tan_man25

Hi everyone - this is my first post, so please go easy, lol!

I'm currently living/working in London and my company has offered me an opportunity to work in our Barbados offices for an 18 month peroid from October. Having done a little bit of research, I'm not too sure whether to go for it or not...

The island itself looks beautiful and from what I've heard, generally, there is an extremely relaxed and friendly vibe (and a fairly large expat community?).

Thing is, I'm a 24 year old, single male... and I'm not sure whether Barbados will be the right place for me to get the change that I'm looking for. I get the impression, that alot of the expats on the island are retired pensioners or have moved out there to settle down with their families.

In essence, I'm conscious that I don't fit into either of the above two categories and that it'll be difficult for me to make friends with people of similar ages/similar circumstances.

For those of you living in Barbados already, would you say that the island is more suited to pensioners/families wishing to settle down? Or are my perceptions misguided? Any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated, as I'm struggling to make a decision! Cheers.

Serendipidy

Hi tan man and welcome to the forum

Wow what an opportunity for someone your age to be given...maybe you could express the criteria you will be judging on...Barbados is only a small place and yes it is family focussed but bajans really party hard...I think anywhere new is difficult to find new friends and thats probably going to be down a lot to your openness to new cultures trying new things etc...maybe if you mentioned a few of your hobbies or interests then it might stimulate some further feedback on here....I cant imagine what you might have to loose by trying it out for yourself and i hope you get some info here that helps you make your decision more easily

Trixie_b

I had friends who moved to Barbados for a job opportunity. I thought they were nuts to take the job and move without even visiting for a vacation.

Get yourself a holiday and check it out. There is loads to do as a visitor, and as a young person AND if you live there.
You don't have to hang with expats, you could choose to immerse yourself in the local culture.

If I were in your position I'd be throwing myself at the opportunity, after I'd visited.

Good luck

tan_man25

Hi Serendipidy,

Thanks for your response.

With regards to my openess to new cultures/trying new things... I am very open. I've been living in London my entire life and feel that I just want a change of scenery and to experience a different way of life, whilst I'm young and do not have any commitments etc.

In terms of my interests, I am a keen traveller, which makes Barbados great in terms of location, as it will allow me to get to central/south America fairly easily. I really enjoy partying and just generally socialising with cool, down to earth people.

Are there any others on the forum that have moved to Barbados under similar circumstances to me? If so, would be great to hear what your experiences on the island have been like so far...

tan_man25

Thanks for the advice Trixie_b. I agree it seems a bit crazy moving there without visiting and if I can get the time off of work before October, I will definitely take a trip out there. Thing is, I don't think I'll be able to.

I reckon I'm also having a bit of a quarter life crisis (lol) and feel that I need to take these sorts of opportunities whilst I can! I guess my thought process is that it is only 18months, so what is the worst that could happen?
Also, the fact that I'll be working will probably give me a nice safety net, as I'll be bound to make friends at our Barbados offices.

I am definitely up for immersing myself in the local culture as well as with expats of all different age ranges.
I guess - the point of my original post was just to try and gauge whether the island gets many young twenty-somethings moving there...

Serendipidy

There have definitley been posts from other young men and women in their 20s who were relocating...you would need to look through..joing clubs for diving or surfing etc are ideal things to try..we get so many posts from people that would love the opportunity you are being offered..i would say what regrets would you have if you didnt go for it...if its your job who is offereing would they not let you pop over to their offices there for a week to observe/review seems common sense to me as they dont want to relocate you only to find you walk away from it.

You are so blessed to have such an opportunity im sure you can make it work as they call bimshire (barbados) little england then its not gonna be as big a leap as you think it might be....i would just say having a car is the key to freedom tho in my opinion

britjax

That's good advice check it out first and anyways you've got nothing to lose you gain. I received a job opportunity from BIM to SPS Honduras and jumped at it. It may well be the number 1 murder capital of the world, but I enjoy being here. Life is what you make it.

Orangepants

I say go for it. I was offered a year contract in Cayman in my 20s. I finally left there 14 years later. You never know where these opportunities will lead you..

Pistolpete2

I'm not so sure that at this point you are going to find it that easy to get to the more interesting spots in Central and South America from Barbados, if that is a priority.

St Lucia is supposedly working on getting COPA (of Panama) to provide air service which would indeed open up the entire South American continent and then some but I'm not sure this is going to reach fruition anytime soon. BGI - Trinidad and Guyana Yes! but not much else, other than Caracas through connections in POS. Right now you pretty much have to go to Miami on AA to get anywhere to the south.

If you don't mind cruising and regard that as traveling, then you should be fine as there are several cruises that transit Barbados en-route to South America but one would have to be able to negotiate deals for the partial cruise. Barbados is also a home port for certain Caribbean cruises, particularly during the European winter.

BTW, we are less than an hour from Barbados and also party very hard, so they tell me.

Pistolpete2

I'm obviously not sure what your line of business is. If, for example, you are an accountant, then ironically even though you are being transferred by your present employer on a tour, you usually need to be satisfied that it is a career-advancing decision and there is space for you if you want it at the end of the tour. I've known of situations where transferred employees have then found themselves looked at in condescending terms when they returned to HQ after a tour which can be tough to take when HQ offered the transfer in the first place.

My first exit from the UK was to Bermuda and there were some in the UK HQ who regarded it as a bit of a backwater professionally, sometimes sending transferees like lambs to the slaughter.

Something to maybe ponder in spite of the multitude of social positives for bachelors in paradise.

ajala

Hi tan man, I moved to Barbados with my then boyfriend and I had NEVER visited the island... I love it there. I'm back home now going back to school.. but when school is done I'm going back.. You will definitely meet new people especially since you're going there to work.. Working makes it more easier to meet people and people your co workers may introduce you to. When I first moved there in 2010 I knew no one but my now husband. After getting a job I met so many new people. You are gonna have a blast especially if you're open to meeting new people. Bajans are friendly people. I wish you well and luck on your decision and time there if you choose to relocate.