Santa Barbara

your travel and retirement guide to paradise

Bali. Cost of living a comfortable retired life

After spending 3 months on this popular Indonesian island I have a good grasp of costs to live here. All of these numbers are just for a single retired man. No dog. No wife. No kids. Just me. Here we go with Bali cost of living… The cost to rent on this island, in popular areas, can be absolutely amazing low and can go up as high as “are you kidding me”. For example I booked a few hotel rooms, normally referred to as a “home stay”, for as little as 7 USD per night and this included breakfast!! I Read more…

Travelling and the art of being social

I began travelling when I was about 10 years old. My mum allowed me to travel on the train to see my grandmother. This was such a grand adventure for me and I savoured every moment. Everything about each trip was exciting: the bus to the train station, buying the “day return” train ticket, the ride itself and even waiting in the station waiting room..because it was full of travel posters of distance lands… like London, 100 miles away!!! ha ha ha. I also enjoyed my tea and chat with my grandmother. Travelling has always been multi-faceted. A BIG facet Read more…

Death by bus or bullet?!

As a retired expat living and travelling to several countries the question of “how safe is that area” is at the top of my list of needs and probably yours too. For me, there is no point in living in a town with low-cost of living, clear sunny days and lots to do if you also have a much higher chance of being the victim of a violent crime. I am not the kind of person that worries a lot, if at all. I live my life by managing the risks. Life has plenty of risks without moving to a Read more…

Eating local food in your chosen paradise

Whether you are an American, British or from Australia, eating in foreign countries, can have its gastronomical challenges. The big difference with food outside of a Western Culture is the spices used. Spices can be mild and make the meal more enjoyable or the added spices can also make you cry and choke simultaneously, all the while you are trying to flag down a waiter for some water! Not a pretty sight and it can be quite alarming even for a seasons expat who discovers a new high in the meaning of “spicy”. Many expats who retire in paradise rarely eat the Read more…

Renting a house in Khanom Thailand

Finding a place to call “home” for a few months or a few decades requires patience and certain skills. It is difficult enough to find a house to call home in your home country of Australia, Great Britain or the USA. Throw in the language and cultural barrier and the task becomes tricky at best. After the language obstacle comes the double pricing standard on many things. Foreigners to these exotic paradise beaches and towns come with local people that have a very interesting view of all us Westerners and the biggest myth is that we are all wealthy! Certainly the Read more…

Meanwhile: Thailand 2018

Hello and welcome, again perhaps, to my blog about retiring in paradise. It has been a very long time since I wrote anything here. I am not exactly sure why this is, but probably a combination of reasons. Without further ado, here is a quick update about me for the last 18 months and my retire in paradise for less events: Since January 2015 I have actually travelled to Thailand 5 times. For the first 3 trips that I left Thailand, it was to “move back to Mexico”. I was very hard on myself (aren’t we all?) and was disappointed with myself for Read more…

A closer look at San Miguel de Allende

Meanwhile, back in San Miguel de Allende, the sun is shining and the days are beautifully filled with a festive tone most (all?) of the time. Yes. San Miguel de Allende. If you’re keeping up with my blog, you might remember that I had given up on San Miguel. Turns out I was wrong to do so. What is the most important thing to you right at this moment? OK, not including your coffee if it’s only 8 am. Your family right? Or your friends. Since I am a traveller, explorer, digital nomad and expat then my friends are the Read more…

Places I have lived or travelled to

22 May , 2016 By John Arnold Leave a Comment

Places I have lived:

England: Birmingham (my birthplace), Plymouth and Tavistock

Australia: Sydney and Parramatta.

USA: Santa Monica, Inglewood, Laguna Beach, Lake Forest CA, Corona del Mar, Santa Barbara, Garden Grove CA, Huntington Beach, Raleigh, Chelmsford MA, Moltonbourough NH, Westchester OH, Batesville IN, Alexandria LA, Dunedin FL, Oro Valley AZ and Victor NY.

Thailand: Chiang Mai

Places travelled to:

Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia (Yugoslavia), Greece, Monaco, Italy, Jamaica, US Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Badlands, Sedona, Ecuador, Canada, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand….and…