How to Live a Beach Life in Goa

India is a vast country with varied topography, climate, and weather. It has breath-taking hill stations, forests, deserts, beaches, and plains.

When we talk about ‘living a beach life in India,’ the first name that comes to my mind is ‘Goa.’ Indeed, there are several other amazing beach destinations in south India, but nothing beats what Goa has to offer.

If you follow my blog, you would probably know by now that I have a fondness for Goa, and I have been to this small destination thrice.

The best thing about Goa is no matter how many times you go; you will always enjoy and come back home with a different experience.

Goa is not a vast place to explore. Usually, people spend 3-5 days in Goa and exploring around the place. But it isn’t enough as there is so much to do beyond visiting the hot tourist spots.

I love the positive vibe of Goa. I stayed twice at the North Goa and once at the South Goa. Both the places will give you an entirely different experience.

I have previously written a blog post about the comparison between North & South Goa. You can surely check that out to understand the difference.

Well, in this blog post, I would be sharing my experience of

‘How to live a beach life in Goa- India.’

Best Place to Live?

If you google with the keyword ‘best places to live in India,’ you would certainly get many articles suggesting you names like Pune, Bangalore, Mysore, Indore, Chandigarh, etc. But none will say ‘Goa.’ Well, there are a lot of reasons for this that make sense.

If you want to live a ‘digital nomad’ life, Goa is certainly one of the best places to live. It is inexpensive to live in, the cost of living as compared to other places is cheaper, and you will get rental houses/flats at a decent rate for a longer time.

Currently, I am living in Pune with my husband, and before that, I had spent half of my life in Kolkata with my parents (hometown). If you ask me which is the ‘cheapest places to live in India,’ undoubtedly it is my hometown ‘Kolkata.’

But Kolkata won’t give you that nomad feeling which you probably are looking for.

Renting a house in Goa is cheap

If you are from outside India, and you are traveling to India, planning to stay longer. The first thing that you would need is a 6-month valid Indian passport. It is the hardest part of traveling as an outsider.

But if you are an Indian citizen and live in another city but want to relocate to Goa, all you would first need is a temporary place to live, say a hotel or a homestay, until you find a rented home.

The typical way to find a rented home in India is to do a little research, select the location where you want to stay, and hire a broker who would help you find an apartment or home.

If you want to enjoy the beach life in Goa, the best places would be to stay near the beaches or a location that has the nearest accessibility to beaches.

However, if you plan to stay for a longer time, a safe and secured location is preferable.

My recommendation would be Panjim and Mapusa. Panjim is Goa’s cultural capital with the availability of everything school, hospitals, supermarkets, etc.

On the other hand, Mapusa is a better option if you have a tight budget; also, with all the beaches of North Goa within easy reach, it is preferably good for the digital nomads.

Typically, a 2bhk rent in Panjim goes around between 15k -18k.

In Mapusa, with the same amount, you would get an independent house with ample open spaces.

The ranges do vary based on your requirement and choices of location.

Beach life in Goa

Indeed, the beach life in Goa is amazing. It is refreshing, fun, laid-back, gives you ample time to enjoy the ‘slow living’ and ‘slow traveling.’

You can start your day by taking a morning walk or run on the beach, taking a sunbath, relaxing, and soaking in Vitamin D with a glass of juice in your hand.

There are shacks where you can lie down all day. You can be your own, read books, listening to songs or observe.

If you are a water sports enthusiast, you can enjoy the various water sports activities.

Getting around in Goa

Once you are all settled in, you will feel the need for a vehicle to travel around in Goa. In India, a four-wheeler is a luxury, and a two-wheeler is a need.

One good thing about living in Goa is you would get a second-hand/used scooter or bike at just 4000 INR monthly. You can also buy a good serviceable scooty or bike within 15000 INR.

Owing a vehicle will help you explore Goa and give you the freedom to get your daily needs hassle-free.

To get a rented or used vehicle, you would be needed to show some ID verification like an Adhaar card & driving license.

If you are an outsider, you can give them a copy of your valid international driving license and passport.

How safe is living in Goa?

Since Goa is a small town, the crime rate is less. It is definitely not safe to wander around alone, especially for ‘ladies’ at night. Nasty things and bad people are everywhere at every corner; you must learn and avoid situations like this when you are traveling.

In Goa, law, and order follow strict rules; they try to keep the town safe and sound from crime because its prime revenue source is ‘tourism.’

Work & Career

If you are thinking of staying in Goa for a longer time, you will need money to live a simple minimalistic life. You obviously can not drain all your savings.

If you are a freelancer and have skills, you will find plenty of work opportunities in Goa.

Since your goal is to stay peaceful and minimalistic, I would assume money won’t be your priority.

Goa is a tourism hub in India. There are a lot of opportunities in the hospitality sector in Goa. If you have better communication skills, customer management skills and can get engaged with the tourists, you can easily get a job at any good resort or hotel.

If you happen to know every nook and hook of Goa, you can also be a travel guide and work part-time.

If you have special skills like scuba diving or snorkeling, you can work part-time as an instructor.

If you have sound knowledge in cooking and hold a degree, you can work as a chef or bartender in restaurants.

These are some of the freelancing work that you can do physically and earn a decent amount.

Or you can just sit and work remotely as a graphic designer, writer, translator, etc.

Truth About living a Beach life in Goa

People don’t party all the time

Everyone says Goa is a free state. You can have fun all the time, party all the time. There are great pubs and nightclubs in North Goa where you can have fun all night.

Well, truth to be told, it’s not like that. Yes, Goa is a very lively place to visit. People are living an ordinary life.

If you will stay for a longer time, the best thing you will enjoy is the privileged to be on the beach whenever you want.

Tips: Try to explore South Goa; several unidentified and hidden places are absolutely beautiful.

Request: Don’t disclose the names of those places. Else it will become just like north goa, crowded and dirty.

Weather

You will be likely to get frustrated with the high humidity at first. You won’t be able to sit for half an hour under the sun on the open beach.

If you are coming from places where you enjoy snowfall and winter, you will badly gonna miss that in Goa.

Winter is the peak season in Goa for tourism, and certainly, you won’t get to enjoy the winter here.

House hunting is an issue for the foreigners

I don’t want to scare you, but this is the truth. When it comes to house hunting (renting), the owners and the brokers may cheat you by charging higher prices. So, a foreigner must be extra alert. If you are sensing something wrong, consult with the local police.

No Public Transport

You won’t find any Ola or Uber in Goa. They have private cabs, but they do overcharge for every ride. The public transport system in Goa is really poor. I think the concerned government should improve that.

That’s the reason why it is important to own a vehicle in Goa.

24 hours WiFi connectivity is like a dream

If you are residing in a good resort or hotel, they will provide you with low-speed wifi. But when it comes to staying permanently or temporarily, you will need good high-speed connectivity to work on the internet, which is hard to find here.

If your work depends on the internet, you will have to face some serious connectivity issues.

Pro Tip: Ignore staying in remote places. You will get a decent connectivity facility in Panjim.

Conclusion:

I have several articles written about ‘Goa,’ like things to do in Goa. I have tried to cover pretty much everything in this article. If you have anything to ask, I would be glad to reply.

I am giving you the link of ‘complete travel guide to Goa’