# How do I reside in Canada but still get the joy of being at a warm ocean often?



## janus10 (Nov 7, 2013)

I don't think there is anything I enjoy more than being near the ocean. While I love the crystal blue waters in certain Caribbean islands, I do prefer loud, crashing waves like in San Diego, Hawaii and the Gold Coast/Sydney area of Australia.

I find a certain calmness yet recharge of energy when I visit the ocean. I'm not into sunbathing - I prefer being completely in the shade but in full view of the ocean. In fact, I still greatly appreciate walking along it at night just to hear the waves.

I'm not a fan of buying a property because I think of how restrictive that is (you'd feel obligated to vacation there always). Living in the GTA, does anyone have any interesting ideas (perhaps from experience) as to how frequent and where you travel in order to get that ocean experience?

It's my belief that, like sleep, I can't exactly store up the experience - so, going somewhere for a month doesn't allow me to feel sated for a year. On the other hand, I find a quick weekend away is all I need for a particular visit.

It doesn't sound practical, however, to travel south every month for a weekend away even if it is affordable - especially when out of province travel insurance is no longer paid by my employer (i.e. when I'm retired).

Maybe there is no answer out there, but I hope that the collective wisdom here will help me realize my fantasy.


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

Every trip we take involves ocean. Last Sept/Oct we spent 6 weeks in Malta/Sicily/Med. This past winter it was three months by/on the ocean in Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, NZ and two days in Hawaii on the way home. Just got back from 5 weeks in the Greek Islands. Day after the election we drive to Vancouver for some time by the Pacific. Next will a beach wedding in Cancun in early January.

We love the ocean, the beach and the sun. We dislike the cold and the snow. We expect to return to Thailand but first want to try out condo life in Puerto Vallarta.

It is one of the reasons we retired early and sold the farm as it were.


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## tygrus (Mar 13, 2012)

Tofino, or Turks and Caicos once Canada annexes them.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

janus 10: Take the word "warm" out of your thread question, and you can get that joy any day, & most anywhere - NL!


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

it's interesting that the waves have to be crashing.

falling water is supposed to create many negative ions. The negative ion charge on a surf-y beach or beside rapids or close to a waterfall is said to be astonishingly high compared to, say, a city downtown.

negative ions are said to have a therapeutic effect on humans.

i wasn't able to find a definitive explanation but if you google you'll find many websites.

i'm left wondering, if this is indeed what works for you, might a quick inexpensive fix be a local river rapids raceway or a big waterfall in the vicinity?

i'd check out park fountains too, but my gut feeling goes that the force & quantity of falling water in a fountain would not be sufficient to split off negative ions ...


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

If you just need negative ions, I'm sure someone makes an appliance that creates the same effect in your home.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

Yeah, warm water is the tough part... not to be found in the Atlantic, only around San Diego due to the anomaly... so Caribbean. Flights to Mexico (Cancun) are usually very cheap, and more flights to Belize and Costa Rica these days.


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## tygrus (Mar 13, 2012)

If you are looking for warm crashing ocean water with a lot of convenient transportation options, then probably living in Van or Vic and then travelling down the coastline to Cali is your best option. They are working on a high speed rail link between SF and LA/LV and there is also a burgeoning private jet industry getting off the ground as well which now has service between SF and LA for $1700/mo US, or a return westjet ticket is probably $700 if you find a seat sale. The high speed rail will take about 3 hrs though and cost $100/each way.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

Why to move from GTA?! Cuba is perfect and cheap location  
Also, Wow starting May is offering cheao flights to Iceland (from $250 round trip), sea is cold there, but there are a lot Hot Springs 
Another relative cheap option SATA flights to Azores (off-season can be pretty cheap)


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Many people do this in PV. They have 3 weeks vacation and they spend it coming to PV 3x. From all over the winter states. Ontario, BC, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, even San Diego (for the warm water). One guy in Wisconsin works shift and spends all his days off at his condo in Nuevo.


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## janus10 (Nov 7, 2013)

My wife brought this up last night which was a surprise. 

She pointed out that I don't spend on myself and yet want for nothing. I drive a 14 year old vehicle and don't drink, smoke, golf, shop or fritter away money in any sense.

But the one thing I really enjoy is the occasional time I'm at the ocean. A waterfall or river or lake just isn't the same.

So she said why don't we downsize and buy a place in a warm climate outside of North America. It still comes down to I don't know of a place , other than Hawaii, where I would want to go back to year after year.

And why buy a vacation property, and NOT rent it out (because my wife would prefer to not have people sleeping on our mattress or sitting on our couch plus she likes the idea of having clothes and other items already there)?

We saw incredibly cheap and stunning oceanfront condos in NW Mexico on house hunters international. And even cheaper in Ecuador from the same show. 

She questioned why not treat ourselves after working all of our lives and what good will all this money do us when we are 70 and likely to have slowed down. Well we have not even worked 30 years and with kids and grandkids I'm thinking they might be a good place to start using all of this extra money. But I didn't tell her that because I didn't want to appear ungrateful for her sincere concern.

Thanks for the suggestions. Has anyone checked out the Dominican Republic to have a vacation home?


