Why?

That is, why consider moving to a new place? For each of us the answer will be different, of course. This section of the site is about helping you decide if a move makes sense.

Typical considerations are brought up and discussed. While only you can decide if a move is right for you, this section is designed to help you with your homework. 

Many of you reading this site already have an answer. It may be as simple as you cannot afford to live where you do anymore or that you feel you have lost a lot of freedom. Or maybe you are just looking for a better climate or an adventure. All are valid reasons to look for a new home but you need to turn this into a positive thing if you want it to succeed.
Let's take the first on the list, affordability and let's say you live in Boston. Here are some things which may make Boston unaffordable for you.

• Housing costs
• Winter energy costs to stay warm
•  Lack of or high price of fresh fruit and vegetables during the winter
• Can't go out sailing every weekend
• Air pollution

That's a good starting list. You should make your own list for where you live. No matter what is on the list, the next step is to turn it into a list of positives. From my list, here is what I get:

• Inexpensive housing
• Located on a lake or ocean
• Warm climate year round
• Fresh food available year round at reasonable prices
• Clean air

If we analyze this new positive list we can see that some things just seem to happen automatically. Specifically, if you find a year round warm climate then housing costs go down if for no other reason than not needing expensive heating systems, fresh food certainly can be available year round, and air pollution from at least space heating is eliminated. A short description of what you are looking for is a tropical or semi-tropical climate on a body of water.

That offers you both an area to look in — if we are talking about in the Western Hemisphere that means pretty much from about mid-Mexico to Southern Bolivia — and the need for a large body of water. It also gives you a very positive way to look at your potential new home.

We intend to add a checklist as well which you will be able to print out and use to evaluate the various considerations. The other piece of the picture, of course, is where. That is covered in a separate section of the site. We don't go into any particular country in detail but we offer some basic information and pointers to where to can find out more.