Touring pilot looking for a nice place to live!

[HVHmt]

I am working a 6 and 6 tour, no reason to live where I am now.
Can anyone give me any ideas where to look, I am not opposed to anywhere in the world. I need to be warm, preferably near water with lots of activities.

I know there are many areas that suit this description, however bear in mind that I would like it to be realitivley inexpensive compared to the USA/CDN dollar as this would be a second home.

Regards, :ok:

[SASless]

Thailand, Barbados,Belize, Costa Rico, Vietnam....would all be good. Thailand and Vietnam being my first choices in reverse order.

Your money goes far, the beer is good, the girls are beautiful....the climate is nice...the people are friendly to a fault...the natural beauty of the places can not be beat.

[airborne_artist]

If you can stand the tourists, Thailand. Failing that Malaysia and Borneo are OK. Central America is fairly stable these days - Guatemala, perhaps, or Belize?

[HVHmt]

I am looking hard at Bolivia, Columbia, Belize, Turkey and Morroco.
I am just about to begin working in East Asia, at this point I haven't thought of that area too much.

[RAFEmployee]

Afghanistan, inexpensive and lovely. Live near the damn and you'll get water. Activities :s Running away from certain people.

I've always had a desire for spain/cyprus.

[mr.plow]

Craggy island? it has a field!

[HVHmt]

I'm not that adventerous on my time off, However pay me and see where I will go!

[Gray 14]

Indonesia?? I've lived there for 33 years. Only snag now is the Visa On Arrival is good for only one month so a trip to Singapore is in order for a day or so. A holiday inside a holiday.

[BetaShure]

Have a look at Kota Kinabalu, more popularly known as KK. It's the capital of Sabah, the smaller of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. I heard there is also a " Malaysia - My 2nd Home " programme which allows for some extra benefits.

KK has a mountain you can climb, if you are so inclined, fabuluous diving spots, etc etc.. and it is also smack-bang in the middle of South-East Asia, so trips to Thailand, Indonesia, Phillipines..

The people are friendly, everyone speaks English, it's cheap (except for imported cars, but if you take up the programme I mentioned earlier, you can import up to 2 cars, I think, tax-free)... women are beautiful.. :) ..

No, I'm not from KK, or Malaysia for that matter.. but I like what I see there. It's growing very quickly as a tourist destination, so property prices will go up all the time. A good time to buy there now. A 3-bedroom apartment in the city-centre at the moment will cost approximately US$ 250k. However, a 1-bedroom apartment closer to the airport, which is only 15 minutes from the city-centre could cost you as low as US$40K!!

Have a look..

[WLM]

I'll second Betasure for KK as a home. Since you will not be working in Malaysia, you can apply for MM2H program (Malaysia My 2nd home); Basically you can buy a house, buy a car locally with no tax, get a 10 year visa renewable.

Check the info on www.alloexpat.com.my U will be able to get all the relevant info about the program and other topics applicable to living in Malaysia

I ve been here 6 years, but working, so using work permits instead. Pm me if you need more info

Cheers
WLM:ok:

[Salusa]

Indonesia?? I've lived there for 33 years. Only snag now is the Visa On Arrival is good for only one month so a trip to Singapore is in order for a day or so. A holiday inside a holiday.


Get a business Visa mate. Good for 1 year, stay upto 60 days and dont have to pay $25 on arrival.

Costs around $300 for a year, including "agents fee".

[212man]

Columbia

Yeah, that would be a great choice. Play your cards right and you may even get a free holiday out of it - well, your relatives might have to pay!

I was going to suggest KK, but I see I've been beaten to it! It would seem to be a hot favourite. We go there from Brunei for weekend breaks, and it's a very popular destination for holidays. Growing/developing rapidly with millions being spent on the airport to allow international long haul flights in and out.

[212man]

Columbia

Yeah, that would be a great choice. Play your cards right and you may even get a free holiday out of it - well, your relatives might have to pay!

I was going to suggest KK, but I see I've been beaten to it! It would seem to be a hot favourite. We go there from Brunei for weekend breaks, and it's a very popular destination for holidays. Growing/developing rapidly with millions being spent on the airport to allow international long haul flights in and out.

[griffothefog]

Is KK dry? :sad:

[Tractor_Driver]

Or you could try the Nigerian riviera. Warm, beautiful sandy beaches. (in places) freindly locals.

Mad, you say? 35 years ago, someone suggested to me that Dubai could be turned into a tourist resort. I thought that he was out of his tree. I wish that I had put my money where his mouth was!

TD

[212man]

Is KK dry?

You think we would go there from Brunei for weekend breaks if it was???? ;)

Mind you, for a dry country, Brunei is pretty damp!:ok:

35 years ago, someone suggested to me that Dubai could be turned into a tourist resort. I thought that he was out of his tree.

What, when you were 10?

[ShyTorque]

KK? :eek:

Sorry, for one moment I thought someone meant Gatwick... :}

[B Sousa]

Thailand and Vietnam being my first choices in reverse order.

