I would love to go to New Zealand and Australia. Saying you've gone around the world loses a bit of its shine if somehow you haven't visited those two countries (and the South Pacific - I'll toss that in there).
We've considered it, but moving halfway around the world from your two kids presents a problem. Awfully tempting, though, particularly in today's climate (and I'm not talking about the weather).
I take at least one international vacation a year, so nearly everywhere I want to go to is somewhere I will eventually visit. One bucket list place I'm unclear on how much of a hassle it is to visit is the Yemini island of Socotra.
i got a compilation of music from the indian ocean a few years ago and there was a bunch of cool stuff from a place i had never heard of called la reunion...island a few hundred miles east of madagascar. the music fascinated me so much that i started looking at pics of the place and thinking how much id like to visit. i doubt i would ever make it there in my lifetime, but it looks nice!
I had my honeymoon there a few years ago. It is a beautiful place and so relaxing. If you go, I recommend getting a food plan of some sort at a resort. I stayed at the Pearl Beach Resort and Spa. They had a plan that included breakfast and lunch but you had to pay for dinner. And drinks are really expensive. I recommend bringing your own liquor when you leave LA (duty free) because a bottle of Jack Daniels was like $120 bucks for a 750ml in Vaitape.
It's an excellent suggestion, daywalker, except for one "problem." We're both already retired, although my significant other does consulting contracts from time to time. One kid turned 26 a couple of months ago and is a very successful software developer here in Austin (parental pride coming, can't help it!), who already has several colleagues working for her, and our son is in his senior year working on a degree that will lead to his career choice, animation, preferably in film. He wants to be one of those two or three hundred names scrolling in the credits at the end of flicks like Blade Runner or the upcoming sequel. Leaving them would be tough. Easier with them as adults. I agree with that. At least the company our oldest works for has offices in Australia. If she were to move there (which is not impossible at all), we would seriously consider New Zealand or Australia ( my personal preference would be New Zealand, despite the earthquakes). Heck, I'm starting to convince myself that it might actually happen in the future! Time will tell. It always does.
It unfortunately depends on ones age and skill set. They have a large job shortage and immigration is focused on growing their work force. So if you are close to retirement and don't have one of the countries skill shortages, it could be quite difficult to become a resident, unless you have a large amount of capital to invest or start a business with (you can become a citizen almost anywhere pretty easily if you have $). For someone who is younger, you could go over on a student visa, study one of their skill shortages (if you don't already have one), find a job and become a resident/citizen. Quite a bit of commitment, but fairly simple if you truly want to immigrate. Also 2nd Réunion, would love to visit Seychelles as well.
