Just wondering if Algeria would be on your list… and if not… what is ?
I bought a house in Estonia. I had a run in with the Mairie so moved to France instead and never looked back! House has since fallen into ruin. I might get around to doing something with it, not this week though; -25° at the moment, nice!
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Ok Stella - here’s my starter for 10 - Portugal !! :-
Due to the weather but mainly the massive tax advantages and friendly, welcoming people. :-
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I spent half my life living in Germany, I loved it there and would certainly have been happy to stay.
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I’d give New Zealand a go but would never persuade my OH to come with me because of the kids.
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One of my children is there. It really doesn’t seem that far away.
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Algeria is a stunningly beautiful country, and I’ve had happy times there, but perhaps not top of the list right now. Although not sure what they’ve done to deserve GD? Personally I think my next stop could be a Scandinavian country.
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We toured “old” Portugal a few years ago. We drove to Porto and met up…
They flew from Paris and arrived exhausted, poor dears. Then we toured around, led by one of the club members who was born there… and seemed to be related to everyone we met along the way.
As you say, Simon… wonderful people… fabulous country…3 glorious weeks.
Sadly, we won’t be doing that again… but we have the memories. 
We never made it to the “so popular” Algarve… but I don’t feel we missed out…
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I too spent time in the very north and enjoyed it very much. A visit to the Algarve is on my list of things to do.
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I’ve had 2 holidays on the Algarve in the mid 1990s. Stayed in, what was then, a small coastal village called Carvoeiro. It was the most wonderful peaceful place and the surrounding villages were beautiful and unspoilt. I believe the tourists have discovered the area since then especially with the “new” road linking the area to Faro so it maybe isn’t as peaceful as it used to be. Loved it there.
My favourite holiday though was to India and I would love to spend more time there, more than just a few weeks but probably not permanently. It was so beautiful and atmospheric and authentic. Delhi was the craziest place I’ve ever visited and Kanha National Park the most awe-inspiring. And I defy anyone not to feel emotional when seeing the Taj Mahal for the first time, especially at sunrise. Takes your breath away. I could happily spend a few years in India.
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Ahhhhh Mandy - India - one of the most wonderful places on the planet!! I just find the abject poverty so difficult to deal with - the contrasts are just so difficult for me to reconcile.
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I agree with you Simon. The poverty we saw was heartbreaking. Horribly disabled people begging at train stations, children defecating in the streets because there was nowhere else, children scavenging on an enormous rubbish tip and I could go on and on and on. We were told not to give to beggars but in some cases we just had to. It was hell on earth and, yet, heaven on earth at the same time. You have to see it to understand don’t you?
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It’s a great place to go travelling, been there many times in the 90’s, but I don’t think I could settle there. Likewise, S E Asia. Maybe somewhere like Costa Rica, never been there though. At least it would be warm 
I spent one Spring alongside Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. It was delightful being between the mountains and the lake yet not too far from Milano. The bars, cafes and restaurants were welcoming and the spring flowers out of this world. I would certainly be happy to spend longer there but I would have to do something about learning the language to get the most out of the area.
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@Stella Would Algeria be on your list? Not for me anyway, If I had the chance would have chosen Canada now I know the country.My son lives in Montreal married to a lovely Canadian girl.
Before you ask why don’t you go then, …it is too late for us , the Canadian Government choose who they need in their country it is certainly not us 81 and 75 years old.Canada is a beautiful country either Quebec or Ontario.
The hardest part are the cold cold winters, but on the other side there are beautiful summers. Short but gorgeous.
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Carol… Algeria is not on my list… but only for the reason that is is too far now for us. Certain health stuff mean that we stay reasonably close to the Specialists we have grown to know quite well over the years.
Corsica is beautiful and, of course, we would still be in France. Portugal, I have already raved about…
Frankly, we are deeply integrated into everyday life of our village and would hate to leave where we are now. We’ve made so many friends from all walks of life…feels like we were (almost) born here.
@Stella We are very happy to live in the Vexin north of Paris, we certainly won’t budge from here until we have to.
Old people home or other.
We live in a little village 1000 habitants ? BEAUTIFUL place!!!
Italy (easiest because I speak Italian) Spain, Portugal. “Southern” house for winter and “northern/mountain” house for summer! 
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Alberta Canada
No other reason other than we have friends there and its fantastic place to live.
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France beats almost everywhere else for me. I’ve had the good fortune to work in many different countries, and we also spent a few years planning for retirement and visiting candidate countries (including New Zealand). In the end, for a long list of reasons, we chose France.
It’s turned out far better than we dreamed, for reasons we hadn’t even considered.
2nd choice would have been New Zealand, which we both love.
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