Buying an island for the price of a house

I’ve always wanted to own an island. I’m not sure where it would be or what it would look like - I’d like the Caribbean, but could just as happily have a wooded, rocky island with a log cabin, on a lake somewhere - the common thread is I definitely fancy an island.

Problem is though islands are expensive, and I am having to slowly come to terms with the fact that contrary to boyhood dreams I won’t be a millionaire by 21 (this is taking some time to sink in – I’m now 27.)

But thanks to the wonders of the internet I’ve discovered islands are nowhere near as pricey as you’d think.

The frankly magnificent www.privateislandsonline.com allows you to window shop for islands and I could bag one in the Caribbean, South East Asia, or Canada for roughly the price of my flat in Finsbury Park. Albeit some of these don’t have water, electricity or accomodation, but I could work on that.

Further up the ladder, there’s some islands that compare pretty favourably with English large house prices. For £540,000 Florida’s Dolphin Jump Key comes with a mainland house and coral reef, for £585,000 Brittany’s Ile Jacobin has its own castle, and for £810,000 you could get 42-acre Green Cay in the Bahamas.

If money was no option, I rather fancy Petit Grenada in the Caribbean, near its namesake Grenada. It’s 20 acres of my own tropical paradise, with a lagoon, coral reef, white sand beach and year-round sun, at a mere £3.5m. What do you reckon?

- Simon Lambert, This is Money

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