Sotogrande, Spain

This lavish residential community in southern Spain is the largest privately owned development in Andalusia, spanning a 25-square-kilometer stretch from the Mediterranean Sea to the foothills. With its five golf courses, artificial lakes, and multimillion-dollar villas, Sotogrande has managed to maintain property values even as nearby areas saw double-digit declines during the financial crisis. However, the local bureaucracy can be a persistent headache, as evidenced by the Spanish government's crackdown on Russian mafia members with homes in the enclave. Sotogrande is clearly tailored for the ultra-wealthy, from Spanish blue bloods to Russian oligarchs, who prize its exclusivity and insulation from the outside world.