“According to Wikipedia, the daily mean temperature in Portorož in January is 4.7°C and the average high temperature is 8.6°C…”
Have any of you considered Tiree, Scotland? Or Oban,? Or Kerry, Ireland? :-)
Frankly, within Europe to find something GA friendly and warm and nice is quite difficult if not impossible, save from the few places mentioned.
If GA was not a factor and it was a simple exercise to be away from the overcrowded northern and central Europe, I would probably choose the Canaries if I would like infrastructure close to what I am used to and benign weather or possibly a Greek island such as Crete, which is reasonably large, also has a good infrastructure and is sufficiently far away from the mainland to be quite independent. However, living in a place and being there temporarily is a very different story. So maybe the “snowbird” variant would be best: Live in the South from maybe November to May and back home over the summer.
As for the Canaries, from what I see when googling a bit, Lanzarote (GCRR) appears to be the best GA field for entry and depart, as it has a GAT with a few parkings which does not require handling. They also have AVGAS. If you have enough range not to need fuel stops outside the EU, El Berriel GCLB is the only “true” GA airport in the Canaries, but it is quite ideally located on the south of Gran Canaria. I understand that also the smaller islands airports can be used by GA however, there are no reports and apparently only Lanzarote, El Berriel and Teneriffe Norte (GCXO) have Avgas. With a Jet Prop or an airplane with similar range, the canaries should be reachable from the EU direct but it is a long flight over water. (700 NM from Faro or LPPM PORTIMAO, 750 NM from Gibraltar or Jerez over land via Morrocco). However, even a Mooney 201 has this range, with something like an Ovation or a Jet Prop one could plan even for Central Spain.
If I had the freedom to go to live where I wanted and would look at these criteria, I guess Florida would be my place of choice. Particularly the Naples area. But that is not Europe.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Florida would be my place of choice
Exactly what I was going to say 
Some photos here with more from Ibra. I spent 3 months a year in Florida for 10 years with regular vacations since and it quickly became home: I’m happier there than anywhere else. I’ve never worked there, but everything else has been cheap and easy (apart from the transatlantic flights).
Downsides:
Surprisingly bureaucratic
Post 9/11 the validity of the drivers license (for an alien) went from 5 years to 90 days, which means quarterly trips to the DMV.
Recently the FSDOs have dumped a lot of admin on DPEs which is a bit more hassle and cost.
Don’t go in the summer: 100% humidity and a thunderstorm every lunchtime.
This thread reminds me of this
https://www.aplaceinthesun.com/hot-properties/hot-pool-properties
Voting +1 for Florida on “GA retirement side” but yes I don’t want to be there in the summer
Mooney_Driver wrote:
the canaries should be reachable from the EU direct but it is a long flight over water
Untill terbang does it in a 252, I am not very convinced it’s doable in a SEP
Twice bonus points if skipping Spain & Morocco !
Ibra wrote:
Untill terbang does it in a 252, I am not very convinced it’s doable in a SEP
Terbang calls a local flight any flight < 1000nm
Ibra wrote:
Untill terbang does it in a 252, I am not very convinced it’s doable in a SEP
They did CYYT to LPHR! which is almost 1200nm so doing LPPT to GCTS should be a walk in the park… Does that get the bonus points for skipping Spain and Morocco? ;)
Mooney_Driver wrote:
I guess Florida would be my place of choice. Particularly the Naples area.
Thats another possible option, especially as my wife has family near Palm Beach in Florida. We have talked about the possibility of basing an aircraft in the US all or part time. Unlike Europe, there are GA friendly airports literally around every corner, all with hundreds and thousands of hangars. For example the photo above of Fort Lauderdale Executive, where I have rented a plane a couple of times. The first time I went there I almost wept. I swear there are more GA aircraft at this one Florida airport than in the whole of Europe. Everything from Piper Cubs to pretty big private jets. Just roll up, open the hanger, get the plane out and go for a flight. No “checking in” with anyone, no PPR, not even a tower! Several companies offering fuel via trucks at competitive prices.
On the other hand, it’s not like flying over the Alps to Venice, or popping over the France for lunch.
tmo wrote:
They did CYYT to LPHR! which is almost 1200nm so doing LPPT to GCTS should be a walk in the park… Does that get the bonus points for skipping Spain and Morocco? ;)
Sure that is a big one, but Perpignan-Essaouira while skipping Spain count as +1 bonus already, +2 for Perpignan-Canaries
https://www.euroga.org/forums/trips-airports/10205-morocco-december-2018#post_198489
On the other hand, it’s not like flying over the Alps to Venice, or popping over the France for lunch.
And once you’ve spent a couple days in Bimini, you understand why Hemingway’s alcohol problem aggravated…
