The word “vacation” tends to conjure up images of white sand beaches, sun, drinks served in coconut shells and perhaps some palm trees. As happens to be the case, most of the places that “fit the bill” are in tropical countries. But traveling somewhere as a tourist and actually living there are two very different things.
Netizens who live or have lived in tropical climates were asked to share the realities of “living in paradise” and they did not hold back. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to add your own thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
#1
The thing your really need in places like Costa Rica- **a dry room** that treats the air to reduce humidity. That i s where you have to keep books and important papers. The salt air destroys everything metal and electronics have to be keep in a dry place as well.
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36points
#2
Honestly - i don’t mind the heat, humidity, bugs, giant k****r reptiles, k****r fish, k****r storms….its the tourists that make me unhappy.
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36points
#3
My spouse, who grew up in a developing, tropical nation, told me once, "sure, everybody is poor, but nobody goes hungry. There's food everywhere.".
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35points
#4
Used to live in Taiwan as a kid, and we often travel to the south where it's tropical.
Spiderwebs and spiders the size of nobody's business. You cannot walk into a cool area without almost walking into one. And these are like the colorful, "come at me bro" spiders that can run at you at ungodly speeds.
Doesn't matter if you have like 3 layers on and 16 puffs of DEET, the only way you won't get bit by a mosquito is if your traveling partner is tastier.
And this is especially if you're actually living in tropical areas, but there's always a smell. Because it's so hot, there's always something somewhere rotting and the hot winds just spreads it everywhere. If you're lucky, the smell is masked by spices and good food, but more often than not it's like... the local polluted river or the nearest garbage bin .
Spiderwebs and spiders the size of nobody's business. You cannot walk into a cool area without almost walking into one. And these are like the colorful, "come at me bro" spiders that can run at you at ungodly speeds.
Doesn't matter if you have like 3 layers on and 16 puffs of DEET, the only way you won't get bit by a mosquito is if your traveling partner is tastier.
And this is especially if you're actually living in tropical areas, but there's always a smell. Because it's so hot, there's always something somewhere rotting and the hot winds just spreads it everywhere. If you're lucky, the smell is masked by spices and good food, but more often than not it's like... the local polluted river or the nearest garbage bin .
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33points
#5
I live in the Caribbean… every day supplies are expensive as s**t. About a 500m walk from a beach view like this though… so meh.
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33points
#6
Don’t live directly, but I do spend a more than average time on a South Pacific Island.
A few things.
- Colonialism still has a huge mark. There are “expats” who own most of the businesses and the accommodations which take up about 2-3% of the island, but most of the places and otherwise are staffed by foreigners and Unemployment is north of 7.5%
- there is a lot of self sufficiency on the island. Work there is less important because there is not insistent rush to get things done *right now*
- there is a lot less interest in “becoming rich.” Life is very family and community based and when someone on the island is in trouble, then work *gets done* quickly.
- stuff from off-island is incredibly expensive. On island food is cheap as chips.
- Infrastructure is basic and not very developed. But they do had high speed internet over the last 3 years.
In short, mature/late-stage Capitalism hasn’t hit and I think the island is better for it.
It’s reminds me that the world doesn’t have to be like it currently is.
A few things.
- Colonialism still has a huge mark. There are “expats” who own most of the businesses and the accommodations which take up about 2-3% of the island, but most of the places and otherwise are staffed by foreigners and Unemployment is north of 7.5%
- there is a lot of self sufficiency on the island. Work there is less important because there is not insistent rush to get things done *right now*
- there is a lot less interest in “becoming rich.” Life is very family and community based and when someone on the island is in trouble, then work *gets done* quickly.
- stuff from off-island is incredibly expensive. On island food is cheap as chips.
- Infrastructure is basic and not very developed. But they do had high speed internet over the last 3 years.
In short, mature/late-stage Capitalism hasn’t hit and I think the island is better for it.
It’s reminds me that the world doesn’t have to be like it currently is.
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29points
#7
Hawaii is pretty dreamy in all honesty. I lived on a family members back patio for 6 months. The weather was warm but never hot. The rain was consistent but predictable. The real drawbacks were
1) bugs like you're in the Amazon. BIG stuff. Centipedes, cockroaches, you name it.
2) humidity and saltiness will infiltrate everything. Vehicles rust out in years not decades. Mold is everywhere. Nothing is dry.
3) hobos. Turns out Hawaii is the ideal place to be homeless. Free outdoor showers and fresh water from the beach bathrooms everywhere. Fruit grows rampant like weeds. Perfect temps year round.
4) isolation. You live on a small island. If it's not already there, you're not getting it. Visiting family off-island starts at $2k for the trip. Shortest flight to any where is 7 hours.
5) everything that's not local is expensive.
6) trash management is hard on an island.
1) bugs like you're in the Amazon. BIG stuff. Centipedes, cockroaches, you name it.
2) humidity and saltiness will infiltrate everything. Vehicles rust out in years not decades. Mold is everywhere. Nothing is dry.
