< Disclaimer> < Return To Issue Article Index >

Martinique and Guadeloupe A Bit of Normandy and Provence in the Blue Caribbean The Sophisticated And Tropical French West Indies, Where You Can Own For Less Than $50,000 by Steenie Harvey

This is article is from the best of International Living - Subscribe To International Living Magazine  ~ Get The Facts ~

Back home in Ireland writing to you now, I’m missing the crickets and tree frogs chiming their night-time chorus against the swishing sea…the limpid turquoise lagoons...the soft island breezes that set masts tinkling in small marinas...the glorious beaches that are as white as a coconut’s sweet heart… Like rum punch, humming birds, and guaranteed sunshine, all these things are part of the Caribbean experience. However, not all Caribbean islands are the same. Ever considered the French West Indies (FWI)? Maybe you should...because right now, you can buy a slice of this sophisticated tropical paradise for less than $50,000. Beat that elsewhere in these waters. Small-island charm I spent December exploring Martinique and Guadeloupe, the FWI’s main islands. Although not well known to Americans, many French visitors return every year, enticed by the combination of small-island charm, flowery villages, and beach life. Landscapes range from high mountains to dense rainforest to manicured golf courses. Diving opportunities are excellent: Off Guadeloupe’s western coast is the Jacques Cousteau Marine Reserve—an underwater realm of corals, sea sponges, and tropical fish.

If you studied French history, you’ll know Martinique’s most famous claim to fame is as the birthplace of the Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon ~

Midway down the Lesser Antilles archipelago (separated by Dominica), Martinique and Guadeloupe represent the Caribbean’s classier end. Although you’ll come across beach shacks, free-range hens, and throbbing zouk music, you’ll also encounter six-lane highways, shopping malls, and nudist beaches. Flanked by attractive apartment residences, marina developments feature stylish boutiques, restaurants, and bars with zinc-topped tables. At times it feels like being on the French Riviera—you can even indulge in pastis and kir. 

Affordable homes

When it comes to property, stylish doesn’t necessarily mean unaffordable. Ideal for a vacation bolt-hole, terraced studio apartments in one of Guadeloupe’s premier resorts start at $47,000. In this island’s sleepy west, modern Creole-style villas with closed verandahs begin at $121,500. 
.

When sighted by Columbus in 1493, Guadeloupe was inhabited by Carib Indians, who called it Karukera, 'Island of Beautiful Waters.' The Spanish  made two attempts to settle Guadeloupe in the early 1500s but were repelled both times by fierce Carib resistance and finally abandoned their claim to the island in 1604.

Martinique is considered more expensive, but that’s not the case in the island’s north. I saw an 1,100-square-foot maison individuelle (individual house) at Morne Rouge listed for $111,000. In good condition, this duplex-style house with upper and lower terraced verandahs has almost 3,000 square feet of land. Of course, not everybody fancies living in Morne Rouge village...it sits below volcanic Mont Pelée, which had a drastic eruption in 1902.  But even away from the volcano’s reach, prices aren’t too outrageous. In southern Martinique, you’ll see small villas with postage-stamp pools for $145,000. Or take this three-bedroom villa, built in Creole style with a verandah and decorated with yellow, red, and white trim. Facing Diamant beach, it’s modestly sized at 1,225 square feet, but has a two-car garage and a 5,000-square-foot garden. It’s yours for $175,000. You’ll not find such prices on Provence’s Côte d’Azur...nor December temperatures in the high 80s either.

How to avoid high hotel bills

I’ll give you in-depth information about both Martinique and Guadeloupe in a moment, but first let me emphasize a couple of things. Hotel accommodation is expensive, particularly on Martinique where even three-star hotels charge over $100 nightly for doubles. Most restaurants run to at least $25 a head for dinner and wine. 

Not that you have to use hotels. Island tourist offices can supply details of gîtes (self-catering cottages), an economical vacation alternative. Many realtors also handle locations saisonnières—seasonal rentals, usually apartments in residences with pools. Apartments sleeping two to four cost around $317 weekly. 
.

