Where Should I Move To Retire & Kite?

[jj83]

I hear you, at least in Cumbuco you can walk the street and not get continually hounded by motorcyclists trying to sell you anything they can
Cape Town is definitely the most rounded and diverse place I've been to, that would be easiest for a Westerner to adapt to also being English speaking, although it has cold water and not as reliable wind although if living here long term not such as issue.
You just need to find some non-wind activities - surfing, paragliding, hiking, skating, freediving etc.

[jj83]

I "just want" a nice village. Obviously the definition of nice will not be an objective one. I love Southern European villages. Cabarete is nice along the beach, but the complete village is hardly a beautiful place.

In Cumbuco there is at least seemingly some normal life. Living in a place permanently I also prefer to assimilate with the locals.

Please let me know when you find that oasis. Imagine how crowded that spot would be though

[Havre]

I "just want" a nice village. Obviously the definition of nice will not be an objective one. I love Southern European villages. Cabarete is nice along the beach, but the complete village is hardly a beautiful place.

In Cumbuco there is at least seemingly some normal life. Living in a place permanently I also prefer to assimilate with the locals.

Please let me know when you find that oasis. Imagine how crowded that spot would be though

Haha. Yeah. I mean in Europe here are endless amount of nice villages. Not necessarily right at a kite spot, but close enough so that you could live in that village and drive to the spot(s) whenever the wind is solid.

If I'm permanently living somewhere close to a spot I wouldn't necessarily have to go kiting every single time you get more than 15 knots - which is basically my life now (and it requires 1h drive to get to any of the spots - close to 2 if you want to reach arguably the best local spot here).

[jj83]

Hard part for us is finding beautiful spots with strong wind in Europe. I don't normally go out unless it's at least 20 knots

[Baptiste_FR]

Hard part for us is finding beautiful spots with strong wind in Europe. I don't normally go out unless it's at least 20 knots

I've never been there, but I hear that near the region of Perpignan (South of France, Mediterranean coast) you have a consistent strong wind during the year (Tramontane) with several great spots (Leucate, Gruissant, Barcares...). And some nice village and weather (it's not warm during winter, but not cold either, between 12-15°C).

[Havre]

Finding 20 knots in Europe mid summer shouldn't be that difficult. The challenge is the rest of the year. And cost of living generally speaking makes it more difficult to semi-retire in Europe.

Cumbuco with the current exchange rate is very affordable. As an example.

[jj83]

I did some research last year into the best consistent "strong wind" (>22 knots) spots by month and here is a summary: https://www.screencast.com/t/Fgrgjpe8m
Some months there is a lot more options than others as you can see.

[Dave_5280]

I did some research last year into the best consistent "strong wind" (>22 knots) spots by month and here is a summary: https://www.screencast.com/t/Fgrgjpe8m
Some months there is a lot more options than others as you can see.

I wonder why Maui didn’t make the list?

[jj83]

I did some research last year into the best consistent "strong wind" (>22 knots) spots by month and here is a summary: https://www.screencast.com/t/Fgrgjpe8m
Some months there is a lot more options than others as you can see.

I wonder why Maui didn’t make the list?

I'm sure there are other spots that can be added such as Maui, Perth etc. As this was for myself travelling, I probably didn't include these destinations due to the cost off the top of my head.

[Havre]

I am a retired Canadien and I lived on the coast of Ecuador. I kite at Santa Marianita, it has a thermal wind, water is warm and it’s mostly sunny all year long. The city of Manta is 2 minutes away with good restaurants, shopping mall, etc. Easy to fly to Peru for wave kiting. Cost of leaving is very cheap here and Ecuador is now using US dollar as a currency.

Looks like a nice place. How is the wind? Thermal seems to often mean around 15 knots?