If I had to live there right now? The UK. Many more opportunities than other islands.
Retiring or living occasionally would be Iceland, Faroe Islands, something along those lines.
Im obviously extremely biased but I would have to pick Madeira. Grew up there, I miss it a lot. It’s got a wonderful Mediterranean climate, maybe the most spectacular landscapes of any European island (or at least on par with the Scottish highlands), and fantastic cuisine including a bunch of fresh seafood. It’s safe, big enough to have all the basic services you need, and the only real downside (housing prices) is not an issue when you compare it to other places further up north.
I don’t like islands that feel like islands
Some island don’t feel like islands, like great Britain, or Sicily or Ireland, so I’d probably choose Sicily
In Estonia probably Saaremaa or Ruhnu
Other than that, probably some Norwegian island/Faroes
I am a sucker for northern nature and ocean
My dream would be to have a house with a victorian study with a fireplace and books everywhere like you see in films and be able to look outside at the ocean
It’s a toss up between Sardinia for the Throat singing or Sicily so I could do some Montalbano cosplay …but to be honest any Mediterranean island would be ok for me when I think about it.
If I can keep my job upgrading it to full remote Sardinia, somewhere near Olbia: big ass ospital, italian language, great food, even better beaches.
Creete and Sicily could be good too, but I don’t know a word of greek and public health in Sicily is bad.
I like big cities. If UK was in the EU, I’d probably go London (or even York!) But since it isn’t, maybe Dublin.
This is assuming we aren’t counting Sjælland as part of the “archipielago”. Because if we are, I’m totally choosing Copenhagen
Sankt Anna Skärgård , why, well I have friends and family near by and the place i stunning and as bonus no drunk tourist parting 24/7.
My heart wants to say Hvar, but my brain says Britain. I love London and I kinda wish I could try living there. Not that Hvar isn’t great, but it sounds much less practical.
I live in the European Archipelago off the coast of Africa. The Canary Islands are a great place to live.
Chrete.
When driving on a mountain road as a tourist 20 years ago, we stopped for some reason. The landscape smelled of thyme and other herbs, the insects were buzzing, goats were … whatever goats say in English, a stream made little happy noises.
If I could make a living, that would be the place of my dreams. So incredibly beautiful.
I already live on one of them… Sicily.
I like living here.It has its downsides of course, like everywhere, but overall it’s a good place to live.
I haven’t spent my whole life here.I travel a lot and I’ve also lived in 5 other countries, but I may well end up staying here now!
Anywhere where there isn’t a 6 month dark winter (i’m from a place where there is).
Madeira or one of the Canary Islands maybe. As I’m already cheating by using the political and not geographical Europe, why not Réunion?
Sark in the Channel Islands I’ll be able to live a completely car-free lifestyle but I’ll be ruled over by a couple of billionaires running the place like their personal fiefdom so it won’t feel like much of a culture shock
Malta is appealing in many ways, in terms of history, beauty and climate. Just wish that referendum it held.in the 1950s on it joining the UK has been approved, as I’d have loved the idea of retiring there while dealing with presumably only minimal bureaucracy.
Otherwise I do like a lot of things about the island I live on, just maybe not the climate quite so much
From GB to Cyprus.
Reason: history, climate, people, uk plugs, drive on the correct side of the road.
I love island but the problem about them is they don’t have a lot of accessebilities. Well I mean excluding UK or Ireland but those are full fledged countries not just an island that belongs to some country.
Really liked Santorini, Hvar and Madeira. Crete too but it was really big everywhere I wanted to go seemed to be like 2h away lol
“I wouldn’t wanna live anywhere other than in Yorkshire!, I was born here, Raised here, had my own children and grandchildren here, and I will die here. YORKSHIRE FOREVER!!! DEATH TO LONDON!!! DEATH TO LANCASTER!!!”
-Some gramps for york probably
Definitely these isles. I honestly just love living in Scotland it’s got everything I need. And England Wales and Ireland are all close and fun places to explore and go on holiday too when am on a budget
Sicily. Great nature, beautiful cities, can get *really* hot but I can build up a tolerance eventually. Especially the ancient Greek ruins are *chefs kiss*.
