Stand at the ocean as the waves roll toward you and you get the feel of distant places. Light ripples on the swell, the heart stirs, the imagination thrills. And it’s not just a feeling…
On the seabed lie strange instruments that turn that feeling into fact. Wave-recording scientists can tell you where a wave was first whipped up. Some are born in the wild North Atlantic, or out of tropical storms. On Lands’ End in England they record waves that curl around Cape Horn all the way from the southern-most regions of the world. Wave recorders on the coast of California can tell you the life story of waves that came 6,000 miles.
Scientists are also busy trying to get to the bottom of why being by the water makes us happier. I don’t know how exactly, but I expect it’s some brain-wave measuring contraption. Interesting, yes, but who needs science to tell you that you feel healthier and less stressed by the sea?
If you’ve ever stood on cliffs or dug your toes in coral sand, or waded in clear-blue water, then you’ve felt the peace of mind and general satisfaction with life that comes when you’re by the ocean.
Stateside, it’s an expensive proposition to live within a stone’s throw of the water. But on the right shores overseas, you can do it on a remarkably modest budget. You can buy an ocean-view home in Ecuador for $175,000, retire to an English-speaking Mediterranean island from $2,650 a month, or rent from $103 on the Visayan Islands in the Philippines. For as little as $1,695 a month you can live in an elegant Old-World port famed for wine and good eating where the Atlantic meets the Douro River.
Or…go a step further like Meri and Jim Faulkner who—with no ocean-sailing experience—sold their house, moved aboard their sloop Windfall, and went on to sail the world for less than it would have cost them to stay home. Here they show you how.
—Eoin Bassett, Editorial Director
Lying on Ireland’s wild Atlantic coast, the city of Galway is renowned as the nation’s seafood capital. And the last week of September is the best time of year to experience the finest fare Galwegian waters have to offer.
Luckily for me, I’ve yet to encounter a ghost anywhere on my travels. But if I ever find myself frightened of phantoms, I know exactly where to go: The Spice Souk in Marrakech, Morocco.
It’s a rare place on earth where you can touch two continents at the same time. And Iceland’s Silfra fissure, one of the world’s top dive sites, is one such place. Here you can descend the crevice where the North American and Eurasian continental plates meet.
When seeking a calm green space in Paris, most tourists naturally gravitate toward the flawless beauty of the Jardin des Tuileries or Jardin du Luxembourg. But, as lovely as these gardens are, the prevailing message is: “Look, don’t touch.” Even sitting on the grass is usually forbidden.
In June, European stock markets suffered their worst day in years... The major crash was the result of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union (EU). The major decline in non-U.S. stock markets helped push foreign stocks to their lowest level ever, compared with U.S. stocks.
I’m sitting on a balcony of the home where my husband, daughter, and I are housesitting in Fiji. The ocean waves crest over the reef in front of me. White frangipani blooms and red hibiscus pop out of the green vegetation, and a gentle floral scent mingles with the saltwater air.
The flat plains of the Veneto region stretch out before me. Rustic farmhouses and vineyards dot the landscape. Fields of maize go on as far as I can see and in the distance, the snow-capped mountains of Asiago rise up majestically.
For many North Americans, moving to Italy to live in a stone cottage with its own olive grove is dream-worthy enough on its own. But for Bruce Adgate and Joanna Ross, it was just the start of their adventures.
For serial housesitters Denny and Eden Rudin, gone is their hectic, working-world life in the U.S., with car and mortgage payments and high medical costs. “With housesitting, we find it’s actually cheaper than our life was back in Arizona. Plus we get to see new places,” they say.
“The longer I stay here, the more I realize I’ve made a good choice,” says Leo Ellis of his new home in the colorful Thai city of Chiang Mai. Leo moved here in 2012—at the modest age of 87. Four years later, he’s as happy as ever to call it home.