Outdoorsy, chill lifestyle locales?
Wondering if anyone here has retired abroad mostly to do outdoorsy hobbies: hiking, camping/backpacking, biking, kayaking, paddleboarding? Maybe even found a community of people who enjoy the same?
I mostly just like being active outside and reading in terms of hobbies. Pretty simple lifestyle beyond that. Realistically I would most enjoy life in a small city/large town.
More individual info:
- 39F, childfree, dual citizen of US & Poland/EU. Live in M/HCOL city in the US.
- I have a pension I can take at 55 and was planning on doing this regardless, but earlier retirement would be nice if I can make the numbers work, so lower COL would be ideal. Earliest I can see myself actually making the leap is 45.
- Have traveled a bunch in E/SE Europe and lived in Greece and N Macedonia in the past. Have also traveled elsewhere (W Europe, UK, S America) but probably not enough to get a flavor of actually living there. I loved Greece. Also enjoyed N Macedonia but would prefer somewhere with more sunshine.
- Favorite places in the US, for reference, are Michigan and Eastern Sierra area.
- The EU citizenship certainly simplifies some things but I'm not 100% attached to the idea, so other places in the world that you might suggest are also welcome! However...
- I have a long-stable health issue that nonetheless requires monitoring via regular MRIs for the rest of my life so being somewhere that I can go to a quality hospital 1-2x/year is important. Like I don't mind traveling for it but I don't want to be so remote that it's an epic journey to go to a doctor appointment.