Diving and living cheaply....

Hi. I'll be going to N.C. with my husband and 4 month old daughter in November 2009 and will be staying for 3 months. We're both divers so I would love to hear your opinion on the best place on Grande Terre to situate ourselves. Do we go north or south, east or west? And what's the name of the village/ town? We're looking for a great beach with great snorkelling (and diving!) and hoping to rent a house/apartment/flat or gites for our time there.... Soooooo really need help with recommendations. We're on a tight budget, but would love to find paradise... a nice beautiful white sandy beach with somewhere to buy food not too far away. Any help greatly received. Thanks so much. Chantal

I might be wrong but I think you are looking at the wrong island.
Grande Terre is great, but beaches and offshore snorkelling are not its strongest points, I think.
And NC in general is hardly the place to head for if looking for cheap living - other than camping.

The island you want is probably Isles of Pines

IP is nothing short of stunning, but I found it the most expensive part of NC. :-(
But who knows - there may be deals for long stays...