They say Thailand is nice at this time of the year, though apparently you need to keep an eye out for crocs swimming down the main street.

Canary Islands is a no brainer!! The ONLY location in Spain with a decent climate, all year.

Choose an island further East for higher temperatures and dry, or West for more rain, green landscape and a bit cooler.

Despite having 12 million visitors each year, it is possible not to associate with tourists or your own nationality (if that is your desire). I've been living here almost 10 years, with virtually no interaction with tourists. In other words, live amongst the locals, in REAL towns/villages, which will have all the necessary infrastructures.

There is one very important point - unless you have the capacity to think for yourself and be self motivated, the Canary Islands are not for you. The lifestyle is predominantly outdoors and not for everyone. Loads of expats and tourists say that there's nothing to do, but in reality they're just sheep waiting to be told what to do.

I never have a bored day, but then again I have to know what's on the other side of the mountain!!

Right on the money.
I did much the same myself for best part of ten years around all seven main islands. Fantastic times away from the tourist zones.
I much prefered the lovely Western isles and would tend to give Fuertaventura especially, to the East, a big thumbs down.

Totally agree with you about living within a proper town with the local people in order to have what I tend to call a normal life. Rather than in a holiday place that makes you feel like you are on one long holiday which can become boring to an individual. I wonder whether the expats who end up drinking their days away do not have sufficient interests to stop them becoming bored and that is why the drinking becomes so much a part of their lives.

Having interests stops boredom, encourages an active mind and gives you something to think about, plan out and accomplish.

Rosemary

You lucky bugger My impression too, Florida is a big place and there is something for all tastes.

Ideally I would like to spend Nov-Mar somewhere with really good weather. We bought a house in Florida years ago and intended spending the winters there but we have to many pets.

Canaries, have only been to Tenerife, Lanzarote and La Gomera, wasn't keen on any of them. Cuthbert, sounds to me as if you should stay at home and have lots of short holidays

Funnily enough the Canaries have been on my radar for a while.
Where would you recommend ?
Having lived and worked in London for most of my life I've become accustomed to enjoying a reasonable standard of bars and restaurants, particularly if the seating is not of the white plastic variety.
And shops that sell more than cheap Chinese household goods and ancient washing powder.

Whereabouts are you Mitzy?

Plenty of cheap Chinese shops in Tenerife, don't know about the washing powder

At the moment in Cumbrian lakes which is south of Orlando. We have been all over Florida from the keys to st Augustine over to th gulf coast, and the only places I have found to be slow out of season is over on the gulf coast.
There is a lot of stuff that closes down in oliva in the winter months but I guess it would be the same in any areas that have a reliance on tourism. To be honest I look forward to the time when the tourists go home :-)

I look forward to it as well, however in our area most of the "tourists" are Spanish and we only see them at Easter and for 6 weeks from mid July to the end of August.

Our main local town, Almunecar, has a population of 25000. In the two holiday periods (thankfully limited) that can rise to 250,000 - mainly staying in the large number of apartment blocks which are only occupied for that period.

Because it is such a short holiday period almost everything is open the whole year apart from the proprietors taking a short holiday.

We spend a few months in Goa in the winter, lots of x pats there for the winter, but its a place you either love or hate, doesn't seem to be a inbetween, we like it, and the weather is great