Hi there!
My family is fed up with cold weather and stressed out lifestyle, so we are looking for an extended break from it all.
We are not wealthy, but we prefer the simple things in life anyway.
So we thought we'd look for some nice little country with lots of sunshine and beaches, where we (and our skills) would be welcome.
Here's what we've got:
My wife is the "people person", with a degrees and skills in adult and child education, organisation development, training, coaching. Plus she's into farming, agriculture, environmentalism, nature conservation, and karate. She has done quite a lot of practical things in her life, from running a restaurant to accounting, and she's open for more.
Se speaks English and is learning Spanish.
I've got an MSc in Electrical Engineering, and an unfinished Computing Science PhD, over a decade of experience in software development, telecommunication systems, computer networks, VoIP, geeky stuff in general. I don't see how most of it could be handy on some remote island, but who knows. I don't have a degree in education, but I can and do teach anything from science to basic computer literacy to anyone, with great success. I am also a volunteer firefighter, taking a paramedic course, enjoy kite flying, tai-chi and karate (yes, that's how we met. And it's a completely peaceful form. In rural Europe the ususal choice of sports is soccer, brutal and aggressive, or karate, for those who don't like soccer.) I speak English, German, and plan to learn Spanish next :-)
We are EU citizens btw, I guess that might matter.
Here's what we need:
Safety (low crime, civil rights, kids can run around free),
healthy environment (no pollution, preferably locally grown food, basic hygiene covered, no crazy diseases, kids can run around free),
non-city setting (suburban OK, preferably rural)
affordable education for 2 small kids (preferably in English, Spanish OK too),
and jobs that support modest living standards for a family of four.
Nice, warm climate, some beaches and palm trees maybe, small islands preferred :-)
What we do not need are fancy hotels, expensive restaurants, diving ranges, jet-skis, cars, replication of western luxuries. I think this is what sets us clearly apart from most people from developed countries.
I have started looking at and asking around about Caribbean islands, but the ones I have investigated so far do not seem welcoming at all. They would prefer paying tourists or investors. Outsiders seem to move there either to retire, start some tourism-related business, or live comfortably while teleworking.
We would like to find a place where our skills would be valued, where we could participate in the community, make peoples lives better, do something that matters, something that makes a difference, and not hurt anyone.
I am not necessarily looking for some government mandated program to lure couples with exactly the degrees we have, (it wouldn't hurt of course :-) ) but a basic sense of openness, some sign of being welcome, and not looked at like some stupid foreigner who is only here to litter the beach and throw up loudly behind a bar at 3 in the morning would be nice.
This post is getting way too long and redundant.
Bottom line:
We need advice: where would we be welcome?
Thanks in advance:
Gabor from Hungary
