I thought I'd found the ideal location to escape to: Pitcairn Island. This remote island is somewhere in the middle of the South Pacific between Peru and New Zealand (see image below). It has no airstrip, no harbor or port and is 300 miles by boat from the nearest island with one. Its been inhabited more or less continuously since 1790 by the decendents of the Bounty mutineers. In fact a great-great-great-..... grandson of Fletcher Christian was just born there this year. Thanks to a seismic monitoring station it actually just got its first internet connection, having previously relied on a couple of satellite uplinks. According to the CIA world factbook its 50 or so inhabitants managed to generate $730,000 in revenue by selling stamps, registering domains, and handmade craft goods to passing sailors.
Unfortunately when I went to read a bit more about Pitcairn, aside from a fascinating history it also seems to be embroiled in its very own sex scandal. Apparently following the visit of a New Zealand police officer in 1999, there are now seven men on the island accused of sexual assault and abuse. Naturally this has gained quite a bit of press coverage as you can see from this site, the Pitcairners don't exactly seem pleased with the outside interference (or the men don't at least).
So I don't think I'll be rushing off to take up residence on this particular island in the South Pacific any time soon. However Tahiti is looking promising - if it weren't for global warming eating up Pacific Island real-estate faster than G Dubyah can say "Global warming? Bushit!"