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## naysmitj (Sep 16, 2014)

Check out http://internationalliving.com

Cheers


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

We have been looking. Not interested in US locations. We like Costa Rica but not enough to buy. We really do like Thailand but it is too far. This winter we hope to get down to Puerto Vallarta for a month or two and have a good look around. It is beside the ocean, short flight (relatively speaking) and there are direct flights from our locale. Failing that we may do a winter trip to Central America and then head to Ecuador.

Not certain that we want to buy and be tied down to one place. If we find somewhere that we really like we will probably rent for an extended period to ensure that we really do like it in the long term vs a three week visit.

Good luck.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Try the small towns outside of PV...Punta Mita & Soyalita come to mind...lots of expats there. Another cheap flight is to Cabo, and many small towns offer cheap/relaxed lifestyles on the ocean within 45 minutes of there...


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

Thanks, will look at that.

How do you get there from the airport if you do not have a car. Cab, bus?


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

I usually drive down so have wheels when I get there...I think renting a car if you fly would be best...the buses are pretty original there but not too appealing to many (personally I like the buses in PV but then it is an acquired taste)


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

janus10 said:


> I don't think there is anything I enjoy more than being near the ocean. While I love the crystal blue waters in certain Caribbean islands, I do prefer loud, crashing waves like in San Diego, Hawaii and the Gold Coast/Sydney area of Australia.
> ...
> It doesn't sound practical, however, to travel south every month for a weekend away even if it is affordable - especially when out of province travel insurance is no longer paid by my employer (i.e. when I'm retired).


Depends on what quality of "warm ocean" you are willing to settle for.
It is possible, albeit expensive, to commute to south Florida on a monthly or bi-weekly basis.

If you are not constrained financially (i.e. have surplus income in retirement), you can find cheap flights to cities close to the Atlantic coast, such as Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Jacksonville, etc.
Then make the difference with rental car/uber etc.

There will be trade off between frequency and cost, of course.
US residency issues (FATCA, etc.) are another matter.
But with a healthy retirement income and some careful planning, I think it can be done and need not be prohibitively expensive - at least these days, hard to predict what costs of such a lifestyle will be 20/30 years from now.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Eder said:


> I usually drive down so have wheels when I get there...I think renting a car if you fly would be best...the buses are pretty original there but not too appealing to many (personally I like the buses in PV but then it is an acquired taste)



eder you're the one with the dry sense of humour, no? the one who sold his house so his adult son couldn't move back home as so many are doing lol

the forum needs a laugh today, won't you please entertain with a story about the acquired taste of riding buses in mexican towns?

my daughter working in el Salvador said that every vehicle plus every plane there was repaired with duct tape. She said it was normal, when riding in trucks, buses & cars, to see the roadway rushing past just inches below one's feet or near one's feet, which would be resting on a strut or someplace shaky on the floor of the vehicle ...


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

This thread had me checking out a global sea surface temperature map. Looks like I'm leaving a 8 degree Celsius ocean (Salish Sea) and heading to a 30 degree Celsius sea (Sea of Cortez). I like both. But as things get colder here up north tropical sea is a most welcome thought. Just a few days to go - and just in time...the grey drizzle has arrived in Vancouver.


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## janus10 (Nov 7, 2013)

HaroldCrump said:


> Depends on what quality of "warm ocean" you are willing to settle for.
> It is possible, albeit expensive, to commute to south Florida on a monthly or bi-weekly basis.
> 
> If you are not constrained financially (i.e. have surplus income in retirement), you can find cheap flights to cities close to the Atlantic coast, such as Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Jacksonville, etc.
> ...


After travelling with family to Hawaii earlier this year, and seeing how expensive a non profit hospital charge was for my mom, I'm a lot less enthusiastic to vacation in the US unless I have a good handle on out of Canada health insurance.

Florida is super easy, and familiar, for us. My wife also has extended family there. Wintering in Florida was part of our initial plans but we haven't investigated health coverage.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Jon_Snow said:


> This thread had me checking out a global sea surface temperature map. Looks like I'm leaving a 8 degree Celsius ocean (Salish Sea) and heading to a 30 degree Celsius sea (Sea of Cortez). I like both. But as things get colder here up north tropical sea is a most welcome thought. Just a few days to go - and just in time...the grey drizzle has arrived in Vancouver.


The last time I was in La Paz, Mexico almost 20 years ago (as a result of running the Baja in dune buggies), I thought it would be a wonderful laid back place to spend the winter. Never went back though on my own time.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

@janus10,

"So she said why don't we downsize and buy a place in a warm climate outside of North America."

Keep your cash/investments for cash flow and rent instead.

This is the route we hope to take...

This way you could hop-to-hop to a new country or the same country and a different place every year if you wish. Renting gives you plenty of options. You have no tax headaches to deal with, with foreign country ownership and less headaches otherwise (including other people sleeping in your bed).


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

Eder...how is the drive, what is your route, is it fairly safe? How long does it take. We like driving. We think nothing of crossing the border and taking the I 15 down to San Diego. When we were in PV many years ago we did notice some U.S. and Canadian plates.


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