Sounds like SASless is thinking back to the days when LBFMs actually may have smiled at him.......(With his hands full of MPC)

I am working a 6 and 6 tour, no reason to live where I am now.
Can anyone give me any ideas where to look, I am not opposed to anywhere in the world. I need to be warm, preferably near water with lots of activities.



Since your a Tour Pilot, it must be that you are not in need of money or you would be looking for another job. Yet you want things to be inexpensive and live in paradise. Not gonna happen.
So, If your single, dont need any money, have plenty of Bell time over 2000 hours, can party all night and have the legal ability to work in the states.... drop me a PM and I will tell you of a company

[Heli-Ice]

HVHmt

Look no further! I found your nice place... Just put a capital in it and you have
Nice in France. :ok:

[IHL]

Mr. Plow:

Craggy Island isn't that the Parish of Father Ted.
I loved that show.

[Andy W]

I used to know KK well, where can I get details about whats going on there?

212man can I PM you?

Cheers

[Heli-phile]

Please can I enquire as to who/where are currently looking for captains co-pilots on touring contracts.

Many thanks:ok:

[spinwing]

Mmmmm.....

Yup .... Abu Dhabi Aviation .... ALWAYS looking for experienced BH412EP Captains.

:eek:

goto www.adaviation.com

[Staticdroop]

I've heard that Cape Town is pretty hard to beat for lifestyle and relatively cheap i believe.

[B412]

Bristow Lagos and Snake Island can't be wrong!.... BRC KK still has the odd spare room!

[helicfii]

I'll second that KK is a great place, but disagree that everyone speaks English. The diving cannot be beat there.

[Foggy Bottom]

Don't overlook Central America. I take it from your posts that you are from either the US or Canada and Central America is an easy travel if it is necessary. Nicaragua and Panama are very attractive and still quite affordable. Their location close to North America will contiue to drive the real estate market and some decent deals are now available. I would also look at Mexico. I personally would avoid Belieze as it is ripe for explosion. I have not lived in Thailand but have many friends that do live there, all seem to like it. I am somewhat concerned about the slow but steady influence of the growing Muslim underclass in most of SE Asia and would not personally purchase property there myself. (Not that you can "own" real estate in most of the SE Asian countries)

[BlenderPilot]

Cuernavaca, Morelos in Mexico!!

The city of eternal spring, favorite secret place of the rich to come rest, beautiful weather year round.

Only 3 hours away from Acapulco, and 1 and half hrs. from an airport served EVERYDAY by KLM, Japan Air, Air France, Iberia, British Airways, Lufhansa, Varig, AA, United, Delta, Continental, Southwest, and many more!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuernavaca

[HVHmt]

These are great ideas, I will pursue all leads. Thinking of just getting a live aboard (boat), then I will experience these places and go from there.

[rotorboy]

Central America.

I am pretty much living in Costa Rica. It is a fantastic country. It has gotten a little expensive, but there are still many inexpensive places . It just depends on how close to the beach and amenities you want. Once you have your housing and tansportstion worked out, it is extremely cheap to live ( by US/Canadian standards, not as cheap as SE Asia)

One of things I like is Costa Rica has no army.

There are two international airports. LIR , in the Pacific NW has daily service to IAH, ATL, MIA and semi weekly to LAX, JFK, EWR. San Jose serves all the same with daily flights to Europe and everywhere in South and Central America.
It is a 3 hours flight to most of the major US hubs. It is extremely easy to commute out of here.

San Jose is a fairly interesting city with a great climate (3000'). There are several western run Hospitals, excellent, affordable health care is available.



I would take a hard look at Nicaragua and Panama as well. Panama has some very attractive benefits in regards to buying property ( tax exemptions and residency status)

I have been told the Uruguay is the Riviera of South America, and extremely inexpensive.

If it wasn't so far away I would live in Chile... Mtns, Ocean, Wine, good beef, and beautiful women... how does a guy beat that?

[Heli-phile]

Sounds like a great dilema, Im keen to do same so please let me know if your company need Captains or Co-pilots, I will follow this link closely.

Many thanks:}

[Heli-phile]

:ok::}:ok:

[Ariel73]

Would you consider house swapping? I'm in a similar position and a temp swop might help decide...

[HVHmt]

I certainly would swap, this could be a good situation for touring types.
:ok:

[Ariel73]

It's quite ironic, you want out of Canada and I've just spent 5 weeks there, well I'm in Nelspruit SA if you want to check it out. Close to Kruger Park, Swasiland and Maputo although limited watersports!:bored:

[SASless]

Bert Babykins,

In those days I was of a very tender age and being fair haired....could go weeks without shaving....I fell into the wonderful class of men known as "Cherry Boy" and got more free attention from the fair sex than one could ever own up to. The key was never hitting the same bar twice and use that line or it could get a bit interesting when caught red handed by a previous tutor.....those little filly's could put up a fair old fight. I put the ""Flim Flam Man to shame in my lack of conscience in that area of interest. I will grant however that having a hand full of MPC or alas...greenbacks...seemed to help close the deal.

[TukTuk BoomBoom]

hey im in the same boat, looking for new place to live on my time off.
Having read this thread, are there anynew ideas out there from anyone?
What about the Philippines, anyone living there now? How is it?