iow999

Hi,

We should be moving to barbados in the next few months. we have looked through the other questions and answers about cost of living however still a little confusing. where is the best place to find houses to rent please. i would also like to contact others that have already made the move and hear about their experiences. thanks

Ikon

Check out cariblist.com for places to rent/buy.

Check out caribzoomzoom.com for car prices too - expect them to be twice as expensive as at home, so worth taking them into account in your budget early on!

Good luck with your move x

iow999

Hi, Thanks for your reply. Is it worth us bringing the car over?. we are coming over for ten days on the 21st of this month to check out a few things. Where is the best place to meet people who have taken the step already, i looked on the chat rooms but they all seem to think you are looking for a date lol !!!!

Ikon

You won't save an awful lot bringing your cars over, b/c you still have to pay the massive import duty on them and there's an age limit on them - perhaps someone can remind me, do they have to be fewer than 4 years old???? You basically end up paying for your car all over again, b/c the tax is almost the same as the price of the car.

It's not hard meeting other ex-pats. We decided to live in a gated community for our first year b/c we thought it would help us meet others in a similar position, so that might be a good idea for you too. It was nice having a point of contact and a feeling of security, and a lot of the ex-pats who have just moved here seem to follow the same line of thought so it provided a good social network for us.

I'm on the west coast, and I actually find the ex-pat community stifling sometimes so you certainly wouldn't find it hard to meet Brits up here. There's lots of ex-pats around the south coast too - a lot of the posters on here are on the south coast I think?

If I were to rewind a year to when we first came over, I'd probably make more effort to join classes and clubs etc. That would be an easy way to meet loads of people! Whatever you like doing at home, there's probably a group here for you to join and meet people.

Do you have school-age children? As soon as our little boy started school, I found our diary quickly filling up!! They can be ideal places to meet new people, and there's usually ex-pat families to meet at most schools here.

Serendipidy

Check out the Nation Newspaper on line property is advertised there on a daily basis....

As for talking to people who have already made the move - umm this site is a good place for you!

iow999

Hi Ikon,
Thanks for the information, it was very helpful. my 2 children are 20 and 22 so it will be just me and the wife that is coming. i have been on cariblist and sorted out a few properties to view whilst we are over next week. we can sit and go through them over a glass of rum!. we liked "bakers" houses but its difficult to know whats good and bad. i will hire a car and have a good look round i think. once again thanks for the info. Brian

iow999

Hi. thanks for the info, i will have a look on line now. We may be able to get a better house for the same money we would pay an agent for. what is the house you are renting and where please.

Serendipidy

Hi Its on the South Coast bout 15 mins from Airport - I will PM you with some more info

fionajean

Hi,

I've been reading a lot of these threads about moving/living in Barbados because I've just sent off an application for a job there.

It's a couples job in a new condominium development very close to Hastings. Just involves a bit of cleaning and maintenance and in return they're offering a "nice" one bedroom apartment, use of a car and 200GDP "per couple" per week. They're asking for a commitment of at least one year.

Judging from past posts I really need to find out if this includes utilities and also if there's going to be any help with work visas. Also if we do get work visas I imagine there might be the possibility of picking up bar work or something on the side?

But I was also hoping for opinions on how this job sounds from a local perspective... My boyfriend and I have been traveling and working random, low paying jobs for the last two years so we'd be looking at it from a purely lifestyle perspective, but we do need to eat.

Thanks in advance
Fi and Wes

Ikon

I'd definitely check out if they're organising work visas for you, because I'm at a loss to understand how they'd obtain them. I can't comprehend why they wouldn't be able to find a Bajan couple with the necessary skills to do the job.

fionajean

Yeah, I've looked in the requirements for a work visa and it does state that they're only awarded if no Bajan can do the same job... The job was advertised on a London website so they must have their reasons. We'll just have to wait and see.

Serendipidy

Sounds a bit too good to be true cos they could so easily find that couple here - £200 is nearly $700 a week which is nearly $3k per month which is excellent salary for here and way higher than the average - add a car and accommodation and something is up!!!

If it is a true add then maybe the 200 is $bds?? No harm applying tho just wait and see if they ask for cash or something to "process" your "work permit" (which would be impossible to obtain) then run lol

Foxy_fromCanada

Just a note: if granted a work permit, it is only valid for one employment. It does not mean that you can get second jobs. So, you would only be able to work the one job.

They do this because while you might be approved for a particular position, you still can't come here and take a job from a Bajan (which is, in most cases, what that second job would be).

You would need a second work permit to have a second job, and that's not possible as they only allow one permit per person.

If you are caught working without a work permit, they'll deport you (I've seen it happen).

Having said all that unpleasant stuff, good luck with the position!