IL Magazine: Discover the World's Best Retirement Haven for 2022 + 24 more
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I had been traipsing around the jungles of Southeast Asia for so long that my adventure cup overflowed. Too many weeks in the forests and temples of the Golden Triangle had me feeling like Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now. It was time for a change of scene, so I booked a flight to Bali for some R&R.
White sand and azure water. Stone castles and Turkish coffee. Cosmopolitan cities and organic vegetable markets. Art museums and concert halls. This is Albania. But alpine lakes and glaciers? I must be confusing it with somewhere else. But I’m not! They’re called the Accursed Mountains or, less ominously, the Albanian Alps, and they are the southernmost and highest...
If a city break lasts longer than three days, you run the risk of tangling yourself in the gears of “progress” and “development” otherwise known as “stress” and “noise,” two things you broke free from and vowed to never experience again. So only stay in Budapest for three nights and then get out. This gives you plenty of time to see the sights and enjoy a dozen...
The beach isn’t something that comes to mind when you think of Athens. But I love to swim and couldn’t imagine spending winter in a place without a warm beach to go swimming. Glyfada—the Greek capital’s seaside offering—is an absolute stunner.
Albania. Research this little country just north of Greece and you’ll see photo after photo of world-class beaches, imposing Ottoman architecture, smiling old men, and herds of shaggy goats. I was sold on it immediately (and not just because of the goats). It’s a small country—about the size of Massachusetts...
“I moved here blind,” says Paul. “I hadn’t even really traveled much outside of Canada before I decided to retire [he worked in insurance], sell my house, and head south. Fifty winters of ice storms were enough. I went searching for the sun and stumbled upon the Garden of Eden.”