Who among us hasn’t dreamed of living on a paradisiacal private island—the kind of place where you can relax under a shady palm with a frosty margarita and forget about deadlines and bills and the ”global struggle against violent extremism”? For those with the cash and the nerve, Islands magazine has just identified the go-to guy. His name is Farhad Vladi, and he is an impeccably dressed, German-raised private island broker who has sold more than 1,500 islands around the globe over the last 30 years.

According to Vladi, bargains abound, especially in Sweden and Nova Scotia, where he can get you into a “substantial” island for under $400,000. Central America offers plenty of possibilities, too. But buying the island, of course, doesn’t mean your work is finished. “You have to have access, you have to get electricity, a telephone and drinking water,” Vladi says. “You have to go there and spend time. Not just by yourself, but with your family — because an island shouldn’t be a reason for divorce!” No, of course not. But Vladi also offers this bon mot: “To buy an island is the same as courting a woman. You can never explain exactly why you love her. It’s chemistry — something you cannot define — a feeling that you can stay forever.”