, I think you should move there too.
In your defense, I'm looking for just about exactly the location you describe. The limiting factor for me will be finding places of employment in a rural setting.
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