Island Couple

Hi Everyone,

We have just joined the forum and looking for help and advice as we are packing up our lives here in Scotland and moving to St Martin.

We are a married couple with a teenage daughter and two cats, hubby has a background in event and retail management and will be looking for a job while wife runs an online business which can be run from anywhere with a good broadband connection, daughter will be home schooled and the cats will do what they always do.... sleep lol

Looking for anyone willing to help us with info on pretty much everything from an average cost of living to job prospects, yeah we know it's a lot of info to look for but every little helps and the internet is not really throwing much info at us right now except the usual tourist stuff!

Thanks in advance mon,

Michelle and Aly

Mitzyboy

Welcome to the forum. I used to run a consolidation service to the Netherlands Antilles, but thats as close as I got unfortunately

Island Couple

Thanks for the welcome!

Seems nobody around here is much interested in St Martin , which is surprising considering as part of the EU it is so accesable as a place to live

Deb-123

Hi - we spend a lot of time on St Maarten & have a place here. I think the reason why you will not get many responses on this forum is that British Expats tend to go to the British territories - ie: Barbados, Lucia, Antigua, Jamaica, etc. (In fact, the only reason I stumbled across the site was because I was looking for information on getting our cat back from St Maarten to England via France last year; a saga but a successful one!). Also, I assume that you are moving to the French side which is, as you say, part of the EU and that your husband speaks French. I don't know much about job prospects on the French side - tourism is pretty much the only industry. The Dutch side is not part of the EU & it is very difficult for a non-Antillian/Dutch passport holders to get work or set up a business. For finding information on living & working in St Martin try searching French websites for the Chamber of Commerce/Business Association in Marigot St Martin or Guadeloupe. Until recently St Martin was part of Guadeloupe & still has some administrative ties with it.

As a general overview, it is a wonderful island. the Dutch side is quite developed (think MacDonalds & casinos) whilst the French side much quieter with beautiful beaches & great food. There are regular cargo flights bringing French produce (that enjoy the EU Island subsidy) as well as provisions from the US. It's an island where you can have as much or as little of the Caribbean experience as you want. I'm happy to answer any questions if I can!

Angel face

Hi, my boyfriend and I have been living on the island of St Maarten since November. We live and work on the Dutch side in Philipsburg. When we first came over here we were surprised at how high the general cost of living is, but we have been told it's because everything is imported (even some of the palm trees!) We love it here, the people are extremely friendly and the island is beautfiul. It only takes us a few hours to drive around on a weekend. Ironically we believe that the Dutch side is a lot easier to live on than the French, unless of course you speak French. English is the most commonly spoken language on the Dutch side in Philipsburg/Simpson Bay. Whilst on the French side they mostly speak French (which I quite like).

If you have any questions on anything specific I'll be happy to help if I can.

loser40

I just discovered that EU citizens can easily move to St Martin so am considering there instead of Canada - any info regarding job-sites and uni's appreciated.

BTW, some of the property seems competitively priced compared to the SE UK.

M.

Deb-123

Please don't take this the wrong way but considering moving to St Martin instead of Canada based on it being part of the EU does not make a whole lot of sense to me. They are very different places..not least weatherwise! To answer your specific questions - there are no universities on the French side & for job-hunting I would suggest you look at French recruitment websites & contact the local chamber of commerce in Marigot, as I suggested to the OP. Pretty much the only industry is tourism. Incidentally, the other French Caribbean territories of Guadeloupe & Martinique are much more developed & therefore would offer more job opportunities, although I can't say I would recommend Guadeloupe at the moment due to the problems with strikes & civil unrest.

With regard to property prices, as with everywhere, so much depends on the location. There are parts of St Martin that are highly desirable - eg: the villas in Basse Terre which sell for millions of Euros & some areas where, to put it politely, I wouldn't choose drive round at night.

Angel face

Hi,

My fiance and I lived in St Maarten (Phillipsburg on the Dutch side) for five months up until a few weeks ago when we flew back to the UK. There are two Universities on the Dutch side (one by the salt pond and one by Maho Bay) which are of a good standard and a few libraries on the island, one in Phillipsburg and one in Marigot on the French Side. We stayed in a luxury apartment in Phillipsburg on the beach front costing $2,000 a month, it was expensive but well worth it, but that really isn't the norm. Generally you'll pay circa $1,500 a month if you live in areas like Point Blanche, Grand Case, Oyster Pond or Simpson Bay but there are bargains to be had out there. A downturn in the amount of tourism over the past year has meant that the cost of living has depreciated but it is still double the price of what youwould expect to pay in the UK.

I know the island rather well, having spent the time I was there working and exploring so if you need any specific advice please let me know as I am happy to help.

Good luck

loser40

Hello again...

Thanks for your reply Angel face - yes, from what Ive seen, it does look like a lovely place and while it is appealing because of the lack of time delay due to the Canadian immigration procedure's red tape, I/we are still at the thinking about it stage at the moment - if we need more advice I'll definitely PM you - thanks

Deb 123 - I agree that they are very different places - weather included - but the reason it appeals is because it seems to have charm, and there is no lengthy immigration process, we could literally just turn up at the airport and settle without any red tape... maybe the island could be a stepping stone for us.

Regards,

Mark.

fabledbananna

Hold the phone people!

Time out!

I'm confused, by reading some of these posts on here it appears that a lot of you think that EU citizens have right of passage to live and work in St. Maarten without any immigration hurdles.

Like you can just turn up and apply for a job as if you were moving to another part of your own country!!

What's the real deal please?!?!

Deb-123

It's possible that there's confusion because the island is half French half Dutch. The French part - St Martin - is part of France (a department of Paris) & thus is part of the EU. An EU citizen has the same right to reside & work as they do in any other part of the EU. The Dutch part - Sint Maarten - is part of the Netherland Antilles & is not part of the EU. Thus, the only people with an automatic right to reside & work on the Dutch side are holders of Dutch or Netherland Antilles passports. Although there are no border controls (so one moves freely between the 2) they are separate territories with their own laws, currency, language, etc.

Hope that helps!

fabledbananna

Sounds interesting! Any other parts of the world that do this for EU (UK) citizens? Apart from the EU of course!

Deb-123

Sorry, I don't know the answer to that question. In the Caribbean, Martinique & Guadeloupe are also part of France & thus the EU. I agree that superficially it is strange that it is easier for a Brit to live & work in St Martin than in the British oversea territories like the BVI.

fabledbananna

So basically I can just turn up at the airport.....

Immigration officer: Morning Sir, what is the purpose of your trip?

Me: "Well I thought I'd spend a few weeks here, if I like it then try and get myself a job and never return to Blighty".

Immigration officer: "Enjoy, and good luck".

pgtips

I think this needs a little further investigation. St Martin is a very small island and if the whole of Europe could just turn up and stay indefinately I am sure it would sink under the sea