Where in the world...?

[GreenNeedles]

We live abroad right now, and it ticks A LOT of our boxes. We have a nice life here, we are happy and we feel luck to live here. But a recent visit to another city made us wonder if it could be just us as good in other places too.

Is there somewhere else that would tick everything?

Good summers with watersports close by (under 30 mins)
Snowy winters with wintersports close by (under 60 mins)
Low crime
High salaries
City feel with variety in entertainment and shops
Good transport links
Good public schools (or affordable private)
Good travel opportunities either by car, plane or train

10 points if you can guess where I am now!

Barcelona?

Geneva?

@Lisa78Lemon not sure we’d get high salaries and low crime in Barca. Good shopping though and great leisure and entertainment.

@unebaguettepastropcuite you get 10 points as we are not far from Geneva (though don’t live in it). It’s all a bit meh sometimes with no real buzz, shops are ok, entertainment is minimal (even pre-covid).

Wondering if Lyon could be a good shout (though again not sure it’ll score well for low crime or salaries).

Maybe we’ve got it as good as it gets.

Silicon Valley?

Singapore? I would miss skiing though

We are overseas now and think about similar.

Singapore
California
UAE

tick all your boxes

I know what you mean about Geneva. It’s kind of dull, as well as being hellishly expensive. I like Lyon, much more “alive” than Geneva.

I wonder if you’d like Toulouse. I really liked the vibe there

Assuming you're somewhere in Switzerland? I used to live there and it was honestly the most soul-destroyingly dull place I've ever spent time -- and I've moved around a lot.

Vienna?

@soberfabulous

We are overseas now and think about similar.

Singapore
California
UAE

tick all your boxes

The UAE is very challenging in the summer You definitely can’t ski (unless you go to Ski DXB in Mall of the Emirates!) There are no public schools for non-Emiratis and private schools are, on the whole, very expensive (and increasingly, companies aren’t paying school fees any more)

Ticks most of the other boxes though!

A friend lives in Singapore and loves it, but it is ridiculously expensive to live there. Cost of living is high!

We have lived in South Africa and Mexico which tick a lot of your boxes but definitely not the low crime! Or winter sports! But absolutely amazing places to live with low cost of living of you can get to grips with the crime - which admittedly did weigh heavily on me in South Africa, less so in Mexico.

Never been to Toulouse, will add it to the list... is it cosmopolitan? Since living in Switzerland we’ve had some wonderful holidays in France actually. No idea about living there though.... cost of living vs salaries doesn’t always look great though.

California is now more appealing without Trump.

I love Singapore. The weather puts me off a little bit reckon we could do a couple of years there. Same as the Middle East - not long term but maybe just a couple of years.

The crime does put me off in SA I have to say.

Never thought about living in Mexico, but funnily enough we were due to go there on holiday this year, but didn’t in the end due to covid.

The longer we stay out of the UK, the less it feels like we’d go back. So every now and again the question pops up as to where we’d go if we leave here. We’ve probably got time for 1 or 2 more moves before the kids go to uni. That being said, seeing out our working days in Switzerland would not be so bad from a financial perspective, and we could probably then retire anywhere (immigration permitting).

Munich! I think it's more beautiful than Geneva.

This is so interesting as I grew up near Geneva was né have been petitioning DH to try move his job there! Yes it was boring as teen but soo safe! Now with kids I want your whole list OP. Not sure my parents ever felt bored living there as they travelled for work all the time.

Canada except for travel might suit you.

I second Munich. We lived in Bavaria for 9 years and loved it.
I found Austria really dull and very parochial, but lived in upper Austria, not Vienna.

Stockholm? Summers are not as hot as in Southern Europe, but better than in the UK. Plenty of water (sea & lakes) for water sports also. Wintersports are possible, but unreliable. There are winters where you can ski and ice skate within the Stockholm region and there are winters where you might need to drive 5hrs to more reliable ski resorts on the Norwegian border.

I think if you're in the "right" industries Munich might check your boxes, but the watersports would be lake based, its too far from the sea.

I live not that far from Munich, but in the countryside - I miss the sea more as I get older and would like to liveon the edge of a small town within sihht of a bleak, wild coast (not interested in sunbathing type resort beaches) when I'm old!

Depends on your industry and what you consider a good salary in €, but I think the Nice/Monaco area on the France-Italy border would tick most of those boxes. It might be longer than 60 mins for skiing, but everything else is there. Stunning region, lovely weather.

Nice is not low crime. Car robbery and bag snatching are common.

Maybe the other French coast, on the Atlantic, Biarritz .
The Larrau ski station is only 65 km from Biarritz.

@GreenNeedles I think Biarritz deserves close to the 10 points you offered and public (and free) schools in France are good quality especially in the rich zones.

We live in California:
Good summers with watersports close by (under 30 mins) TICK
Snowy winters with wintersports close by (under 60 mins) TICK or at least within 2-3hours which is close in American standards
Low crime....hmmmm not entirely, not sure any major city is low crime but it’s pretty average
High salaries - if you’re in the right industry (tech)
City feel with variety in entertainment and shops - TICK
Good transport links - everywhere in CA is made for cars
Good public schools (or affordable private) - yeah if you’re in the right area
Good travel opportunities either by car, plane or train - yes but everywhere is very far away

It's got to be Aus or Canada.

Or new Zealand...

Vancouver or California? Or working in Geneva but living in Annecy (for cost and quality of life) is a very attractive setup.

@BabyLlamaZen

Or new Zealand...

I'd say you can't get anywhere in NZ that ticks most of those boxes - the only real place with a city feel with transport and travel links is Auckland, which is nowhere near the snow.

Melbourne- although the ski fields are a 4hr drive
NZ
Sydney- but 5hrs to ski fields