uk_grenada

Long term stay: I have been led to believe that an extension of stay is possible and that it can be done many times as long as you pay the fees. Is that true?

Yes, i know people who do this, you can extend a visa on island fairly cheaply and after 5? Years you can apply for residence - but not citizenship.

Long term rent: If we can remain in Grenada long term (several years) do you happen to know if long renting is typical there for expats?

People do it, just look at remax or terra realtors for rentals, most seem to buy however after a bit, even though you have to pay 10% alien landholding tax.

Food: Your post said there was good grocery shopping but that sometimes availability might be an issue. Are food costs similar to the UK?

Its a complex area, but we dont stint on food, and overall we find it cheaper and better than the uk. Mainly because local foods are usually cheaper, fish and meat especially so, and american items like laubdry stuff costs less than uk stuff, though both are available.

Car: can you get by easily without owning a car?

Only if you live by the main road and have access to the busses. Cars second hand arent completely extortionate, just seems so. Having a car means you can live in nicer and possibly cheaper places. https://www.facebook.com/Grenada-veh...2190366623042/ New cars should be bought locally or customs will get you for even more, and are 20-30% more than in the uk.

Expats: is there an active expat community enjoying long term living in Grenada?

Yes, not sure how active, there are pockets like various clubs and things like the book swap, the british pub, but we all see each other recurrently, of course a lot of grenadians are a sort of expat themselves, this is a small island... Helps that the loclals are imho very friendly generally.

Budget: I have been working on a basic monthly budget (Grenada / EC $$). This does not include any medical related stuff as that would naturally vary, and have the following draft - please comment:
- rent $1800 seems low - but i dont rent - check out terra and remax who have prices.

You havent included car or if you buy house insurance, they are both more expensive than the uk. Naturally - hurricane insurance isnt cheap, the roads are poor, drink driving isnt actually illegal, and driving is hairy at night...
- electricity $ 160 - power is expensive but if you dont use aircon and have solar water you dont use much, we dont spend that much in our 3 bed house.
- cable $80 for tv or broadband thats about right, both = more. We dont use cable, we use broadband, smart tv and vpn to access uk and us tv channels as needed.
- cell phone $60 - depends on how much you use it, again, broadband is used for overseas video / voice calling via facetime messenger, skype and facetime, seems reasonable for on-island.
- water bill $80 - possibly too much, water is actually cheap.
- groceries and household items $1400 - we probably spend a bit more, not much though.
- entertainment / fun / liquor $800 (subjective) - Booze is ridiculously cheap in supermarkets, in local bars - 5 for a beer, 12-15 for a cocktail, 10 for a glass of good wine [south american californian south african - all wine is here except french [nasty stuff.]. Eating out - you can pay from 15-150 for a meal - depends on where. Beach house menu online is about as expensive as it gets, umbrellas beach bar online menu good quality and cheapish.

beachseeker

Thank you for all the great info. I will use this to update my budget and my planning. Hope to cross paths with you in the future... :-)