As many Europeans do me and my husband were dreaming of tropical paradise to spend the winters when it’s cold grey and miserable in England. We did quite a thorough research, travel to a lot of tropical and sub-tropical countries over the years.

Well, in a gist:

Mediterranean countries:

expensive and too hot in the summer, not hot enough in the winter. What is the point? We have good summers in England too!

So we went West.

Caribbean Islands:

Very expensive, nothing to do except beaches and…watching the sugar cane grow (?)… Hurricanes.

Central America: colorful, but too far from UK…

Mexico: in some parts dangerous, in others – too tacky

Belize – nearly bought a house on the most perfect white beach on Ambergris island… but decided against it on the grounds of remoteness and high cost of living

Then we went East.

Seychelles: long and expensive travel, only sand for entertainment and culture…

Thailand: good value, but too commercialized, touristy

Bali: overdone, crowded and expensive now, miss the chance by 15 years

India: found Kerala beautiful and even considered some parts of Goa but extremes of poverty, widely spread serious diseases and high criminality put us off

Next we visited Sri Lanka and had Paul Gauguin moment: we were happy to stay forever…

What is not to like?

Fisheman’s boat at Bentota beach

• climate – best in the world with temperatures 28-31 all year around
• world class beaches
• rich cultural heritage
• amazing bio-diversity
• traditional cuisine is one of the healthiest in the world
• peaceful religion and national character
• deep health maintenance tradition (aurveda, yoga)
• sophisticated school of architecture and design
• wide range of sport activities
• low cost of living
• geography of the island: perfect size, proximity to England and Europe/gateway to China and India

I can go on…

Giant Budda Sculpture in the cave temple near Dambulla

But above all we sow the opportunities for business and making money!

Sri Lanka has one the cheapest labor costs in the world, as well as low cost building materials. Tourism is on the increase – hence huge property and building boom.

We immediately sow a chance for ourselves to tap into it. Now we are buying and selling property and developing some of our own investments. I am also having fun with interior and furniture design, landscaping and restaurants for our projects.

Here Sri Lankan chapter in our life begins and promises to be very exciting!