I did a little internet research on Aruba and it does look very nice indeed. We went around the Caribbean last year and really liked curacao which I would imagine is very similar (having the dutch influence). Out of all the places we went we really liked Mexico the best. The Mexicans we found were hillareous.We went swimming at the little beach at tulum and had one of those glad to be alive moments! On a previous thread synthia had mentioned Isla Muerjes off cancun. I have found a nice hostel on the internet there and very much fancy a visit for a month.
So in my search for the perfect place to retire so far Mexico looks good, India and I am determined to get to a Pacific island. I havent given up on india despite recent worries about safety. We had kerala suggested as being inexpensive and english speaking and it was one of the places we wanted to go to from Goa.
We are going around the Baltic countries on a princess cruise next month so it will be interesting to see Norway which keeps getting voted as the best place to live in the world but hugely expensive. After that we are going to Toronto for a two weeks to see the Niagara falls and the Rockies. Then in November Hopefully the house is getting rented and off we go in search of that perfect place to retire. Keep the suggestions coming people.