Moving to Barbados
 

Hello All,

Where to begin, well I am soon to be leaving my chosen career with Her Majesties Land Forces after 22 years and the plan is to move to my spiritual home which is Barbados.

I fell in love with the island over 10 years ago when My father brought the whole family to see where he was born. So now with less than two years until I am relieved of my duties I am trying to get as much information so as to make the move as painless as possibly.

So here goes what I think I need to know about....

1. I need to find somewhere to rent whilst I stay for a couple of weeks over the next 20 months or so when I come for job interviews.

2. I will also need to find somewhere to rent for longer periods when I come to live for good.

3. I have as yet no real idea what I will be doing for a job as I have no idea what the job market is like. I have as yet no idea whether a CV or resume is required.

4. Finally, I have no idea about how to go about Medical cover, car ownership and all the other little things that are required to live.

I know there is allot here and a big ask to anyone who might be able to offer advice, however, as I live in the UK it is quite difficult to find the in formation that I need and this was one of the routes suggested by my career advisor.

Thanks for reading and any help on any of the above questions will be gratefully received.

no2son

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

No2 as you are asking for basically information on everything i would recommend that you take some time and read through a lot of the old posts on here as they basically cover most of the things you are asking and have been very comprehensively covered in the past.

You will find lots of valuable information on previous threads answering questions that you are yet to even think off

Happy reading

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Thankyou. I'll do that over the weekend away from the pressures of work.

No 2 Son

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Hello All,

Could someone give me some advise for Moving to Barbados?

I have the following question.

I'm single, and some company at Barbados made me an offer for moving to work there, and the salary is 50,000 USD/YEAR (100,000 BBS/YEAR). Could you live well with this amount of money?

I heard that the cost of living there is really high.

Thanks a lot for your help.

David

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

to flaco8a
for a single person, I would say yes.. much depends on where you want to live, cost of the apartment, what type of nightlife you have.. and food you eat.. .. but the most important thing you need to be concerned about is the work permit situation. if you are the only person that can do this job and the company has a work permit for you.. go for it.. if not.. .. be very careful..

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Dear Sunniebgi

Thanks a lot for your reply.
Well, relating to work permit, the company has already requested it, and the offer is subject to the work permit approval.

It would for Living at Bridgetown.

Relating to the place for living and nightlife, well I would need like 1 bed apartment, and relating to nightlife, I think that I'm a normal guy, that likes to go out on a normal base.

So based on this, you still think that its a "good" normal salary for living there?

Thans again.

I really appreciate your help.

David

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

David as a single person you would live very well on that figure in my opinion.

Local bajans average wage is $1000-$2000bds a month so that is less than $25k bds a year so as you can see your salary would be well above the average.

I myself as single person lived well there on 60-70 k bds (£20,000) a year and I had a 3 bed house 5 mins drive from the nightlife in a very nice area and owned a car.

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Dear Serendipidy,

Thanks a lot for your help. It is much appreciated.

Kind Regards,

David

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Dear flaco8a, could you let me know how it goes please with your move. I'm going to be doing it within the next 20 months. Any up to date advice would be a great help

no2son

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Hi Everyone

I'm new to this forum and I guess what I am looking for is some reassurance on the few doubts I have left on a potential move...

I'm 30 years old, single, and have been living in Toronto, Canada for the last 18 months. I was due to return to London in 6 months time, and the closer it got the more I realised that I didn't really want to go back! So I investigated other postings within my firm. Lo and behold, there's a suitable job in Barbados!

Up until two weeks ago I'd never been to the Caribbean, never been to Barbados. I went over for a few short days (was only there for 2 full days) to have a formal interview and find out more about the island.

The company I work for has an office just outside Bridgetown, and I'd concur that everyone I met seemed lovely and friendly, very welcoming.

I was shown some apartments up for rent in Christ Church and other areas to get an idea of cost. It seems that a decent condo within walking distance of the beach and bars is probably do-able. I know there are cheaper options of course and much depends on personal preferences!

I went out in the St Lawrence Gap for St Patrick's Day. To McBrides of course! And it was a lot of fun. It seemed very safe, and I would say that eating out there and buying rounds of drinks didn't seem too different in price to reasonable restaurants here in Canada.

Sunshine, beaches, water sports and diving... it's a tropical paradise -right? Plus there are all the great things unique to Barbados itself, like the cricket, polo, golf and various festivals. Plenty to keep me amused during a 2 year contract, surely?!

So why am I hesitating?

Well, mostly because I'm 30 and single.

My worry is that the expat community will consist of either married couples with or without kids, and young couples / young singles not long out of university. I am worried that I'm going to get stuck somewhere in the middle and not really fit that well into the community. I am very much used to city living (recently London, Amsterdam, Toronto) and with only a small population on the island I am worried that I will get lonely.

