SE Asia, especially Thailand for the low cost of living, culture factor, sun, beaches, scenery, etc.. Having your base in BKK makes it so easy and cheap to radiate to the other nearby countries. I like Vietnam because I enjoy visiting friends there, the scenery and hospitality of the people, but I agree that I am sometimes uncomfortable due to the Chinese influence and I tend not to relax like I would in Thailand or Malaysia. This being said, I also enjoy Hong Kong as my base for East Asia and while finding affordable housing can be a challenge, there are many other things that make life there very enjoyable, and relaxing especially if you can rent a bungalow in one of the outlying islands. In Europe, I find Spain to be the best place to live, with a fun and sun factor that is hard to beat. All in all, a couple can live the good life in places like Barcelona for under $1000 a month, much less in Murcia or Valencia, plus it is cheap to travel to nearby countries as well.