by Matt Meltzer: More than a few Americans fantasize about picking up their lives and moving to some seaside villa in a country…
where your rent is less than a car payment. It’s a fantasy because while it might be affordable, few people actually end up doing it. There are things to consider other than rent when moving to a far-flung beach town. Stuff like “does anyone speak English?” Or “is the food edible?” Or “is there Wi-Fi?” Miss these answers and your turquoise-watered fantasy turns into an experience so stressful you end up back in America before getting your first base tan.
But around the world — and even in the US — there are beautiful beach cities where you can live your best life for a lot less than you do now. We talked to expats and looked at cost-of-living figures from Numbeo and Nomad List to find a dozen places where your dollar goes far, and your quality of life goes farther.
Algarve, Portugal
Monthly cost of living: $1,000
It’s hard to believe a region with a hundred miles of coastline, quaint cobblestone streets, and more sun than pretty much anywhere else in Europe has a cost of living this low. Even better, most of the region is English-speaking, and home to 100,000 expats from all over the world. And the city is cheap. Dirt cheap. A three-bedroom apartment will run you about $600, but if you don’t need much space, $325 gets you a one-bedroom right smack in the center of the city. Milk is less than $3 a gallon. Beers are two bucks. Dinner out is under $10. You get the idea. And if you get homesick, head to Lisbon and you’re about a six-hour flight from the East Coast.
Cartagena, Colombia
Monthly cost of living: $1,200
Living in Cartagena is sort of like going on a tropical Caribbean vacation every single day of your life. And that goes for partiers, history buffs, and outdoor enthusiasts alike. The snorkeling and scuba diving here is some of the best in the Caribbean, and costs about $30 a trip. The city’s historic center is a museum of Spanish Colonial architecture, and a roomy walking path takes you through it all and down to the main harbor. The nightlife is as intense as you’d expect in Colombia, and a night out partying like Drake in South Beach will run you about $100 if you do it right. Party a little TOO hard and fear not; health care in Cartagena is surprisingly good, with large hospitals and comprehensive health insurance for under $50 a month. Cry if you need to.
Hoi An, Vietnam
Monthly cost of living: $550 to $1,100
Bigger Vietnamese cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh get most of the expat love, but neither boasts much of a beach. Hoi An, on the other hand, is not only bordered on one side by spectacular green mountains, it’s also a skip and a jump from spectacular stretches of sand you’ll have largely to yourself. The old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and you can get a house or apartment for as little as $300 a month, $500 for a nice one with everything included. To fully experience the area your best bet is to rent a motorbike (about $45 a month). In a place this beautiful, you’d be ill-advised not to.
Taghazout, Morocco
Monthly cost of living: $1,350
Tech startup whiz kid looking to get out of the country before anyone starts asking what your company actually does? Head to Morocco, which, thanks to its hyper-fast internet connection and proximity to Western Europe, has become a hot destination for entrepreneurs cutting personal costs to support their tech ventures. Your rent plus a chic co-working space will run about $400/month combined, meaning you won’t be stuck looking for a buyout from your beachfront villa all the time. Taghazout has also become one of the great North Atlantic surf towns, where you’ll see people carrying surfboards through Middle Eastern bazaars like they might a basket of fruit.
Canggu, Bali
Monthly cost of living: $500 to $900
Five hundred dollars a month seems downright unrealistic to live in one of the best surf towns in the South Pacific, especially one that’s drawn flocks of expats and Americans looking to work remotely. Artists, designers, yoga instructors, startup gurus, and other far-out foreigners call Canggu home, lending the city a youthful, albeit rustic, wellness vibe. Cafes, restaurants, and juice stands line the quaint streets, and parties and events pepper the week. The place feels a bit like those little surf towns you find on the less populated islands of Hawaii, but at a fraction of the cost. Sure, things like milk, wine, and other imports cost a little more here. But with average rent around $200, you can splurge.
