Just food for thought..... where would you buy a condo?

[robint]

This is just for discussion, but if you had the extra $$$, what ONE place would you buy a condo? Needs to be a dive destination with either boat diving or shore or both available.

It is a fun question... my husband and I do this every place we visit. We actually look at how feasible it would be to buy a condo there, how much we would use it, whether we would get tired of it and want to go somewhere else. I hear alot that people have bought condos in Hawaii, Virgin Is, Belize, Coz, or Caymans and plan to retire to them eventually.

Other thoughts - how rustic would we be willing to go for the money?
Safety for non-natives?
How much during the year would you use it or would you move there permanently?
Condo or house?
Would you be able to find work there if you made it permanent?


I can honestly say we have considered this idea. My husband thinks Bonaire is perfect, but I see issues that make me hesitate. He says he could live in a shack as long as he could dive daily. I am afraid we would get bored and want to go elsewhere to dive every year on a trip. So...

Where would you buy?

robin

 

[lmorin]

Done it on Bonaire! Check out Sand Dollar A15 at VRBO.com. My wife and I decided to purchase after our fourth trip to Bonaire and various trips elsewhere. We both like the fact that Bonaire is not a tourist destination (except during the cruise ship season) and is off the beaten path. Together, those factors have kept the prices down so that we can afford a condo on the island. The costs are also well supported by our willingness to rent the condo when we are not there. It is unlikely that we will retire there, but our stays will become longer. I could probably find employment in one of the 2 med schools on the island.

Presently, we are going 3 times/yr for 2, 2, and 1 wk stays. Actually, we do fewer dives per trip than we did before owning. We don't feel compelled to work in an extra dive at every opportunity. I suppose we might get bored with the diving when we have seen everything there is to see. Of course that is not going to happen and I like the fact that no site is ever the same twice. We like finding new things and even on Bonaire where so many divers continue to look, new things can be found whether it is birds or fish. This January, the deep water was upwelling along the leeward side making the temperature a degree or more colder. Unusual numbers of pelagic species were being seen over the reef. There is also two thirds of the shoreline that remains unseen because we cannot dive it without a rare wind reversal. We also enjoy having friends visit and introducing them to the island and its salt mountains, as well as to the fish.

 

[Mark Derail]

Consider Puerto Rico. Good diving there, lots of things to do & see, and plenty of marinas and a good airport to go elsewhere.

Hawaii is probably the most expensive, Puerto Rico about as cheap as you would find in Florida, with better beaches.

Bonus, as an American, it's a simple move. I'm surprised there isn't more Americans going to PR...it's a BEAUTIFUL place.

This is just for discussion, but if you had the extra $$$, what ONE place would you buy a condo? Needs to be a dive destination with either boat diving or shore or both available.

It is a fun question... my husband and I do this every place we visit. We actually look at how feasible it would be to buy a condo there, how much we would use it, whether we would get tired of it and want to go somewhere else. I hear alot that people have bought condos in Hawaii, Virgin Is, Belize, Coz, or Caymans and plan to retire to them eventually.

Other thoughts - how rustic would we be willing to go for the money?
Safety for non-natives?
How much during the year would you use it or would you move there permanently?
Condo or house?
Would you be able to find work there if you made it permanent?


I can honestly say we have considered this idea. My husband thinks Bonaire is perfect, but I see issues that make me hesitate. He says he could live in a shack as long as he could dive daily. I am afraid we would get bored and want to go elsewhere to dive every year on a trip. So...

Where would you buy?

robin

We're considering PR - but making a pitstop in Cayman Islands first to check that place out first. The fact that GC is so flat, when a hurricane goes through...flooding.

With PR there's plenty of mountains and high ground.

 

[TSandM]

Oh, no question . . . I'd buy a condo on the Riviera Maya, somewhere between Playa and Tulum. The weather is superb for the tropics, with many months that aren't excessively hot or humid. The beaches are gorgeous and there is decent ocean diving with a well-developed dive infrastructure. There is some of the best cave diving in the world. The area is not so remote that one has problems obtaining supplies, and there is easy airport access in Cancun. Prices are not cheap, but they aren't stratospheric, either.

We would already own a condo there if the corruption of the police and the bureaucracy didn't make my husband go a little bit insane.

 

[BabyDuck]

luraville, florida, but there aren't any. so we're thinking *double wide*. i know - you're thinking - 'those people are above their raisin's' but i'm all about double vs single wides since i was raised in a house without wheels.

 

[DeputyDan]

Oh, no question . . . I'd buy a condo on the Riviera Maya, somewhere between Playa and Tulum. The weather is superb for the tropics, with many months that aren't excessively hot or humid. The beaches are gorgeous and there is decent ocean diving with a well-developed dive infrastructure. There is some of the best cave diving in the world. The area is not so remote that one has problems obtaining supplies, and there is easy airport access in Cancun. Prices are not cheap, but they aren't stratospheric, either.

We would already own a condo there if the corruption of the police and the bureaucracy didn't make my husband go a little bit insane.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with your husband.

 

[Mark Derail]

Last I checked - about a year ago - condo's on Cozumel were more expensive than similar in PR (depends on location), and at least in PR you are still on US soil.

I saw many sub-200k units East of San Juan, like in the Loiza region.

 

[robint]

I don't think I would ever buy in Mexico for a couple of reasons. For one, as a non-native you can never really OWN any property. There are legal issues in that regard which are very complicated. Secondly, the crime issues which seem to be getting worse even in the most tame areas. Thirdly, I don't like that you can never drink the water.

PR is definitely a good option in those regards, but how good is the diving really? And how often can you dive there? I was under the impression that there are very few dive ops, and no shore diving anywhere.

Bonaire... yeah, it is a great option in many regards. As was mentioned, many US citizens live there part-time, buy a condo (like SandDollar resort condos) and rent them out when they aren't on the island. We have seriously considered that option. The negatives I see are that the locals seem to hate Americans in general, it is impossible to get a job, food is expensive since it has to be brought by ship once a week. All in all, it does seem to be a viable option though.

Belize... anyone looked into it there? I was told a few years ago that it is THE place we should consider. We haven't been there yet, but I can see how it might be a great option. Diving, Mayan ruins to explore, English spoken, US dollar is currency, lots of US expats live there...

comments?

robin

 

[drbill]

Ha, I already bought mine... right here on beautiful Catalina Island. At one point I considered buying a two bedroom bungalow in Cairns, Australia. At the time the price was very right ($50,000 US) and I envisioned 6 months here, 6 months there (endless "summer"). The Philippines come to mind now.

 

[Fishpie]

Switch 51 Catamaran.....parked wherever I want.