Gordon Barlow

The Wicked Virus has closed up enough tourist places for the time being! Here in Cayman our border has been closed for the last twelve months, and the waters are clear and beautiful again. That's nice to see - as long as you're not one of the thousands who have lost their jobs during those months and for the next few years. Never forget the human cost of "going green" - for whatever reason.

StillSearching

And what is the cost of not going green?
Humans are like locusts. They are causing destruction of everything they touch, except of those who actually work to restore the environment.
Ideally, if any human activity is not sustainable it must be adjusted to the level of sustainability or not be allowed to proceed.

We compared the same islands in Philippines we've seen 30 years ago and recently. No tropical fish can be found any more off the beaches. People are so hungry there, they fish out or bomb absolutely everything. They killed all the animals on the land. The jungle is quite. Overpopulation is one of many problems. The answer we've got in Philippines is that the government with the help of the church wants to have abundance of cheep labor.

It is horrifying.

uk_grenada

'Going green' is itself a bad thing. It is normally used to make money for someone, at the expense of the local economy and is highly likely to make poor people poorer. Resore an environment? Which environment? The one 50000 years ago before we were there, the one after 1500 years of farming and subsistence, the one 200 years ago before we started industrialising or the one 50 years ago before we grew populations so much?

True sustainability is the only sane place to be, but it is normally prostituted by those making money out of it like climate 'scientology' workers charities, ngo's and the like.

Where i live there is good fishing, but this is because locals use sustainable methods, because they have to, because industrialised fishing is not possible over reefs. Frankly any lack of fish over reefs is about pollution and nearby industrialised fishing not locals with fishing rods. Animals on the land is a man made construct. We have been here long enough to completely manage land use. We are the top predator and as such husband resources as we see fit. It amuses me when people see the animal farms/reserves in africa and think they are a natural thing. If there was no profit in it or the ability to grow crops was easier - the african savannah would be history. Sometimes humans manage well, sometimes badly.

Worst example of management - easter island - once a forested pleasant place, now a grassy desert. Good management - europe has been totally managed for millennia but isnt dying or irreparably damaged.

StillSearching

-desertified after farming and mining land
-covered with oil spills beaches and ocean

uk_grenada

[QUOTE=StillSearching;12981122]-desertified after farming and mining land
-covered with oil spills beaches and ocean[/QUOTE

Desertification reversal is very difficult and probably beyond the means of small economies, there has to be sustained spending. Oil spills are different and can be cleaned relatively easily within a few years ( the cure is itself polluting but only in the short term.)

StillSearching

You may benefit, if you care, to read more on this subject, because you are too far from reality.

uk_grenada

Insulting as normal, but frankly you read the book and peddle your agitprop, and i’ll live the actually sustainable life for a top predator here instead.

Got any carbon credits to sell? No? How about some output from a 3D printer to break up in the ocean or a decent pile of lithium from a green car in the Caribbean run on electrical power from diesel for 4 years.

StillSearching

I am sorry if it came as insulting. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just saying that you are totally off in your view regarding this subject. I've read several scientific books and watched documentaries on this. I was quite ignorant in this area not so long ago. Knowledge is power, right?

scot47

I would be happy living in contemporary Cuba, but then I had experience of living in The GDR and Bulgaria during the period of "Real Socialism". And in Zambia during the period of deficits and empty supermarkets.

Real socialism - Wikipedia

StillSearching

Back to the original post.
Here is my recommendation for you, Aidan. Hope you are doing well during this stressful pandemic.
You like scuba and you have high standards of living.

California is expensive and have choking fires every year. You may want to find a healthier and less expensive place for retirement.
If you decide to stay in the US, you will face deteriorating quality of medicare and growing cost. Have you read "An AmericanSickness" book?
Health care system in the US is one of the main reasons for medical refugees and #2 reasons for bankruptcies, as you probably know.

You can't get a permanent residence anywhere where your heart desires unless you spend millions on buying a citizenship.

Out of all the English and Spanish speaking countries, the winner for us is Sabah, Malaysia. We couldn't tolerate west Malaysia because of air pollution. Even in Sabah, we considered places right at the shore. There is still some open air burning even in the city and badly polluted roads. You will feel the difference after getting used to clean air on the roads in California! I just wear N95 mask whenever I go in the city (before covid).

There are good diving spots here in Sabah. Also, you can take a shot flight to other countries from here for diving/snorkeling.

One big problem about any equatorial countries- too hot and humid and it is getting hotter and hotter every year. At 35 degrees with high humidity, perspiration which cools a body doesn't work any more. This is a dangerous temperature and can cause a lot of deaths. In October 2019 the record temperature of 39.0 °C was reported in Kuala Lumpur.

uk_grenada

I live 12 degrees N, but on a small but tall island that generates micro-climates all over. We are thermostable with 31 mid pm and 24-26 overnight which after acclimatisation is very comfy. I live at 300ft above sea level - even that’s important - lower humidity and breezier overnight (caribbean trade winds are a real thing.

So yes some equatorial climates and some flat places further from there are too hot.

StillSearching

The original poster is a US citizen. There is a double taxation for the American citizens living in the Caribbean islands, which are not the US territory, for more than 6 months. It is expensive to own two homes and too much hassle with traveling.

uk_grenada

You need to do some more research. There may be potential double taxation in some places, but if the caribbean country doesnt tax your income clearly you are not taxed twice. Homes cost whatever they cost to run in locations with different challenges from the weather. etc, but they are generally appreciating assets not liabilities and the taxation or not of that appreciation is of far more significance than running costs. Travelling can be a hassle or enjoyable, entirely your choice.

StillSearching

You are right. In Grenada, there is no gift, inheritance, capital gains and world income tax. It doesn’t have tax agreement with the US.

uk_grenada

And - Grenada is not alone - there are plenty of countries where these sorts of benefits exist, balanced out often by high import duties, it is one way to attract high net worth people to invest.

I am reliably told that the smart money is actually in Hong Kong heading for China. If you take cash or gold there, it is untraceable, they are not just the new switzerland for numbered accounts, they are untouchable by any foreign government, unlike small offshore countries they can laugh at any requests for information on holdings unless the individual displeases them.