3) hobos. Turns out Hawaii is the ideal place to be homeless. Free outdoor showers and fresh water from the beach bathrooms everywhere. Fruit grows rampant like weeds. Perfect temps year round.
4) isolation. You live on a small island. If it's not already there, you're not getting it. Visiting family off-island starts at $2k for the trip. Shortest flight to any where is 7 hours.
5) everything that's not local is expensive.
6) trash management is hard on an island.
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28points
#8
As someone living in Brazil, the reality isn't always as "sunny" as it seems. One of the biggest challenges is humidity, it can be unbearable, especially in the summer. Because of that, it's common to take three or more showers a day just to feel somewhat clean and refreshed. Walking outside at 12:00 is almost impossible, especially on foot, because the sun is so strong it feels like it's burning your skin. This intense heat makes biking and outdoor sports during the day extremely uncomfortable or even dangerous due to the risk of heat exhaustion.
Then come the insects, which are a constant nightmare. Mosquitoes and black flies (borrachudos) are particularly relentless. In the summer, they make it hard to enjoy any time outside (and inside the house), especially in areas near water or forests, you must always keep the fan on to drive them away or have an electric racket to k**l them. Not only are they annoying, but they also carry diseases like dengue and chikungunya, which are serious public health problems here. Honestly, the only times we get a break are during the winter months or when it rains heavily.
There are also other issues. For example, electricity bills skyrocket in the summer because air conditioning becomes essential, especially in urban areas, and not everyone can afford it, which makes the heat even more unbearable. Flooding during the rainy season is another problem.
So yes, the tropical dream has its beautiful beaches and sunshine, but it also comes with a lot of daily struggles.
Then come the insects, which are a constant nightmare. Mosquitoes and black flies (borrachudos) are particularly relentless. In the summer, they make it hard to enjoy any time outside (and inside the house), especially in areas near water or forests, you must always keep the fan on to drive them away or have an electric racket to k**l them. Not only are they annoying, but they also carry diseases like dengue and chikungunya, which are serious public health problems here. Honestly, the only times we get a break are during the winter months or when it rains heavily.
There are also other issues. For example, electricity bills skyrocket in the summer because air conditioning becomes essential, especially in urban areas, and not everyone can afford it, which makes the heat even more unbearable. Flooding during the rainy season is another problem.
So yes, the tropical dream has its beautiful beaches and sunshine, but it also comes with a lot of daily struggles.
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27points
#9
Sand!. It's course, it's rough, it's irritating, and it gets everywhere.
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27points
#10
Sweat, mold on your shoes, and mosquitoes that treat bug spray like seasoning.
24points
#11
I'm in Mauritius. All imported goods are relatively expensive and may be out of stock on occasion. Right now, there are quite a few medicines unavailable, and for several weeks we couldn't get sour cream at all and tomatoes were three times the normal price. Last year, it was onions. You get used to it though.
Because of customs, buying from Temu is always a risk, so there is a lot less choice available compared with other countries.
As a small, tropical island water is often in short supply and we've been following the rainfall statistics across the island and the reservoir levels, as we haven't had a cyclone in 2025 to fill them up. Fortunately, we've had an unexpectedly wet May, which means that we're probably good for the year and we can again wash cars, water gardens and crops. Tourists complain about the rain while we've been hugely happy about it. Now we go into a long, dry season, but who knows what next year will bring.
Because of customs, buying from Temu is always a risk, so there is a lot less choice available compared with other countries.
As a small, tropical island water is often in short supply and we've been following the rainfall statistics across the island and the reservoir levels, as we haven't had a cyclone in 2025 to fill them up. Fortunately, we've had an unexpectedly wet May, which means that we're probably good for the year and we can again wash cars, water gardens and crops. Tourists complain about the rain while we've been hugely happy about it. Now we go into a long, dry season, but who knows what next year will bring.
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23points
#12
If island, high price package delivery, hurricane season, high grocery prices, flood/high tide damage.
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21points
#13
Cons:
1. Everything gets mold and mildew. Washed a shirt but didnt wear it for week? Already smells like mold. Those books and board games you brought from the states? Decomposing
2. Bugs everywhere. House gets cleaned out by army ant patrols, giant cockroaches, scorpions, bullet ants, everything.
3. Non-local food is extremely expensive. Get used to not eating meals you grew up with. Also anything not made locally is expensive. Need a car? A beat up car from 1995 is $12K USD. Need child locks for your cabinets? They dont exist, or they cost $50.
Pros:
You live in tropical paradise, swim everyday in what looks like a filming location for Pirates of the Caribbean, all your friends are people who have chosen to live in a remote tropical beach town, so everyone you know is interesting, food grows all around you, eat literally hundreds of fruits you didnt even know existed before, get an amazing sleep rythm because the sun sets every single day all year at 5:30.
1. Everything gets mold and mildew. Washed a shirt but didnt wear it for week? Already smells like mold. Those books and board games you brought from the states? Decomposing
2. Bugs everywhere. House gets cleaned out by army ant patrols, giant cockroaches, scorpions, bullet ants, everything.
3. Non-local food is extremely expensive. Get used to not eating meals you grew up with. Also anything not made locally is expensive. Need a car? A beat up car from 1995 is $12K USD. Need child locks for your cabinets? They dont exist, or they cost $50.
