Where Should I Move To Retire & Kite?

[unclebill]

Toby, how is it living as an expat German in Brazil? Some of the posts about living outside one’s country of origin suggests there can be a lonely endeavor.

When I lived in Germany for a short time the path to happiness was gute essen, gute drunken und gute ficken. Now I didn't learn to speak or spell very well but I never felt lonely. For a German living in Brazil, throw in great weather and kite conditions as well, how could it fail.

[danlar]

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.

[pistolpete]

Cabarete .. Cheap, warm/hot all year and waves, wind all year, many expats, so you get away with english bit a spanish, and not far from home

[eloico]

Fact is, in Brazil I feel like 28 and in Germany like 68.

The kiting and my tricks keep me young here!

So do the girls

really good!

[jj83]

So tough to find 1 location that is good year-round - it has also been a personal quest of mine in the last few years.
I'm from the UK and looking for places to work online while kiting, surfing and exploring with my Brazilian girlfriend, and eventually hopefully raise a family and retire.
Although you can certainly use other people's experiences as a guide, kite spots are highly personal depending on the conditions you enjoy and you need to experience this yourself.
I was disappointed by some spots that came highly recommended and surprised by others that weren't pimped so much.
It is important to realise also when asking other kiters, what one person considers strong wind, choppy etc can be very different from another e.g. take Jeri and Cape Town. If you ask riders who are used to kiting in lighter winds, they will consider Jeri a strong wind spot, recommending small kites, whereas if you ask kiters in Cape Town, Netherlands etc they use the area around Jeri as a training ground for practising new tricks as it is more moderate and forgiving than conditions they are used to riding.
What I found helpful was renting a car and travelling the coasts to check out as many spots as possible e.g. in Brazil, we started in Cumbuco and over the course of a month made our way up to Atins. We downwinded some stretches and drove others, and quickly got an idea of the sections of the coast we enjoyed the most, then on the way back we stopped at those spots.
You can do the same in Europe e.g. start in Lisbon and drive up the coast to Viana do Castelo, down the West Coast to the Algarve and East to Tarifa.
In South Africa e.g. start in Cape Town and drive up the West Coast and then East along the Southern Coast.
One other important factor is staying in these kite spots out of season - both NE Brazil and Cape Town are very different out of high season - expect rain and no wind.
Our own conclusion, for what it's worth is that we will most likely split our time between 3-4 locations, spending 3-4 months in each, at least for the next few years (obviously COVID depending!).
As we are more into big air, we prefer stronger wind and swell, so that has been our preference when selecting locations.
We also prefer to arrive in spots, slightly pre-season, as have found they tend to have the best energy building up to the peak season and then leave just before it peaks and starts to get overcrowded e.g. Nov in NE Brazil, Feb in Cape Town, Aug in Europe etc.
This is what a year looks like to give you an idea:

Aug-Oct NE Brazil (Prea, Tatajuba, Maceio)
Nov-Jan South Africa (Cape Town)
Feb-Apr Colombia (Santa Veronica)
May-Jul Portugal (Guincho, Viana do Castelo)

Lisbon works well as a hub to travel to these spots.

[Havre]

Would love to be born in 83 and afford that life

Sounds like a brilliant plan to me.

Been playing with the idea myself - moving. Brazil is quite interesting these days due to the collapse of their currency. A lot cheaper to move there now than it used to be (if you are bringing some funds with you). I absolutely love Jeri, but not a place I would necessarily like to live. More like a tourist attraction than a village I would settle down in. Cumbuco was OK, but hardly a picturesque beautiful little village. Prea definitely not a place I would like to live. So where to go? Florianopolis looks nice. Might be a place I would check out. Even if it would probably be quite expensive living there to travel up north during the windy season.

[longwhitecloud]

how long can u stay in brazil as a tourist?

[jj83]

The advantage of working online is you can play a bit of an arbitrage game i.e. earning money in 1st world country and living/spending in 3rd world countries.
The currencies in all the countries I mentioned outside of Europe are currently weak (Brazil, South Africa & Colombia) so the cost of living is significantly lower than most of Europe/US.
Agree completely re: Brazil. I use these months to live more of a local beach lifestyle. Having spent several months there the last couple of years, mostly around Prea, I have made friends with many locals, not only kiting but around town.
I stayed in a pousada on the beach with fibre internet and being a 20 min buggy ride into Jeri, suited me well, so I could go in there for the odd night out - Samba, dinner etc as I like the vibe in Jeri at night for a change of scenery.
I prefer to stay outside the touristy areas in general and get more into the local scene, so Jeri, isn't a great option for me to stay longer term. This was also the feeling I had in Cabarete and Cumbuco - I felt like a tourist in more crowded conditions and lighter winds suited more for the younger generation doing freestyle and partying - this was only my experience so take it for what it's worth.
Safety is also a big factor and being further from Fortaleza I feel more relaxed.
Again, as I said, it is very personal - I know quite a few kiters who don't like Prea because they find it too choppy, and prefer Tatajuba, Barra Grande etc, hence why I think it's important to go and experience yourself to see what floats your boat.
Staying longer-term in Tatajuba, Macapa etc is at the other end of the spectrum and harder for me with limited internet, amenities etc.
Flori is on the list of places I would like to visit!

[jj83]

how long can u stay in brazil as a tourist?

Depends on where you are coming in from - but normally 90 days.
They allow some countries to extend up to 180 days at Polícia Federal in Fortaleza, but not others - I found it difficult to find accurate information online.
I found process is straightforward though but I would recommend going with someone who speaks Portuguese if you don't speak it yourself, and be super polite, courteous, and remember to wear long pants or they won't let you in
If you want to stay longer then there are other ways but need to find a local to help.

[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.