With hundreds of islands to choose from, working out where the best place to buy a house is a tough job. Some islands may not have schools to your standard while others may not offer enough activities to your liking. Some islands may be too touristy while others are too quiet. I strongly suggest that you thoroughly research your options before physically the shortlist of the best islands, which will save you money (and disappointment) in the long run.

If you will need to travel to America and Canada often, St Lucia would be a great choice as its two international airports provide daily direct flights to the mainland. A direct flight to Miami is 3.5 hours, 5 hours to Toronto and 6 hours to Philadelphia. For those who want to visit other parts of the Caribbean, there are plenty of available flights (that can be booked last minute too) to islands such as Antigua and Barbados.

However, if you are worried about moving to a number one holiday destination like St Lucia, consider what advantages come with tourism. The BodyHoliday by LeSport, for example, runs a yoga retreat and boot camp led by none other than Daley Thompson and Kate Staples.

Thinking of buying property in the Caribbean? I realise it is a nightmare trying to filter out all the trash that appears a search engine page; so here are some tips on getting closer to finding your dream home.

Create your own list of Must, Should, Could and Won’t need (e.g. tennis courts, supermarket, five minute walk to the beach and café). Find expats who live in the Caribbean on Twitter or online forums who can give you best location tips. Meanwhile, research different islands through different online websites (TripAdvisor, Wikipedia and personal blogs are a good start) and do not be fooled by slick advertising campaigns.

After you have chosen an island, what you need is a reliable Caribbean estate agent who knows your island inside out. Email over your list of Must, Should, Could and Won’t need, discuss your budget and the agent will do the rest.

If you are living abroad and cannot visit the Caribbean, your estate agent can gather together a collection of properties that meet your requirements. When you are available to finally pay a visit to your future island of residency, your agent will have organised house viewings for you so your time can be split between house hunting and enjoying the beaches on which you will soon be eating breakfast.

If you do not want to make a permanent commitment by buying a house in the Caribbean or if you are waiting for your house to be built, there is never a shortage of places to rent.

Renting is a great opportunity for you to become familiar with the environment and work out where the best area/island in the Caribbean is for you.

Take St Lucia for example as there are numerous places for you to live, some more ideal than others. St Lucia is 27 miles long and 14 miles wide with its capital, Castries, located on the northwest side.

A high percentage of St Lucia’s 160,000 population in St Lucia live in Castries. The price for an apartment in Castries with two bedrooms and one bathroom will start at about $700 a month while three bedrooms and two bathrooms will start at $1000 a month.  On the other hand, to avoid the difficulties of relying on an estate agency, consider living in a couples resort on a month by month basis.

Another option would be Rodney Bay Marina, located further north from Castries, which provides a sheltered lagoon for luxury yachts as well as shopping centres, restaurants and banks. If the yachting lifestyle is not for you, viewing it from a three bedroom and three bathroom apartment of 1,500 sq ft will cost about $5000 a month.

When you have been stuck living in a concrete jungle where you get caught in horrendous traffic everyday while breathing in the equivalent of 20 cigarettes in polluting fumes, how often do you dream of living near a white sand beach or hills to hike.

It is never the perfect time to make the gigantic decision to move overseas but life is too short to hang around. With that in mind, if you are going to move anywhere should it not be to the most beautiful place in the world? I am talking about the Caribbean.

You will not need to give up access to live music, quality restaurants or sports but add to these new hobbies, friends and paradise islands to explore.

The thought of living in an area of the world so rich with history and beauty may be overwhelming but it is definitely not too good to be true. If you have a young family then there are schools available, if you are moving alone the Caribbean will never make you feel lonely and if you want to retire you will wake up every day with something new to do – and your family back home will always be keen to visit you, trust me!