Cathy Hawker

Travelling is in my blood. My parents worked abroad and I grew up moving between New York, Central Africa and Indonesia. For the past fifteen years I have written about overseas holiday homes, getting to know firm favourites - Southern Spain for example – but also checking out more "off-radar" locations that might appeal to a new generation of buyers.

As well as regular reports for A Place in the Sun I write weekly in The London Evening Standard and contribute to several papers and magazines including Country Life International, International Prime Property, the Financial Times and The Times.

That means that most weeks I throw a notebook into my trusty backpack to spy out not only properties abroad but also the lifestyle on offer. The lure of a second home in the sun or in the snow-covered mountains is one that’s easy to understand.

My own top picks would include the Costa Brava for the beautiful coastline, the Caribbean for the laid-back beach life and almost anywhere in Italy for the outstanding food and culture. But then there is also the Alps, the Algarve, the Balearics, Barcelona, Croatia, Florida…

This week on A Place in the Sun

New episodes of A Place in the Sun are back! Here's what our presenting team got up to in the first five episodes of the new series...

24 June 2022

Cost of living crisis: how does Italy compare?

The cost of living in the UK is rising fast - would it be cheaper for you to move abroad? Our Editor compares the cost of energy, food and more in Italy...

20 June 2022

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16 June 2022

British buyers back on top in Spain

The pandemic may have prevented us getting there for long periods within the past two years but it’s official: the British are the biggest group of foreign buyers in Spain – again. We take a look at what's happening in the Spanish property market.

13 June 2022

New episodes of A Place in the Sun starting in June!

Find out all about the latest episodes of A Place in the Sun coming to Channel 4 as part of a brand new series airing every weekday from Monday 20th June!

10 June 2022

Cost of living crisis: how does Cyprus compare?

The cost of living in the UK is rising fast. Inflation has reached a 40-year high of 9 per cent. War in Europe is causing petrol prices to reach record highs and food prices to increase for everyone, but how do other costs still measure up? Even energy tariffs are dealt with differently by European governments. In the second piece of a series looking at each of our top five countries, we take a look at Cyprus.

6 June 2022

Cost of living crisis: how does Spain compare?

1 June 2022

“It’s 14 minutes from my new Spanish home to Murcia airport”

Ask most people why they bought a holiday home where they did and they’ll generally say “well we enjoyed going on holiday there for so many years…” – but we find out why golf lover, Paul Hunter, bought on La Torre golf resort.

30 May 2022

How do I renew my Spanish Non Lucrative Visa after a year? (good news: it’s easier…)

For those who were quick out of the block to get their Non-Lucrative Visa to move to Spain in early 2021, it’s time to renew. But what's the renewal process like?

26 May 2022