I have fond memories of Öland, Skye and Bornholm. I remeber Iona as beautiful but a bit small to live on. Sadly I ony drove through Mull but I suspect it’s quite pleasant.
From point of view of a tourist Britain as a whole felt very homely, and I quite pike their nature, culture and history.
Mallorca.
Its been my favourite place to holiday for the past 20 years. The place is beautiful, and has everything from nightlife to quaint little towns. I always feel at ease there, and always look forward to returning, its almost like I lived there in a previous life or something.
I’ll stay right where I am.
Copenhagen is a great place to live and lies on the Danish island Zealand
Well… Azores. No place like home after all.
And I’m constantly told I live in paradise, which sometimes does feel like it, at least for the small pleasures.
*All* of Greece is basically an “archipelago”. The peninsula has a long winding coastline, with lots of bays slicing into the peninsula, and peninsulas on peninsulas. My own region (Peloponnese) is technically not an island, but it basically is. A canal separates us from the rest of the peninsula, and you can only leave the region by bridges, boats, or airplane.
As for smaller landmasses like Kos; I couldn’t do one with a small population. Rhodes, Crete, Corfu, and Lesvos have big populations. Kos and Chios have sizeable populations too, so they’re not bad. Corfu is very close to the peninsula, which is what I would prefer. (I would also consider Hydra or Spetses for the same reason, but their populations are just too small). Kythira is close enough, and it’s very lovely. I need my road trips. Honestly, foreigners think that “island hopping” is romantic…ugh, no, you’re at sea for hours, just staring at vast expanses of sea. (There’s airplanes too, sure, but flights are fewer in the winter and you can’t bring your car). *Road trips* in the mountains are far more interesting.
Do small hamlet islands inbetween a river and a canal count?
I’d choose Maasband, so I don’t have to go so far away.
Iceland.
I absolutely love cold weather, the outdoors, and hiking. Iceland offers a lot in each of those departments and most other islands aside from Ireland have warmer weather so I wouldn’t like to live full-time in those places.
27 comments
If I had to live there right now? The UK. Many more opportunities than other islands.
Retiring or living occasionally would be Iceland, Faroe Islands, something along those lines.
Im obviously extremely biased but I would have to pick Madeira. Grew up there, I miss it a lot. It’s got a wonderful Mediterranean climate, maybe the most spectacular landscapes of any European island (or at least on par with the Scottish highlands), and fantastic cuisine including a bunch of fresh seafood. It’s safe, big enough to have all the basic services you need, and the only real downside (housing prices) is not an issue when you compare it to other places further up north.
I don’t like islands that feel like islands
Some island don’t feel like islands, like great Britain, or Sicily or Ireland, so I’d probably choose Sicily
In Estonia probably Saaremaa or Ruhnu
Other than that, probably some Norwegian island/Faroes
I am a sucker for northern nature and ocean
My dream would be to have a house with a victorian study with a fireplace and books everywhere like you see in films and be able to look outside at the ocean
It’s a toss up between Sardinia for the Throat singing or Sicily so I could do some Montalbano cosplay …but to be honest any Mediterranean island would be ok for me when I think about it.
If I can keep my job upgrading it to full remote Sardinia, somewhere near Olbia: big ass ospital, italian language, great food, even better beaches.
Creete and Sicily could be good too, but I don’t know a word of greek and public health in Sicily is bad.
I like big cities. If UK was in the EU, I’d probably go London (or even York!) But since it isn’t, maybe Dublin.
This is assuming we aren’t counting Sjælland as part of the “archipielago”. Because if we are, I’m totally choosing Copenhagen
Sankt Anna Skärgård , why, well I have friends and family near by and the place i stunning and as bonus no drunk tourist parting 24/7.
My heart wants to say Hvar, but my brain says Britain. I love London and I kinda wish I could try living there. Not that Hvar isn’t great, but it sounds much less practical.
I live in the European Archipelago off the coast of Africa. The Canary Islands are a great place to live.
Chrete.
