One thing I'm hoping to do on this trip is find a place to send out shoots, if not actually put down roots. I'm kind of demanding, though (see point one below). Hard to please. Always feel that something's missing. Maybe it's the organelle in my cranium that enables one to say, at least some of the time, "nothing's missing--this is just right" or "something is missing, but it doesn't matter".
Here are some of the things I'd like to find, in no particular order. I don't expect to find all of them, and some may be contradictory.
- Just walking down the street should be like going to an art gallery (such places do exist, and in Latin America too, so I'm not completely out to lunch on this one). This could be satisfied by either manufactured or natural beauty (though I was mostly thinking of the former).
- It should be possible to live on about $1000 Canadian per month, not counting trips back to Canada.
- It must be a Spanish-speaking location.
- The place shouldn't be overrun by people like me (expats) though some would be ok.
- I need to be able to find a place (such as a café) where I can go and read and relax for a few hours on the strength of buying a coffee or two.
- There should be convenient access to nature: places to hike or at least a good park. Convenient could mean taking a bus for an hour or so.
- I shouldn't have to be concerned about my physical safety on a regular basis. It would be even better if this were largely true of the country as a whole.
- It should be warm-to-hot (including night-time) for almost all of the year.
- Some kind of "cultural life" should be possible, as evidenced perhaps by the presence of a university, cinemas, theatres, and the like.
- I'm thinking around 100,000 as a minimum population
- If the city/country has a significant indigenous population, that would be a plus
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