Frank,
Paradise is not a location or such,
it is just what you feel at a specific place/in specific company/in a specific way of life/what you make out of given cicumstances.
all for your own,
in your specific way.
one's Paradise may be someone's hell and vice versa.
if there would exist somewhere that 'paradise location' on the planet
everybody would move there
and make it hell.
Paradise is not a location.
Paradise is You and what You make out of life.
like always great, straight on, grown by experience of observing surroundings and in the usual perfect way provoking(means mind opening) way given advice by Hillbilly.
the WEATHER,
ooh yeeah
that's a factor.
no skiing/no snowmobiles/no sunlight til 10PM on hot summer nights/no skating in the backyard on x-mas eve, i sometimes miss that stuff i've been used to when growing up somewhere else, but on the other hand i decided it has not to be part of 'Paradise'.
but hey,
the weather is here,
even sometimes i wish it where beautiful,
90% of the year it is just great and during the summer months i sure would not trade it with any southern or eastern coastline of the US.
Scott,
to me in your posting you do not sound like a blue eyed younggun with the wrong glasses on.
you wrote the woman is not the reason for the thinking about the move, that's a very good start.
just take the advice to date an other one on the next visit til you are really settled in a specific area and start to learn about the usual 'social life' stuff locally.
learn spanish to do so.
you sound like you have the financial backup to experience a new adventure,
so my advice is come over, rent a place and check it out.
don't buy property during the first 6 months of consecutive paradise living.
don't sell property/pension funds or such at home before 12 months of consecutive paradise living.
don't run a longer (love of my life) relationship with any of the first at least 10 'steady' girlfriends you have here, then you should got the point how to look for the right one. spanish skills improve a lot during that lifetime experience phase, at least it helped myself a lot to start to 'communicate', lol.
don't let 'her' move to your place before you are by above described experience 'sure' you found the right one.
welcome to 'Paradise'
Mike