Best places for a soaring pilot to retire?

On Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 2:41:00 PM UTC-7, Matt Herron Jr. wrote:
Looking for new Ideas for places to retire. The usual considerations apply; cost of living, health care, weather, and available soaring. Doesn't have to be the US. near water would be nice. I own a Ventus C.

Anyone live in/near Grass Valley, CA? 1 hr from Truckee and Sacramento, 1.5 hrs from Williams, 2.5 hrs from Bay area.

Thanks for any suggestions

Matt

I recommend getting an RV and travel around to the various sites in the US. Set up your home base in some central location with low cost of living and taxes. Or pull the plug and go full time! You can always get a post office box somewhere to declare your residence.

Each area I visit has it's pluses and minuses - there will be no "perfect" location. Ely, NV, for example has world class soaring, but it lasts for only 6-8 weeks and it IS remote! So once it dies off go somewhere else.

I don't know anything about your personal situation, but there are some smaller diesel RVs that get excellent fuel mileage and are comfortable for 2 people.

Tom

On Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 2:41:00 PM UTC-7, Matt Herron Jr. wrote:
Looking for new Ideas for places to retire. The usual considerations apply; cost of living, health care, weather, and available soaring. Doesn't have to be the US. near water would be nice. I own a Ventus C.

Anyone live in/near Grass Valley, CA? 1 hr from Truckee and Sacramento, 1.5 hrs from Williams, 2.5 hrs from Bay area.

Thanks for any suggestions

Matt

Going international multiplies the difficulty exponentially. Just getting your glider into country permanently will involve much difficulty and you could end up doubling its cost in duties. Health care will be a huge issue. You will also have to deal with the issues of permanent residency.

I sold my DG400 to a person in Brazil and was amazed at all of the bureaucratic hoops that had to be jumped thru. For example, the bill of sale had to be notarized (requiring me to create a form that the notary would sign), the notary had to be authenticated by the State, then the entire document had to be legalized by the Brazilian consulate. The whole document package was then sent air mail to Brazil. At any point, the documents could have been lost in the mail, necessitating starting all over again.

Oh, did I mention that ALL running gear, including tongue, jacks and running lights, had to be removed from the trailer and discarded (and replaced in Brazil)!

Tom

Tom / 2G wrote:

"Going international multiplies the difficulty exponentially. Just getting your glider into country permanently will involve much difficulty and you could end up doubling its cost in duties. Health care will be a huge issue."

Hmmmm.....so you had a hard time in one single country so you're now writing off the rest of the world? The United Nations has 193 member states. Your experience WILL vary.

Let's take Australia for example. Despite the distance, shipping your glider there will cost $4.8-6k depending on chosen port and method (container vs RoRo). If you've owned it more than 6 months the tax is NIL. Duties NIL. In fact, tax on any aircraft with not more than one engine for a new immigrant or permanently returning resident is NIL so bring your SR22 too.

The big issue with healthcare is its free gosh darn it. Sorry about that. You don't have to auction your first born child to pay medical bills nor bleed out in the corner of the emergency room because you don't have insurance. In the interests of full disclosure, if you're working you'll pay a 2-3.5% healthcare levy on your taxable income and naturally, the waiting periods for govt provided care are longer than private. As this thread is about retirement, those charges are unlikely to apply.

Ok, that's Brazil and Australia sorted. Only 191 more countries to go....

Casey
B3

On Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 6:44:25 PM UTC-7, wrote:
Tom / 2G wrote:

"Going international multiplies the difficulty exponentially. Just getting your glider into country permanently will involve much difficulty and you could end up doubling its cost in duties. Health care will be a huge issue.."

Hmmmm.....so you had a hard time in one single country so you're now writing off the rest of the world? The United Nations has 193 member states. Your experience WILL vary.

Let's take Australia for example. Despite the distance, shipping your glider there will cost $4.8-6k depending on chosen port and method (container vs RoRo). If you've owned it more than 6 months the tax is NIL. Duties NIL. In fact, tax on any aircraft with not more than one engine for a new immigrant or permanently returning resident is NIL so bring your SR22 too.

The big issue with healthcare is its free gosh darn it. Sorry about that.. You don't have to auction your first born child to pay medical bills nor bleed out in the corner of the emergency room because you don't have insurance. In the interests of full disclosure, if you're working you'll pay a 2-3.5% healthcare levy on your taxable income and naturally, the waiting periods for govt provided care are longer than private. As this thread is about retirement, those charges are unlikely to apply.

Ok, that's Brazil and Australia sorted. Only 191 more countries to go....

Casey
B3

How many countries have YOU exported gliders to?! Duties are real, and they MUST BE PAID! I DID NOT say "don't do it", just BE AWARE of what you are getting yourself into. Why don't you come up with ACTUAL experience of exporting gliders instead of criticizing me?

A suggestion:

Sell your glider before emigrating and buy another after immigrating.
You'll likely come up with a newer ship in the bargain.

On 2/21/2015 9:15 PM, 2G wrote:
On Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 6:44:25 PM UTC-7, wrote:
Tom / 2G wrote:

"Going international multiplies the difficulty exponentially. Just getting your glider into country permanently will involve much difficulty and you could end up doubling its cost in duties. Health care will be a huge issue."

Hmmmm.....so you had a hard time in one single country so you're now writing off the rest of the world? The United Nations has 193 member states. Your experience WILL vary.

Let's take Australia for example. Despite the distance, shipping your glider there will cost $4.8-6k depending on chosen port and method (container vs RoRo). If you've owned it more than 6 months the tax is NIL. Duties NIL. In fact, tax on any aircraft with not more than one engine for a new immigrant or permanently returning resident is NIL so bring your SR22 too.

