Bucket List
Live, Work, & Play
25 Places to Hit Pause
Travel is as much about taking time to immerse ourselves in a place as it is being on the move. Living in a place, even if only for a couple of months, offers an opportunity for greater immersion. It's an opportunity to dig a little deeper and step into the local vibe. To work as a dive instructor in the Maldives or an English teacher in South Korea. Or to learn something new. To take a 3-month offshore sailing school in South Africa or study Spanish in Guatemala. And it's an opportunity to play. To spend a few months paragliding in Nepal, skiing in Colorado, or white water kayaking in Uganda.
Below you'll find our top 25 places to live, work, study, and play. Most of our top 25 are based on stays of 1-6 months, although we've been known to stay much longer.
As noted on other lists, bucket list items we've completed are marked with a strikethrough. In some cases, we've written a blog post that discusses a bucket list item in greater detail and provides useful planning information and links. You can view a post by clicking on a bucket list item below.
1, Cape Town, South AfricaComplete
Total immersion is South Africa's spectacular Western Cape
10 Months / 7 Visits
2. Tuscany, Italy
In Progress
A summer of Italian food, wine, & outdoor adventures
3 Months
3. Byron's Bay, Australia
Wish List
Spend a summer learning to surf
3 Months
4. Kronberg, GermanyComplete
A relaxed month hiking, biking, & running the Taunus Mountains
1 Month
5. Santorini, Greece
Wish List
Soak up the ocean views from a clifftop villa
1 Month
6. Cerro Castillo,ChileComplete
Spend a winter in snowy Patagonia
2 Months
7. Bali, Indonesia
Wish List
Take an extended yoga retreat in Ubud
2 Months
8. Buenos Aires, ArgentinaComplete
Spend a summer soaking up the vibe in Palermo
3 Months
9. Ouray, Colorado, USA
Wish List
Spend a winter ice climbing Ouray / Skiing Telluride
3 Months
10. Bangkok, ThailandComplete
Dive headfirst into Bangkok's frenetic vibe
2 Months
11. Santa Barbara, California, USAComplete
A year living in Ojai & exploring California's Central Coast
1.1 Years / 3 Visits
12. Langebaan, South Africa
Wish List
Take a 3-month off-shore sailing school
3 Months
13. Truckee, CaliforniaComplete
Spend a few months playing in the Sierras at Lake Tahoe
3 Months
14. An Ashram, India
Wish List
A month of meditation & yoga
1 Month
14. Denver, Colorado, USAComplete
18 months of Rocky Mountain single track, powder, & 14ers
1.5 Years
16. Bujagali, UgandaComplete
Learn to whitewater kayak on the White Nile River
3 Months
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17. Dalmatian Coast, Croatia
Wish List
A season skippering sailboat charters in Croatia
6 Months
18. Hawaii, USA
Wish List
Dive, kayak, surf, & explore
3 Months
19. Yaounde, CameroonComplete
A deep dive into African Culture
2 Months
20. Maldives, Indian Ocean
Wish List
A season working as a dive instructor
6 Months
21. Gold Coast, GhanaComplete
Spend lazy days under shady palms on Ghana's Gold Coast
2 Months
22. Mpumalanga, South Africa
Wish List
Take a 2-month Safari Field Guide School
2 Months
23. Lagos, PortugalComplete
Learn to scuba dive in the Algarve
5 Weeks
24. Matlock, EnglandComplete
Prep for a overland expedition in England's Peak District
2 Months / 4 Visits
25. Maun, Botswana
Wish List
Spend a season working as a bush pilot in the Okavango Delta
6 Months