You can’t beat the Florida Keys for searing sunshine, azure skies and tropical verdure. Combine that with a truly energy efficient solar home and you’ll be doing more than beating away the winter blahs, you’ll be living as green as it gets. This three bedroom solar-powered dome house is located on No Name Key (seriously), an island approximately two miles square.

This is what $28 million U.S. gets you these days. What, are we kidding? No. It is what it is. Someone lived there and someone will live there. And look, all is possible in this life. You may have faltered, and live in a modest Scarborough bungalow. Nothing wrong with that. This isn’t meant to rub it in your nose. On the contrary. You may yet win the Irish Sweepstakes. Or you may, in a moment of inspiration, come up with the 21st-century equivalent of the paper clip.

One area in the world has almost continuous sunshine: Sicily. And as one of the more reasonably priced European cities, Palermo may be an underestimated mecca for sun and culture seekers.

If you have the means and the freedom and want to do your thing in the finest city in the world, and also live to a ripe old age, check out Vienna. It’s not just about the music, the cakes and the architecture, though those things don’t hurt. Old enough to be cool but updated and ultra-modernized, Austria has embraced its place in modern Europe and the 21st century.