frederick2k12

Hey there,

I'm looking to move to the Cayman Islands late 2012 and would love some feedback from you all.

Pretty much, I have a very successful dot com business and I'll be looking to buy Real Estate in the $1mill + range.

My first question is, which Visa should I go for? I don't intend to work on the Island, but it's okay to have an office at home to operate from right? I'd really love to get a permanent residency visa here, and hope it's not too complex.

Q2: Is this a good island for a twenty something?

From what I can see, YES! Wakeboarding, diving etc. it looks great! what about the nightlife though?

Q3: VISA for my Girlfriend

She's from Asia, would it be easy for her to come and stay too?

Q4: Is it easy to get hold of electrical items, or would I have to order those online? Tv's, Computers etc.

Q5: Are there many car dealerships in Grand Cayman or would I have to import from the US? if so what's the stamp duty on Vehicles?

Q6: We live in Bangkok right now, and have a lovely dog lol, has anyone here had much experience in bringing pets over to the Cayman, I've heard it can be a bit of a tough one!

that's about it for now folks! sorry for so many questions

Cheers,
Fred

scottline

Hi Fred,

Cayman is quite modern compaired to allot of Caribbean islands and is also expensive.

For $1 million you will struggle to get a place on the beach but you would be able to get a decent property! p.s if you are looking for help in the property side of things I have a friend who is in real estate.

With regards to vehicles they have dealerships on the Island, Porsche, Mercedes etc...

The immigration and visa side of things are a little more tricky! You need to make a considerable investment (I think well over $1m) to get residency there.

Hope this helps.

Gordon Barlow

Fred. Your best bet would be to come and have a look at the place before committing. (My blog will give you some general background.)

www.barlowscayman.blogspot.com

only1rache

Hi I lived in Cayman for over 3 years, visited last year and still have friends there.

Cayman is great for 20 somethings, it is very easy to meet people. I moved out there on my own and found it easy to establish a good group of friends. There are plenty of bars but it comes with a lot of drinking, I think they are starting to crack down on drink driving which is a relief! There are lots of restaurants to try from a BBQ on the beach in west bay (Miss Norma's) for about $12 to the Sunday Champagne Brunch at the Ritz hotel for $70? There is a good cinema now and I think there is a go-karting place too.
Sports wise - water-sports like wake-boarding, windsurfing, diving and even kite surfing are popular. There are the cricket teams ('Greenies') for the Guys and girls. There are also male and female rugby teams on island for both traditional rugby and touch. Theres a few gyms too.

There are supermarkets there to buy food, and there are places to buy electrical goods like Cost U Less. Although salaries in Cayman are tax free you would find it starts to even out with the cost of living as everything needs to be imported. A lot of people go shopping to Miami as its a short flight. I think you have a shopping limit of about $350 before you have to pay 20% import duty.

Not sure about the ins and outs of having your own business and running it from Cayman but if you set up a business in cayman e.g. a shop, you would need a resident Caymanian to be your business partner with I think a 1% share. Its a small island so they need to protect the local workforce and employment rates etc.

Property - there are more available to rent and buy than a few years ago as a lot of expats have left due to the work permit regulations (have 7 yrs on island before you have to leave, and if you get a section 6 stamp on your permit it means you have 2 years to train a Caymanian to replace you and then you go.). I do know someone who had a business in the UK and ran it from Cayman but I'm not sure how he went about it, they left last year. You would have to invest heavily to live there, I think they bought land on Cayman Brac. The best thing to do is to contact the Government on this area to get up to date advice.

Generally I have found everyone to be friendly, its hard to avoid anyone you fall out with as its so small! I'd recommend it to anyone but take plenty of trips off island so you don't get island fever... or head up to Rum point and sit in a hammock with a daiquiri.

Car dealerships - there's plenty, there seem to be a lot of trucks and huge cars considering its so small and you can import for sure. Although several people I knew who had money to spare still drove 'island cars' incase of hurricanes. If you do buy an old car make sure you check if it is 'Pre Ivan'.

Hope this helps in someway.

The local newspaper is the Cayman Compass - worth a read to get to know whats occurring locally. It will come up in a google search or they have a Facebook page.

ms_london

That's some great advice, really helpful thank you.

Gordon Barlow

only1. FYI: the Caymanian partner in a business has to hold 60% of the shares, otherwise you have to get a special exemption. There is much more advice on the other thread.

only1rache

Yep 1% was a typo, I knew it had to be at least 50%

VP24

Hey Fred,

I am moving with my family to Cayman in 2 weeks.
I also have good online business ... are you in Cayman now?

Regards,

ven