Split, Croatia
Monthly cost of living: $1,400
Though the European coastlines can be comparatively expensive, there are still bargains to be had in Split. This little town on the Adriatic Sea has beaches that people from all over the world travel days to lie on, yet beers are still under three bucks in most bars and rent in the city center can be had for less than $400. The city is also seasonal, so if you’re down to become a full-time resident, you’ll have the city to yourself from October to late April. It’s a perfect balance of roaring international resort city in the summer and sleepy beach town in the winter, with a lush Mediterranean climate, friendly folks, and great history to boot. If you get tired of one lifestyle, another is only a couple of months away.
Gulfport, Mississippi
Monthly cost of living: $2,200
OK, so compared to developing countries in Asia and Central America, Gulfport ain’t exactly a bargain. But not everyone looking to live cheaply by the coast wants to leave the US of A. Gulfport has the cheapest housing cost of any coastal community in America, and it’s smack in the middle of one of the country’s greatest (and funkiest) art regions. The city has been beaten down lately: first by Hurricane Katrina, next by the Deepwater Horizon oil deluge. But creative people have been drawn by cheap rents and a sense of shared mission, and the former blank slate of Downtown has filled with bars, restaurants, breweries, and all the other things that make for quality of life in 2017. “We’ve got a lot of people coming back to Gulfport,” says Chris Vignes, a spokesman in the mayor’s office. “They could do these things a lot of places, and be successful, but they know this is a great time to be here.”
Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
Monthly cost of living: $1,400
Though the DR has some of the grandest, most affordable oceanfront homes in the Caribbean, the real draw in Las Terrenas is the solid expat community. Thirty years ago Europeans knew it best as a popular vacation spot — but they got hooked and stayed. Once you’ve established residency, it’s relatively simple to work, own a business, import a car (tax-free), and get citizenship. You’ll find yourself in good company with a diverse mix of people, and if you ever get homesick you’re a two-hour flight from Miami.
San Pancho, Mexico
Monthly cost of living: $1,100
Almost any coastal community in Mexico is going to be blissful (Oaxaca, anyone?) — and blissfully cheap. But San Pancho is something special. It has the feel of a California surf town, with towering cliffs, impressive waves, and a Downtown lined with restaurants serving up all things organic. The only difference: Dinner for two in said restaurants will only run you about $30 to $50 as opposed to triple digits in California. The city itself isn’t big, but it sits smack in the center of Riviera Nayarit so you can hop through towns like Sayulita, San Blas, and the upscale Punta Mita with a short drive. And if you get a hankering for the big city, Puerto Vallarta is less than an hour away. For a quiet, coastal expat life in Mexico, this little gem on the Pacific is tough to beat.
Koh Phi Phi, Thailand
Monthly cost of living: $1,100
As one of the most underrated honeymoon destinations in the world, Koh Phi Phi island is one of those places where couples sit back on their last night of just-wedded bliss and say, “Why don’t we just MOVE here?” Sure, they’re joking, but why the heck not? If dropping your life back home isn’t an issue, this little slice of paradise (The Beach was shot here) has beautiful apartments in new buildings overlooking the sea for about $720 a month. And that’s on the high end. The nightlife can get raucous, with cheap drinks and loosely interpreted liability laws. For a quiet beach home, this might not be the move. But it’s perfect for the young and free who enjoy interacting with travelers from all over the world, and doing it cheaply.
Granada, Nicaragua
Monthly cost of living: $1,200
Because Granada is one of the most painstakingly preserved Spanish Colonial towns in North America, it tends to draw a lot of history-inclined tourists. Those tourists bring with them a wealth of fancy restaurants, cool bars, and a sizable expat community that makes living here a little easier than in, say, Managua. The only thing that can cost a little extra is electricity, with an average bill just under $100 a month, if you’re partial to air conditioning. But when rent is less than $500 and you can get a pound of chicken for under $2, keeping your apartment ice cold doesn’t seem like such a luxury.
Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain
Monthly cost of living: $1,400
If you’ve ever visited Las Palmas, you might be surprised to see it on a list of affordable places to live. But like so many cities, visiting and living are two different animals. Rent for a place off the ocean runs only about $500 for one bedroom, $700 for three. The weather is some of the best in the world, with pretty much perpetual sun soaking the beaches along the coast. The city itself has a busy, urban feel, with quick escapes to beaches and the inland countryside and plenty of friendly, tolerant people to party with. For a city experience with easy access to nature, this is the best seaside option in Europe.
