After all your hard work, you definitely want to retire in place where you can relax and live your life to the fullest. Some dream of retiring near the beach, up in the mountains, or in a secluded town far from busy city streets.

Norway is still the best country in the world to live in according to the annual Human Development Report produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Norway is a long, narrow country situated in the Northwestern edge of Europe. About a third of Norway is located above the Arctic Circle and has been named the land of the Midnight Sun. Due to its location, Norway has been called the "Land of the Midnight Sun" - yes the sun shines 24 hours a day in the summer. Oslo, Norway’s capital and largest city, is in the southern part of the country.

Norway, along with Denmark and Sweden, is one of the Scandinavian countries. It is the world’s third largest oil exporter and western Europe’s largest gas producer. It has been saving oil revenues in a fund worth around $190 billion for future generations.

Ever since Vikings left home waters in the ninth century, Norway has drawn strength from the sea. Its merchant and oil tanker fleets are currently considered as the world's largest, at the same time landing the biggest fishing catches in Western Europe.

Wealth from oil and gas in the North Sea, first tapped in the early 1970s, subsidizes public health and welfare programs

Norway is mostly a high, mountainous plateau covered by bare rock, and it has a relatively small amount of farmland. But the rivers that rush down from the mountains provide much cheap electricity. Norway generates more hydroelectric power per person than any other country. Norwegian manufacturing is based on this cheap power. Important products of Norway include chemicals, metals, petroleum, processed foods, and wood pulp and paper. Norway is one of Europes largest producer of petroleum due to its massive oil reserves. Which has made Norwegians one of the richest people in the world.

The climate of Norway is much milder than that of most other regions as far north, especially along the country’s west coast.

Outdoor sports are an important part of Norwegian life. You only need to walk a short distance to reach the many and varied recreation areas. Skiing, Norway´s national sport, may have started there thousands of years ago as a means of crossing the snowcovered land. You'll find a ski jump in almost every town. The second most popular winter activity is ice-skating. Norwegians also have long enjoyed bandy, a form of hockey played by 11-player teams on large rinks.

Soccer is the favourite summer sport. Norway’s forests and mountains provide many other recreational opportunities.

Norwegians have contributed much to the development of the arts. Henrik lbsen’s realistic plays of the late 1800’s brought him worldwide fame as the father of modern drama. Three Norwegian writers have won the Nobel Prize for literature. The painter Edvard Munch was a strong influence on the expressionist art style of the early 1900's. Statues by Gustav Vigeland, perhaps Norway’s greatest sculptor, stand in Oslo’s Frogner Park. Edvard Grieg, Norway’s bestknown composer, used melodies from folk songs and dances in his orchestral works.

Norway enjoys both a relatively low crime rate and has so far remained free of terrorist attacks.Norway provides retirement, disability and survivors benefits. If you have Social Security credits in both the United States and Norway, you may be eligible for benefits from one or both countries.

In addition, Norwegian Social Security taxes cover several other programs including unemployment and work accident insurance and certain benefits for single mothers.

Those are just a few reasons why Norway is not just one of the best places to retire but also one of the cheap places to retire in the world.

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Death Valley is not your typical American National Park.  It’s a region of extremes… extreme temperatures… extreme geology… extreme history… extreme scenery. Death Valley could be considered a rebel amongst Americas National Parks and caters to those who are looking for an escape from the ordinary, and a refuge from cold in winter.

Death Valley comes alive in autumn and winter months when the rest of the country is shivering under the icy chill of winter and a blanket of snow. Death Valley beckons ‘snow-birds’ from across the upper latitudes of north America with her dry desert climate and her persuasively mild temperatures.

Death Valley National Park is a large park, covering more than 3 million acres, roughly 1 1/2 times the size of Delaware.  It is also a region of uncompromising beauty and scenic wonder all it’s own.

Visitors flock to Death Valley throughout the year, but even more so in the winter months, and recreational sports such as hiking, mountain biking and riding horseback are all popular activities inside the park. 

Death Valley provides habitat to more than 56 kinds of mammal, 36 species of reptile, several sorts of amphibians and fish species, and more than 400 unique species of birds have been spotted within the park.

Some of the variations of mammals include bighorn sheep, foxes, coyotes, squirrels, rodents, jackrabbits, bats and more.  All kinds of beautiful and interesting reptiles can be found here  such as the Chuckwalla, the second largest lizard found inside the United States. This interesting creature likes to hang out near rocky areas and will squeeze into rocky crevices and inflate itself when it feels threatened.  Another interesting reptile is the desert horned lizard a moderately sized lizard with pointed scales that protrude from it’s head and body in the shape of horns.  Only the ‘horns’ on it’s head are rigid, the rest of the horn-like scales are soft and feel more like normal reptile skin.  One interesting thing about the horned lizard is it’s ability to shoot a stream of blood from the corner of it’s eyes when it is threatened by a predator.  This creates a distraction and allows the lizard an opportunity to escape.

There are more than a half-dozen ghost towns in Death Valley.   These colorful relics from Death Valley’s past were mostly mining towns that sprung up in the late 1800’s to mid 1900 when gold, silver and copper ore was found in the area. One of the most interesting of these ghost towns is the town of Panamint City.  This little town was short lived, but made up for it’s short life through its audacious reputation.  Panamint City was founded by two outlaws who were hiding-out from the law.  During their hiatus in the Panamint Mountains, these two lucky outlaws discovered silver in Surprise Canyon and subsequently decided to give up their life of crime for a more domestic lifestyle.  During it’s time, Panamint City was considered one of the toughest, rawest, most hard-boiled little hell-hole that ever passed for a civilized town.  However the fast life of Panamint City led to an early demise, as the city went from the height of it’s boom in 1874 to utter destruction from a flash flood just two years later in 1876.

To learn more about Death Valley lodging, activities and tourist attractions, visit NationalParkReservations.com/deathvalley.htm  There you will find a complete listing of lodging options both inside the park as well as near the parks perimeter.  You can also learn more about Death Valley’s many ghost towns and other tourist attractions at the National Park Reservations site.

If you would be interested in saving up to 85% off your vacation travels including lodging, tourist attractions and activities, car rentals, cruises, restaurants, entertainment and more, visit MOR Vacations Daily to learn about the Diamond Lifestyle Vacation Membership and discover how you can get paid to vacation!

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