A young family from New Jersey decided to leave the U.S. in order to live a simple new life.
Where to go? They canvassed the world with an open mind. No place was too distant, no people too strange, so long as certain conditions could be met. First, they decided to eliminate climate as a living complication. Year-round warmth would mean no coats or woolens or door-closing problems; low rainfall would mean no rainwear. Second, living costs would have to be a third or half of what they'd been at home. Third, they should be within twenty-four hours of first-class medical care. Fourth, they should at least have access to some well-educated and well- traveled people. Fifth, they wanted to be able to swim every day in the year. Sixth, they should learn a permanently useful foreign language. Seventh, and most important, the tempo of life should be easygoing. What would be perfect, they decided, was a beach-side cottage on the outskirts of a peaceful subtropical (but arid) village. Did such a Utopia exist? Yes, of course! So they emigrated to the Canary Islands and this was the beginning of a wonderful adventure and a lifetime experience.
Where to go? They canvassed the world with an open mind. No place was too distant, no people too strange, so long as certain conditions could be met. First, they decided to eliminate climate as a living complication. Year-round warmth would mean no coats or woolens or door-closing problems; low rainfall would mean no rainwear. Second, living costs would have to be a third or half of what they'd been at home. Third, they should be within twenty-four hours of first-class medical care. Fourth, they should at least have access to some well-educated and well- traveled people. Fifth, they wanted to be able to swim every day in the year. Sixth, they should learn a permanently useful foreign language. Seventh, and most important, the tempo of life should be easygoing. What would be perfect, they decided, was a beach-side cottage on the outskirts of a peaceful subtropical (but arid) village. Did such a Utopia exist? Yes, of course! So they emigrated to the Canary Islands and this was the beginning of a wonderful adventure and a lifetime experience.