If you choose this option, you’ll find supermarket prices compare well with mainland France...and it only costs 89 cents for a crusty baguette. Regarding other things, much depends on where you go. On Martinique, I paid $1.05 for a local beer, bière de Lorraine, in Le Marin while in Pointe du Bout, I paid $2.65 for the same beer.  But even in resorts, good value exists. At Saint-François on Guadeloupe, I missed my hotel’s breakfast through catching an early ferry to Marie-Galante island. But near the marina, a boulangerie had some tables outside. A big pain au chocolat, a flaky croissant, and a milky coffee cost me a very reasonable $2.11.  The cost of living Maintaining the islanders’ French lifestyle is costly for French taxpayers...locals receive exactly the same social provisions as their mainland counterparts. These include a minimum wage, unemployment pay, and generous welfare benefits.

.
Many items are imported. Apart from local produce, shoppers pay Parisian prices for most consumer goods. Most, but not all. Drinkers and smokers can afford to indulge their habits to the full. Supermarchés carry extensive selections of decent French wine for under $5 and bottles of rum sell for as little as $3.70. American-brand cigarettes cost $2.20 a packet. 

Utility costs and property taxes are unlikely to make you mutter “quelle horreur!” I spoke with realtor Marie-Alice Gouait who owns a three-bedroom family-sized apartment in Fort-de-France, Martinique’s capital. She obligingly showed me her home utility bills. 

Over two months, her electricity bill (including air-conditioning) amounted to $33—an annual average of $198. Water was $23 per month/$276 annually. As elsewhere in France, property-related taxes arrive in a two-pronged attack. Considering Fort-de-France is the most expensive part of Martinique, Marie-Alice’s didn’t seem too bad. Her annual Taxe Habitation was $613 and Taxe Foncière $1,530. 

Other communes levy lower taxes. For example, a two-bedroom marina apartment at Pointe du Bout (a 25-minute boat ride from Fort-de-France) attracts $473 for Taxe Habitation and $525 for Taxe Foncière. Of course, apartments also have upkeep charges. These could be as low as $21 monthly, though $169 is more the norm in a swish marina residence with gardens, a pool, and tennis. 

Long-term rental studios start at $354. A two-bedroom apartment, of 815 square feet, in a marina development such as Martinique’s Le Marin or Pointe du Bout (or Saint François on Guadeloupe) rents for around $644 to $686 monthly...around $422 in towns. Most three-bedroom villas rent for upwards of $897 monthly, though in Guadeloupe’s sleepy western half you’ll find them for $528.

Magnifique Martinique

Covering 426 square miles, and with a population of 380,000, Martinique features black- and white-sand beaches, acres of banana and sugar cane plantations, mountainous rainforest, sophisticated marina towns, and charming villages. Just like in France, each has its church, mairie, and carefully tended war memorial. 
.

When Columbus sighted Martinique it was inhabited by Carib Indians who called the island Madinina, 'Island of Flowers.' Three decades passed  before the first party of French settlers, led by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc, landed on the northwestern side of the island. They built a small fort in 1635 and established a settlement that would become the island's first capital, Saint-Pierre. The following year, French King Louis XIII signed a decree authorizing the use of slaves in the French West Indies.

Exotic flowers bloom in abundance. The original Carib Indian inhabitants called their lush island Madinina, the Island of Flowers. Bougainvillea and hibiscus grow like weeds, giant tree trunks are gift-wrapped with wild orchids, and the hills are smothered in canna flowers, tree ferns, and long-stemmed bamboo. Overlooked by the ramparts of Fort Saint-Louis, its capital is Fort-de-France. Home to 100,000 inhabitants, the city has a stunning setting—built in an arc around a magnificent bay and backdropped by cloudy-topped mountains. Shopping streets are narrow and crowded, but across from the harbor is the leafy 12-acre expanse of La Savane park. Like capitals everywhere, sizeable properties in good neighborhoods aren’t cheap. Studios of around 210 square feet go for $43,000 but a villa of around 2,000 square feet with a garden and a sea view will run you at least $317,000 in desirable suburbs such as Schoelcher. The most helpful city agency I found is Guy Hoquet, which has properties all over the island. Both ladies here speak a little English.