When driving on a mountain road as a tourist 20 years ago, we stopped for some reason. The landscape smelled of thyme and other herbs, the insects were buzzing, goats were … whatever goats say in English, a stream made little happy noises.
If I could make a living, that would be the place of my dreams. So incredibly beautiful.
I already live on one of them… Sicily.
I like living here.It has its downsides of course, like everywhere, but overall it’s a good place to live.
I haven’t spent my whole life here.I travel a lot and I’ve also lived in 5 other countries, but I may well end up staying here now!
Anywhere where there isn’t a 6 month dark winter (i’m from a place where there is).
Madeira or one of the Canary Islands maybe. As I’m already cheating by using the political and not geographical Europe, why not Réunion?
Sark in the Channel Islands I’ll be able to live a completely car-free lifestyle but I’ll be ruled over by a couple of billionaires running the place like their personal fiefdom so it won’t feel like much of a culture shock
Malta is appealing in many ways, in terms of history, beauty and climate. Just wish that referendum it held.in the 1950s on it joining the UK has been approved, as I’d have loved the idea of retiring there while dealing with presumably only minimal bureaucracy.
Otherwise I do like a lot of things about the island I live on, just maybe not the climate quite so much
From GB to Cyprus.
Reason: history, climate, people, uk plugs, drive on the correct side of the road.
I love island but the problem about them is they don’t have a lot of accessebilities. Well I mean excluding UK or Ireland but those are full fledged countries not just an island that belongs to some country.
Really liked Santorini, Hvar and Madeira. Crete too but it was really big everywhere I wanted to go seemed to be like 2h away lol
“I wouldn’t wanna live anywhere other than in Yorkshire!, I was born here, Raised here, had my own children and grandchildren here, and I will die here. YORKSHIRE FOREVER!!! DEATH TO LONDON!!! DEATH TO LANCASTER!!!”
-Some gramps for york probably
Definitely these isles. I honestly just love living in Scotland it’s got everything I need. And England Wales and Ireland are all close and fun places to explore and go on holiday too when am on a budget
Sicily. Great nature, beautiful cities, can get *really* hot but I can build up a tolerance eventually. Especially the ancient Greek ruins are *chefs kiss*.
I have fond memories of Öland, Skye and Bornholm. I remeber Iona as beautiful but a bit small to live on. Sadly I ony drove through Mull but I suspect it’s quite pleasant.
From point of view of a tourist Britain as a whole felt very homely, and I quite pike their nature, culture and history.
Mallorca.
Its been my favourite place to holiday for the past 20 years. The place is beautiful, and has everything from nightlife to quaint little towns. I always feel at ease there, and always look forward to returning, its almost like I lived there in a previous life or something.
I’ll stay right where I am.
Copenhagen is a great place to live and lies on the Danish island Zealand
Well… Azores. No place like home after all.
And I’m constantly told I live in paradise, which sometimes does feel like it, at least for the small pleasures.
*All* of Greece is basically an “archipelago”. The peninsula has a long winding coastline, with lots of bays slicing into the peninsula, and peninsulas on peninsulas. My own region (Peloponnese) is technically not an island, but it basically is. A canal separates us from the rest of the peninsula, and you can only leave the region by bridges, boats, or airplane.
As for smaller landmasses like Kos; I couldn’t do one with a small population. Rhodes, Crete, Corfu, and Lesvos have big populations. Kos and Chios have sizeable populations too, so they’re not bad. Corfu is very close to the peninsula, which is what I would prefer. (I would also consider Hydra or Spetses for the same reason, but their populations are just too small). Kythira is close enough, and it’s very lovely. I need my road trips. Honestly, foreigners think that “island hopping” is romantic…ugh, no, you’re at sea for hours, just staring at vast expanses of sea. (There’s airplanes too, sure, but flights are fewer in the winter and you can’t bring your car). *Road trips* in the mountains are far more interesting.
Do small hamlet islands inbetween a river and a canal count?
I’d choose Maasband, so I don’t have to go so far away.
Iceland.
I absolutely love cold weather, the outdoors, and hiking. Iceland offers a lot in each of those departments and most other islands aside from Ireland have warmer weather so I wouldn’t like to live full-time in those places.