Pros:
You live in tropical paradise, swim everyday in what looks like a filming location for Pirates of the Caribbean, all your friends are people who have chosen to live in a remote tropical beach town, so everyone you know is interesting, food grows all around you, eat literally hundreds of fruits you didnt even know existed before, get an amazing sleep rythm because the sun sets every single day all year at 5:30.
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21points
#14
I worked in Fiji for year. It’s f*****g hot. Every. Day. And the humidity means everything organic goes mouldy. Mosquitoes. There is a permanent trickle of sweat down your back. Did I mention the mosquitoes? Spiders. BIG F*****G SPIDERS. Snakes. Lots of f*****g snakes. Mongooses which are cute, which eat the snakes, and then you realise your garden is full of snakes. Hurricanes. No creature comforts like chocolate. In fact no proper dairy at all. Everything imported is ridiculously expensive. Did I mention the three different types of mosquitoes? One carries dengue. One carries some sort of elephantiasis. One just hurts. Power cuts. The internet was really slow because it was in the middle of nowhere. There’s no proper medical facilities. My team member died three weeks after I arrived due to spinal cancer. There was no treatment on the island and her employer didn’t want to pay for her to go to Australia for treatment. So she just died.
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21points
#15
In Hilo, we had these huge a*s purple centipedes that would always find a way in the house. Rats in our attic that were the size of small dogs. We had our car sit for a week while we went back to the mainland for Christmas and when we got back all the seats had mold on them.
Also, yard work. It was constant. If you let the yard grow for three days you were up to your knees in grass and bushes.
Also, yard work. It was constant. If you let the yard grow for three days you were up to your knees in grass and bushes.
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19points
#16
Mold, rot, things like flesh eating bacteria and staph being more common. also, such places seem to attract grifters and con artists, i assume because they are drawn to easy living.
small price to pay imo for living in beauty, imo at least.
small price to pay imo for living in beauty, imo at least.
17points
#17
As an American desert native, I was pretty accustomed to transplants complaining how Arizona has “no seasons”. I always thought this was absurd.
When I lived in Hawai’i, however, I discovered just that.
There is a wet season and a dry season. Both seasons are wet in contrast to the desert, but the wet season notably wetter. Summer (dry season) is a little warmer.
But in general? Sunny every day. Rain showers in the mountains and foothills in the late afternoon. Rainbows.
It’s idyllic… but when every day is like that, and unlike in the desert there’s little diurnal fluctuation (night and day are both warm, very little temp difference)… time just sort of stops.
You could go to the beach today. But if you don’t? That’s fine. it’ll be the same tomorrow. Or the mountains. Or on a walk.
Everything is just always sort of the same so the impetus to get out is actually.. pretty low once you’re accustomed to that as normal. Time flies if you don’t have the inner ambition to make things happen, to make each day different.
Without having the contrast of unpleasant weather, the pleasantries of tropical island life become pretty dull as they’re just the backdrop to everyday living.
Just my haole perspective. .
When I lived in Hawai’i, however, I discovered just that.
There is a wet season and a dry season. Both seasons are wet in contrast to the desert, but the wet season notably wetter. Summer (dry season) is a little warmer.
But in general? Sunny every day. Rain showers in the mountains and foothills in the late afternoon. Rainbows.
It’s idyllic… but when every day is like that, and unlike in the desert there’s little diurnal fluctuation (night and day are both warm, very little temp difference)… time just sort of stops.
You could go to the beach today. But if you don’t? That’s fine. it’ll be the same tomorrow. Or the mountains. Or on a walk.
Everything is just always sort of the same so the impetus to get out is actually.. pretty low once you’re accustomed to that as normal. Time flies if you don’t have the inner ambition to make things happen, to make each day different.
Without having the contrast of unpleasant weather, the pleasantries of tropical island life become pretty dull as they’re just the backdrop to everyday living.
Just my haole perspective. .
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17points
#18
Maybe not a country, but I spent six years in south Florida and found it wasn’t for me. If you’re used to seasons, you start to lose track of the passage of time because every day and every month looks the same. Huge bugs everywhere all year round. Cute little geckos and lizards everywhere. Get ready to shower every day twice, wash your clothes constantly from all the sweat, and always be mildly uncomfortable and hammy even indoors because it gets so hot at times that AC can’t keep up.
Personally, I thought it sucked, but possibly that’s just the Gulf of Mexico climate. Maybe the pacific islands are better.
Another big revelation: in more “built up” areas (like Florida), many of the palm trees are imported or carefully landscaped.
Personally, I thought it sucked, but possibly that’s just the Gulf of Mexico climate. Maybe the pacific islands are better.
Another big revelation: in more “built up” areas (like Florida), many of the palm trees are imported or carefully landscaped.
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16points
#19
Pests, termites, storms and salt spray combine forces to make sure that stuff doesn't last, and/or requires way more upkeep costs and work than those of us on continents outside the tropics experience.
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16points