I've done expat living most of my life in various places around Europe, and I know better than most that you have to make an effort to get out and meet people, to get involved and get stuck in. But I also know that in reality it can be hard especially in communities where people come and go all the time.

Does anyone have any words of advice? Are you a singleton who's moved to Barbados? How easy was it to make friends in the community (both expat and local) ?

I am extremely torn and will need to make a decision in the next few weeks.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Dear No2son.

Of Course, I will let you know. If everything works with the permit, Im supposed to should be moving on June or July. I'm really happy for it, and this forum has been very helpful for me (thanks to all).

So as soon as I have moved to Barbados I will tell you how everything was.

Take care.

David.

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

To Eurobrit.

My advise is that you must definitely move. Bajans are really friendly, the expat community has a lot of couples, but there is a lot of single persons also. and they expat community is really friendly also.

Well, my advise, move to Barbados.

In my case, I will move to there.

regards,

David.

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Well, I think some of your fears are well-founded. Lots of the ex-pats here are couples or older people, and a lot of the ex-pat groups focus on arranging activities best-suited to families.

That said, I don't think that should discourage you from moving. You'll meet people at work or where you live who are probably a similar age to you who will introduce you to a suitable social circle, I'm sure. It might not be that you focus your time particularly on the ex-pat scene, but that's not necessarily a bad thing ;)

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

I agree with Ikon.

A good number of the expats here are young families (which even puts me out of their league to a small degree - I'm in a relationship, but not interested in having kids, so there is a whole group I don't spend much time with). However, there are plenty who aren't, and you can & should meet local people as well.

For me, I have lots of different types of friends - young, old, single, couples, with kids, without kids, some with grandkids! If you keep your mind open (as it sounds like you do), you'll meet a great variety of people.

As Ikon said, you will probably meet people through your work. Do you have hobbies or activities that you'd be interested in trying here? That can be another good way to meet people.

I see you've spent a lot of time in Toronto (and other large cities). I'm not sure if city life is your cup of tea, but for me it was a big adjustment coming from Toronto to Barbados. I'm accustomed to the city life, and life is different here. Not saying it's bad, just something you have to adjust to.

Best of luck with your move.
Foxy

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Eurobrit, with a population of aproximately 300,000, a large ex pat circle, and also hundreds of thousands of tourist visiting the island each year, I am sure you will make a few buddies in Barbados. Go for it, there are plenty of others who would give their right arm for the opportunity you have.

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Hi Eurobrit

I would say that your past experiences will make you a prime candidate to build a life in Barbados. You have already identified the issues and are prepared for them and have even mentioned some of the solutions ie diving and cricket etc - both these will enable you to mix with both expats and locals - being male is also a bonus as generally as a woman i found it very difficult to make female bajan friends.

You will probably find that you end up with an ecclectic set of friends of all diverse ages and backgrounds as i did and of course as a man you can even go to mcbrides etc on ya own and mingle

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Dear No2son,

Finally, Im ready for moving. I will be moving to Barbados in the second week of June.

The company has already advised that the work permit has been granted, Im only waiting for some minour details in order to travel.

the work permit process took around 5-6 weeks in this case. The company made everything, the only thing I made was to send them some documentation that they required.

So, If you need any help, please let me know.

kind regards,

David:thumbup:

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

flaco8a,

Congratulations on having everything sorted and good luck with the move. I'm a little jealous as my move is still 18 months away but I'm sure the time will fly.

no2son

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Eurobrit.... I've only just seen your query now about making friends etc. here in Barbados.

Well, just to share my experience. I came here first totally by myself in 2007 at the age of 27. I quickly met a girl and she is now my wife!! I joined a local football team and I still play with them and I have made plenty of friends through work and through my new Bajan family.

So, I'm sure you will have no problems!!

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

I think it definitely is a bit more difficult as a woman. You have the choice to interact with the expats-and yes you will probably feel out of place, yet you will have the familiarity of culture, etc. and I'm sure they will help you settle in and make friends. So if you want to segregate yourself prepare for that.

My suggestion would be to make friends regardless of whether Bajan or not.
If your worry is dating then...I think it's easy to have an active social life, and therefore meet potentials.

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Hi I am a singleton going to Barbados to work and live:thumbup: if there are any singletons going or in Barbados I would love to meet you:)

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

I'm one sassy! When are you coming out?

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Hi Zanne:rofl:
Thank you for replying to me
I am hoping to come on 28th September just need to finalise a few points on my contract.::blink:
where do you live/ work in Barbados?
How long you been there?
where is a good place to register for medical needs?
where best to hire a car long term?

really hope to hear from you:thumbup:

Re: Moving to Barbados
 

Hi Flaco8A
I read your post of March this year and found it really useful. I too have been offered a job in Barbados who wish for me to leave the end of september 2010. but I am concerned about some issues like healthcare, work permit etc. can you tell me the documents I need to provide for my work permit, getting my personal belongings there as being a lady a suitcase just wont cut it.