Located off the northern shores of Venezuela, outside the hurricane belt and well within the Caribbean's inimitably desirable waters, this once lesser-known tropical island is rapidly becoming a tax-free tourism and retirement hotspot with Britons, Northern Europeans and Americans.
Now directly accessible from the UK, Britons in particular are warming to the charms of Isla Margarita as it represents the complete antidote to all that is wrong with Great Britain! With a healthy economy bolstered by rapidly advancing tourism, with western amenities, advanced infrastructure, stunning white sandy beaches and a tantalising tropical landscape, Isla Margarita truly represents a paradise-like setting for those in search of a home away from home abroad.
As a less well-known and therefore less developed Caribbean destination, Isla Margarita has emerging market status, meaning that it offers an affordable entry point for those looking for Caribbean property – and there are many other incentives in place currently to invite, encourage and entice strong levels of investment commitment as well. For example, anyone thinking about moving to live on Isla Margarita will quickly learn of its tax and duty free environment, of its transparent property ownership laws, the ease of immigration and the far lower costs of day-to-day living on the island compared to those in the US, UK and the rest of the Caribbean.
Unlike other South and Central American nations, the authorities on Isla Margarita want to make it as open and welcome a country as they can for overseas retirees for example. You can contrast this with Panama which has recently placed much stricter restrictions on those who want to own a home in the nation and benefit from its tax efficient and affluent economy. Where once one could buy an affordable home in Panama and obtain residency status with proof of only a low monthly income, nowadays there is a high minimum property price imposed upon foreign buyers who also have to prove a far stronger source of foreign generated monthly income before they will be granted residency status.
According to Mark Andrew, MD of Emerging Earth, experts on all aspects of buying a property and relocating to Isla Margarita: "It's absolutely in the island's best interests to attract growing numbers of Western citizens. These people raise awareness of the island internationally, they encourage greater investment and they are genuinely made to feel welcome. Because the prices for everything from property to food, from medical care to furniture are so much more affordable on the island too, this, together with Isla Margarita's tax-free status, is leading more and more Britons in particular to establish a new home on the island. As the British economic climate becomes as miserable as its actual climate, so more Britons are looking for a haven where the weather is as glorious as the lifestyle – and for such individuals, the now easily accessible island of Isla Margarita makes perfect sense."