My ideal place varies. In the United States, it would be Portland, Oregon. Decent climate, beautiful scenery, and just a couple of hours from the ocean.
In Europe, I'd love to live in Greece or Italy, no specific place, but definitely closer to the coast for those beautiful crystalline waters.
As much as I love visiting Japan, probably Hawaii. I love the ocean and it is far too dry where I live now. I hear the cost of living there is better than where I'm currently at too.
Choosing a whole new country to live in would be difficult. Each one has its own set of cultures and such, and all of them have their share of beautiful landscapes. Some places straight up look like they don't belong in the same dimension as us.
That said, I've always dreamed of visiting France, Italy, or Russia. If it were at all possible for me to live in those countries completely carefree, with nothing to fret about, I'd probably choose one of them!
I just got back from a trip to Spain and could see myself living there. Madrid is such a beautiful city! However, the beach person deep down tells me Marbella.
I would have hard time picking somewhere else to live stateside. Chicago for a big city, but Destin, FL for the beach?? Such a tough choice.
Maybe I would go to Portugal or to Australia.
I say because they are two countries that give a lot of support to my area of study (biology) and countries with great chances to have a solid career beyond the cultural part that is absurdly incredible