Beach Living Archives

The Five Best Up-and-Coming Beach Towns for Retirees (Part Three)

By International Living |

November 19, 2015

With its light-brown beaches, prominent white lighthouse, and whitewashed seaside homes, it could be a U.S. Atlantic-coast beach town 60 years ago. If it weren’t for the Spanish-speaking locals, modern cars, and surfers paddling out on modern boards, you might be convinced you’ve been transported back in time. But this place exists today—just in a different country in a different hemisphere. You’re in La Paloma, Uruguay’s up-and-coming beach resort, home to ﬁne food, good ﬁshing, great waves, and vast tracts of pristine sand for you to enjoy.

Europe’s Royal Beach Escapes

By International Living |

November 19, 2015

The Golden Age of Europe’s royal houses may be long over, but the Old world beach resorts where the continent’s aristocracy summered still cling to a fin de siècle grandeur… In these spots, you can enjoy urban luxuries as fine as the enticing, sandy beaches. Biarritz, on the southwest French coast, has attracted European royalty and jet-setters ever since Napoleon III and his Spanish-born empress, Eugénie, built a palace there in 1854.

The Huge Rewards of Taking the Leap

By Glynna Prentice |

November 19, 2015

One moment that has stuck with me over the years is a dinner I had with a friend in New York. It was around the time that I put my apartment up for sale and was getting ready to move my life to Mexico. We met in the Meatpacking District, at a small Italian restaurant. It was a warm, late-summer night, perfect for lingering over our wine in a corner of Manhattan that felt like Europe, where we both had lived in the past.

Your Choice of Nicaraguan Retreats from $1,200 a Month (Part One)

By Bonnie W, Hayman and Darren Bushnell |

October 19, 2015

"Where else could we find this life?” says expat Monica Sedgwick of the one she and her husband James have created in Nicaragua. “We’re living in paradise, paying $200 a month for a three-bedroom apartment with a super view of the bay.” And they’re not the only expats to have discovered the wonderfully affordable lifestyle this retirement haven has to offer.

Your Choice of Nicaraguan Retreats from $1,200 a Month (Part Two)

By Bonnie W, Hayman and Darren Bushnell |

October 19, 2015

Picture rolling, green foothills covered in forest, which frame mountains up to 2,300 feet high…the city itself, orange-tiled roofs over houses painted all colors of the rainbow, creeping up the mountainside. That’s Matagalpa.

The Best-Value Beach Lots in the World

By David Hammond |

February 20, 2014

Do you ever wish you could find a cool little beach town before it gets discovered and invest in land while the prices are still low? You aren’t alone. Global investors are constantly searching the planet for that kind of opportunity. But you know what? They missed a spot. It’s a little town of 1,000 full-time residents, and it’s called Barra del Chuy, in Uruguay.

Five Spots Where You Can Find Premium Views for Less than $150,000

By Margaret Summerfield |

January 20, 2014

A great view usually translates into a premium price tag. But you can afford a home with stunning vistas if know the right place to look. For example, I know of one Pacific coast town where a beachfront condo with Californian-style ocean views and a similar lifestyle will only set you back $119,000. You’d need at least three times that to get close to the beach in California.

Making Money from Water Sports—Get Paid to Sail, Surf, and Dive

By International Living |

July 1, 2013

Would you love a life on the water? If you spend your weekends fishing, surfing, diving, sailing, or kayaking, have you ever come home wishing it could be like that all the time? Maybe it could. You could wear a wetsuit to work, use your boat as an office, and spend your days showing vacationers your favorite reefs or rapids.

How To Run Your Own Beach Bar for Profit

By Jason Holland |

June 1, 2013

As a busy carpenter and contractor in his native Canada, Steve Quinn, 52, relished his regular trips to Costa Rica with his wife, Lisa, to relax and unwind on the beach. After six years of short visits, he decided to make this beach lifestyle permanent. He took over a beach bar and restaurant in Tamarindo, a funky surf town on the country’s northern Pacific coast. He’s leasing the property for three years, with an option to buy, which is a great way to test the waters without committing to purchasing property right off the bat.