Housing

10 Best, Most Affordable Beach Towns in the World

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Had just about enough of winter for this year? Thinking about a warm, sunny stretch of sand and surf to wash away that ennui? Or dreaming about that same beach as place to live year-round?

Heck yeah! But where to find a place with the sandy shores you crave and that you can afford — that’s only one issue. There are plenty of others.

The experts at Realtor.com evaluated countries with plenty of beachfront but also relatively painless laws on foreign homebuyers. Then they looked at a number of other important issues, including safety, size of the coastline and the cost of living.

Jennifer Stevens, executive editor of the International Living website, commented:

My No. 1 caution is that [home-buying] laws in other countries do not look like the laws in the United States. You need to get a good attorney, who isn’t representing the seller, to lead you through the process.

Perhaps it goes without saying that no beach town in the United States made the list — they’re just too expensive.

Here’s the list, along with the country’s population and the length of its coastline.

  1. Zlatni Rat (Croatia)
    > Population: 4.2 million
    > Coastline: 3,626 miles
  2. Myrtos Beach (Greece)
    > Population: 11.2 million
    > Coastline: 8,498 miles
  3. Tulum (Mexico)
    > Population: 129.2 million
    > Coastline: 5,797 miles
  4. Port Dickinson (Malaysia)
    > Population: 31.6 million
    > Coastline: 2,905 miles
  5. Praia da Rocha (Portugal)
    > Population: 10.3 million
    > Coastline: 1,114 miles
  6. Sunny Beach (Bulgaria)
    > Population: 7.1 million
    > Coastline: 220 miles
  7. An Bang Beach (Vietnam)
    > Population: 95.5 million
    > Coastline: 2,140 miles
  8. La Concha Beach (Spain)
    > Population: 46.4 million
    > Coastline: 3,085 miles
  9. Dominical Beach (Costa Rica)
    > Population: 4.9 million
    > Coastline: 802 miles
  10. Salinas (Ecuador)
    > Population: 16.6 million
    > Coastline: 1,390 miles

Visit Realtor.com for more details and comments about each town on this list.

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