Best Islands to Move to/Live on

[Tomac29]

I wanted to ask if any of the scuba community has actually dropped their "real lives" and moved to one of their favorite dive locations? I know this sounds cliche' but my wife and I are discussing this option.
Roatan was top on our list but we read some horrible articles on the government and sustainability of the island regarding water and waste, not to mention how the diving has dropped off compared to 15 years ago due to population surge.

So, would anyone recommend islands where they like to dive, but would also like to live as residents? Cost of living, environmental sustainability, political stability. . . etc. are what we're trying to get our arms around.

Thanks,

Tomato

 

[oceanbound]

Funny, I'd be interested in knowing recommendations as well as I've been thinking about this too for a while. I've looked into Belize, Roatan, and Grand Bahamas. Still researching. I was told by someone who did do this and move to Freeport that I need to be sure and do a lot of reseach first

 

[skydiver30960]

Here's a website I found a few years ago. I also bought one of the books listed toward the bottom of the page, it wasn't a bad read.

USVI Moving Center - The Ultimate Resource for Relocating to and Living in the Virgin Islands

I admit I think about the same thing each time I go on vacation. Especially as a nurse, since my job is so transplantable. My wife's job, OTOH, is not as easy to relocate.

Ike aka "not yet, but maybe someday"

 

[Nitrodiverrr]

kauai has a farly stable government politicaly but a bit of naional debt

 

[Louie]

This is an interesting thread. I'm also in the process of looking for a nice island to eventually end up in. I managed to do it for two years in Thailand ($700.00 US per month allowed me a comfortable life and $1,000 was the life of a king). Now I'm after something a bit less exotic, more environmentally sustainable and more stable. I've seriously considered Hawaii.

 

[promocop]

Hawaii's diving is not all that...its VERY expensive to live there and they only like native hawaiians'

 

[James Bond boat entry]

New Zealand would be my choice for a place to live, spent 3 months this past winter and really enjoyed myself.

 

[kevinl4270]

I am definately moving within the next ten years. I am pretty much set on the Philippines, although I want to check out Palau, Guam, Samoa and Fiji first. I would think you would get a bit more stability with those Islands as they are affiliated with the U.S. I worry about things like currencies become unstable, and ecological sustainabilty.
Great thread thanks for starting it, and I hope we can all add some interesting and helpful information to it over time.

 

[floridanewbe]

welcome aboard

 

[DennisS]

There's a big difference between a great place to vacation and a great place to live.