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Try a mountain city in the Andes, maybe somewhere in central America, i.e. on or close to the equator.
Oh, I have a problem with altitude because of a lung condition.
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Oh, you wanted political stability too?
Preferably, but at the least a good trauma ward in case I'm walking back from the local market and accidentally get caught in a hail of bullets between anarchists and government troops. They do say you have to be "holey" in order to get into heaven, though.
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Finally, as you already mention, the most stable place is indeed in heaven, so maybe you should try to make the best of where you are at now and set your heart on higher things.
Well, if I don't find it here I guess I'll be finding it soon enough in "higher places" as I've probably got only about 10 good years left.
Oh, I have a problem with altitude because of a lung condition.
... I've probably got only about 10 good years left.
Sorry to hear about these health problems, I thought the query was related to economic and financial conditions in California.
The only last suggestion I can think of is certain regions of Chile and Australia.
Look at it from the olive and olive oil production perspective.
One of the distinctive features of the Mediterranean climate is the production not only of olives, but high quality olive oil. Generally speaking, this requires hot dry summers, but not desert extremes, and damp, relatively cold winters, but not below freezing.
So no extremes, but it seems you need an even narrower range.
Certain regions of California, Chile (sort of the mirror image of California) and Australia, then, produce olives, but not of olive oil quality - at least not internationally competitive in this sense -, probably due to the lack of relatively cold and damp, but not freezing, winters, (though Argentina does, maybe the winters in the olive-growing regions are damper and colder than in their counterparts in Chile).
In any case, do some research on the olive-growing regions of Chile and Australia and see if any of those work for you.
Thanks to all for your excellent, often interesting suggestions. One detail I left out was that this "region" would have to be somewhat developed with at least one good hospital for an older person's emergencies (cardiac type). Coastal So and Cen Cal is noted for its temperate climate with temps never fluctuating above 70 or below 40 F year round. Tough order to fill, I know. Spain comes to mind. But they're one of the poorer EU's aren't they?
How about the south of France? They have the Mediterranean climate, and France as a whole always seems to do well in quality of life surveys so the air and hospitals can't be too bad.
Spain used to be one of the poorer EU countries, but that was maybe 20 years ago. Since then they, Ireland to name a few have really grown/developed economically while some of the others haven't, bridging that gap a lot.
Sorry to hear about these health problems, I thought the query was related to economic and financial conditions in California.
The only last suggestion I can think of is certain regions of Chile and Australia.
Look at it from the olive and olive oil production perspective.
One of the distinctive features of the Mediterranean climate is the production not only of olives, but high quality olive oil. Generally speaking, this requires hot dry summers, but not desert extremes, and damp, relatively cold winters, but not below freezing.
So no extremes, but it seems you need an even narrower range.
Certain regions of California, Chile (sort of the mirror image of California) and Australia, then, produce olives, but not of olive oil quality - at least not internationally competitive in this sense -, probably due to the lack of relatively cold and damp, but not freezing, winters, (though Argentina does, maybe the winters in the olive-growing regions are damper and colder than in their counterparts in Chile).
I'd look into Uruguay or Argentina. Safer from earthquakes. Nice beaches. Good climate. Affordable.
Avoid Australia only because it is not a cheap place to live - housing, food, etc. Pretty much everything.
My personally, I'd move to Laos. Nice climate. Safe. Lovely people. Noticeable lack of the sex trade across the borders in Thailand or Cambodia.
Thrillobyte, now you have a list of countries, I would look into the immigration requirements for each one. You will likely find that you have to strike some of them off your list due to the impossibility of qualifying for a resident's visa. In some cases, the only way a foreign retiree can achieve this is to get an Investor's visa eg to retire to Australia you would need A$1,000,000 minimum. Good luck.
It will be difficult to live, let alone work in Europe for more than the duration of a tourist visa. I am from within the EU and even I had to apply for permanent residency in Portugal. You can't just move here like that, especially from outside the EU.
And let's face it, you probably won't feel at home in the Mediterranean. It takes years to get accustomed to the new language (nowhere in that region do people speak English well) and culture.
How about Israel? Tel Aviv or Haifa could be interesting to you and entry might be easier, many people speak English very well. The climate is also very pleasant. I would even recommend Lebanon if it were not such a dangerous place.
Regarding the economic situation, if you are a freelancer I don't think you will be better off in Europe, maybe the same at best, and if you need a job, you are certainly worse off as the Mediterranean countries are all struggling themselves. Young Portuguese for instance are fleeing this country for Germany etc. because they see no future here. The Algarve province is in particularly bad shape. Very high unemployment rate, high cost of living thanks to the foreigners... Similar situation along the Spanish coast. Barcelona is a bit of an exception, but it is rather expensive to live there.
Which European Union Country's Climate is Closest to Coastal So Cal?
Perhaps Portugal or southern Spain
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