Originally Posted by
safariofthemind
Interestingly, when I was young I would dream about picking up and emigrating to New Zealand. Once I actually got there it became clear I had idealized the place and totally ignored that every place has its own social, climatic and other issues.
+1
I used to dream about retiring early and moving to another country. Did a lot of research on it and at one point or another was pretty set on Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and considered many other locales. But ended up just 350 miles from my home town. Different state, but still in the U.S. After touring in Central America, as well as many trips to Mexico and South America, I realized I really wouldn't want to live there permanently. Where I am now is near perfection for my tastes, especially considering I have the freedom to satisfy the travel bug pretty much whenever I want now.
As far as bike touring, I have no big goals to cover wide and varied locales. I just want to ride, in whatever locale that peaks my interest at the time. So far that has included California, Oregon, Arizona, and Idaho, as well as parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. As far as off-bike travel, lots of other U.S. states as well as Ireland, Fiji, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, and Canada.