The big issue with healthcare is its free gosh darn it. Sorry about that. You don't have to auction your first born child to pay medical bills nor bleed out in the corner of the emergency room because you don't have insurance. In the interests of full disclosure, if you're working you'll pay a 2-3.5% healthcare levy on your taxable income and naturally, the waiting periods for govt provided care are longer than private. As this thread is about retirement, those charges are unlikely to apply.

Ok, that's Brazil and Australia sorted. Only 191 more countries to go....

Casey
B3
How many countries have YOU exported gliders to?! Duties are real, and they MUST BE PAID! I DID NOT say "don't do it", just BE AWARE of what you are getting yourself into. Why don't you come up with ACTUAL experience of exporting gliders instead of criticizing me?

--
Dan Marotta

On Sunday, February 22, 2015 at 8:55:36 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
A suggestion:



Sell your glider before emigrating and buy another after
immigrating.* You'll likely come up with a newer ship in the
bargain.




On 2/21/2015 9:15 PM, 2G wrote:



On Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 6:44:25 PM UTC-7, wrote:


Tom / 2G wrote:

"Going international multiplies the difficulty exponentially. Just getting your glider into country permanently will involve much difficulty and you could end up doubling its cost in duties. Health care will be a huge issue.."

Hmmmm.....so you had a hard time in one single country so you're now writing off the rest of the world? The United Nations has 193 member states. Your experience WILL vary.

Let's take Australia for example. Despite the distance, shipping your glider there will cost $4.8-6k depending on chosen port and method (container vs RoRo). If you've owned it more than 6 months the tax is NIL. Duties NIL. In fact, tax on any aircraft with not more than one engine for a new immigrant or permanently returning resident is NIL so bring your SR22 too.

The big issue with healthcare is its free gosh darn it. Sorry about that.. You don't have to auction your first born child to pay medical bills nor bleed out in the corner of the emergency room because you don't have insurance. In the interests of full disclosure, if you're working you'll pay a 2-3.5% healthcare levy on your taxable income and naturally, the waiting periods for govt provided care are longer than private. As this thread is about retirement, those charges are unlikely to apply.

Ok, that's Brazil and Australia sorted. Only 191 more countries to go....

Casey
B3


How many countries have YOU exported gliders to?! Duties are real, and they MUST BE PAID! I DID NOT say "don't do it", just BE AWARE of what you are getting yourself into. Why don't you come up with ACTUAL experience of exporting gliders instead of criticizing me?





--

Dan Marotta

I think you had better do it the other way around: buy the glider first, then immigrate. You may find the available inventory not much to your liking. I like to know what I am jumping into before I actually jump.

Matt, I have flown all the major soaring sites in the West for over 40 years and it is my considered opinion that you can't beat the Sierras in the summer, July being the best. Air Sailing Sports Regional Championships has been the most consistently GOOD flying I have seen, year after year with speeds in the 80's or higher and 3 hour average tasking. See you there and anyone else who would like to experience the Sierras at its best!
JJ

On Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 6:25:08 PM UTC-8, JJ Sinclair wrote:
Matt, I have flown all the major soaring sites in the West for over 40 years and it is my considered opinion that you can't beat the Sierras in the summer, July being the best. Air Sailing Sports Regional Championships has been the most consistently GOOD flying I have seen, year after year with speeds in the 80's or higher and 3 hour average tasking. See you there and anyone else who would like to experience the Sierras at its best!
JJ

Indeed cant beat the sierras (actually the great basin) in the summer.
I am still trying to figure where one can live to have access to consistent great soaring conditions *year around* within few hours drive at most. This is where I would like to retire. Does such a place exist?

Ramy

On Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 2:47:21 PM UTC-8, Ramy wrote:
On Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 6:25:08 PM UTC-8, JJ Sinclair wrote:
Matt, I have flown all the major soaring sites in the West for over 40 years and it is my considered opinion that you can't beat the Sierras in the summer, July being the best. Air Sailing Sports Regional Championships has been the most consistently GOOD flying I have seen, year after year with speeds in the 80's or higher and 3 hour average tasking. See you there and anyone else who would like to experience the Sierras at its best!
JJ

Indeed cant beat the sierras (actually the great basin) in the summer.
I am still trying to figure where one can live to have access to consistent great soaring conditions *year around* within few hours drive at most. This is where I would like to retire. Does such a place exist?

Ramy

I flew for years out of a San Diego area glider port "Warner Springs". Good people, reasonable conditions year around. Flew some long flights in the summer, but usually moved to the sierras for the summer season. Winter flying has weak thermals but have still done 200 miles without ever getting higher than 1,500 agl. Plus San Diego is a great place to be when not flying. I like the idea of France though, will have to think much more about that. Already bought copy of Rosetta Stone!

It appears that the soaring season has already begun in Southern France! We've had 3 good days in a row for February, with each day producing 200+km tasks. And Tuesday is forecast to be a wave day.

Jonathan,

To answer you earlier question about learning French, I had no language training until I decided to move here. A few years before moving, I started taking private lessons. During the last 12 months before the move, the lessons became more intensive. When I arrived in France, I had what I'd call an intermediate level of French knowledge, but it was immediately clear that I could barely hear it or speak it. 18 months later I was accepted as fluent, although as I'm not a native speaker, I'll never stop learning or improving my French. Rosetta Stone is a great tool for getting ready for a vacation. Becoming fluent will require immersion.

It sounds like you've already been bitten by the francophile bug! Perhaps an Alpine soaring vacation sold to your other half as a vacation on the French Riviera might be a possibility! Send me an email so we don't annoy the others with this French stuff.

Chris

c (dot) j (dot) fleming (at) hotmail (dot) com