I think Martinique’s southern half is the best place to set up home. It has the nicest beaches and seaside towns are more attractive than in the north. I stayed in Pointe du Bout, part of the Trois Ilets area, which covers almost three miles. Named after three small islands in the bay, this is prime French vacation territory. Between Trois Ilets town and Pointe du Bout’s marina is a 150-acre golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones. Through the swaying coconut palms, views extend to Fort-de-France. 

If you studied French history, you’ll know Martinique’s most famous claim to fame is as the birthplace of the Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon. She was baptized in Trois Ilets’ church. Her ancestral demesne, La Pagerie, is nearby, but don’t expect to see much. The house was destroyed by a hurricane centuries ago and there’s only a small museum in the grounds. 
.

Creole culture—from carnival to cockfights “Creole” was a term originally bestowed on French people brought up in the colonies. Now it describes architecture, food, language, and a culture embracing everything from carnival to cockfights. . Martinique and Guadeloupe aren’t just Caribbean versions of the Côte d’Azur. African slaves, shipped over in the 17th and 18th centuries to labor in sugar cane plantations, brought their own influence to French ways. Add the history of the islands’ native Carib tribes that Columbus encountered more than 500 years ago and you have a cocktail that’s as heady as a rum-laced planter’s punch.  . Chic boutiques, yes, but many women wear dresses made of brightly-colored Madras cloth. Often checkered in patterns of sunshine yellow and vivid scarlet, lengths sell for between $6.80 to $11.60 per yard in the back streets of Pointe-à-Pitre and Fort-de-France. (The Scots might have produced something similar if they’d been blessed with kinder weather.) The ensemble is usually completed by collier choux gold jewelry. Legend tells it originated in pirate days when Spanish gold coins were melted down to make necklaces. . One aspect of Creole island life is very reminiscent of France itself. Despite 35% unemployment rates, workers don’t hesitate to go on strike. 9/11 meant the tourist industry was already beset by problems but that hasn’t stopped some workers committing employment suicide. Thanks to bolshie-minded hotel staff, the Le Meridien group has now pulled out of both islands. Accor Hotels, France’s largest chain, is also saying adieu for the same reason. . “Creole” was a term originally bestowed on French people brought up in the colonies. Now it describes architecture, food, language, and a culture embracing everything from carnival to cockfights.

This area is only a 25-minute ride by vedette ferry south across the bay from the capital. As the road from Fort-de-France suffers frequent traffic jams, traveling by boat is the hassle-free way to reach it. Vedettes ($6.35 return with substantial discounts for residents) run every 15 minutes during weekdays. Most go to Pointe du Bout, but you can also reach Trois Ilets town, and the beach resorts of Anse Mitan and Anse à l’Ane.

Pointe du Bout is a settlement in its own right. Although not the cheapest corner of Martinique, many French mainlanders buy here. One-bedroom apartments (330 to 500 square feet) mostly fall into the $64,000 to $90,000 range. Two-bedroom apartments (550 square feet) begin at around $116,000. 

English-speaking realtors

The marina backs onto the Creole Village, a development of pastel-colored houses and businesses adorned with wooden balconies. Many are set around a fountained square. There’s an array of bars...if you want to smoke a Cuban cigar, try Café Havana, which lists them on its menu. I found a couple of English-speaking agents here. Henry Leenen of Diam is Belgian and Herr Schafer of the larger Agence Tropic is German. Agence Tropic has properties all along the southwest coast and a few elsewhere besides. This agency is offering that Morne Rouge house for $111,000.

Pointe du Bout’s nearest public beach is Anse Mitan, a narrow white strand only 10 minute’s walk away. Traveling in a semi-circle southwestwards, the twisty coast is indented with numerous sandy coves: Anse à l’Ane, Anse Dufour, Anse Noir, Grande Anse d’Arlet, and Petite Anse.

More Photographs, more information, contact information and text about Martinique and Guadeloupe - Click Here -
.

< Send a Letter to the Editor > < Subscribe  > < Submit An Article >< Disclaimer>