pgtips

Yeh, but this was pale in comparison to the SE Asia tsunami, now that was a monster of an event and I hope it is one that is never repeated. Imagine whole generations were wiped out, whole villages gone in a blink of an eye.
That is why we have to appreciate what we have now and thank God for our blessings.

_Tropical_11th

You could say that again. I remember listening to the radio station in Trinidad on i95.5fm and CBC radio in Barbados after the hurricane and the reports coming out of Grenada were that 90% of the buildings in Grenada were damaged. Including the cricket stadium which China was building for the just concluded world cup and the airport etc etc. All the Nutmeg trees were torn up.(And as you may know Nutmeg is a large part of Grenada's income. That seed is even shown on their flag.)

The news reports out of the Cayman Islands were no better Cinderblock walks that were about 3 feet thick were buckling in parts of the island. Hurricanes are no joke. But the good news is many islands in the Caribbean didn't have hurricane building standards before Ivan. Many have adopted them now because even a little thing likethe angle of your roof dictates whether it can be blown off or not.

Since then Trinidad has even said the time has come for Caribbean islands to start burrying their telephone/electrical grid to stop them from either being blown down or having to shut them off during the hurricane to keep people from getting electrocuted.

username 34

we lived through Ivan and Emily .... we're 20 miles from Grenada, Ivan was terrifying, everyone kept in the Casino which is the hurricane shelter and the resort devastated.

Emily was a breeze in 2005 after the previous year and Ivan, damage wasnt as bad and nobody killed

gibsomo

Hi,

I'm new to this site and have read some of the Q&As and found them quite interesting. I will be moving to Barbados at the end of next month with my three girls (8, 11 and 14) and basically need info on just about everything associated with the move. I need to rent a 3/4 bedroom house so need information on what I should expect to pay for rental; I would also like to buy a used car but understand that these are very expensive. I am shocked at the price of internet connection and cable/satellite TV. I would also like to know where's the best place to buy groceries and what I should expect to spend per month for a family of four.

More importantly schools. I've heard St. Winifred's is a good school but is more geared towards white bajans who could not get into top government schools. I'm black British and wonder whether my girls would settle in such a school (assuming they got in in the first place!). I have also heard that children who settle in Barbados from the UK are often bullied and teased as their level of education is lower than their Bajan peers. Does anyone know if there's any truth in this? Can anyone recommend any good schools both private and government? I am also in need of rental accommodation which is not too expensive - know of any?

Bajanboy

Gibsomo:

A move is a big deal, especially with three children. I would recommend that you pay a recon visit to sort out the details of your stay before you bring you entire family here. You could visit schools and secure them places for the September term. Barbados has become more cosmopolitan in recent years, and there are lots of expats living here, so you would probably find St. Winifred's reflecting that. While more white Bajans go to St. Winifred's than other schools, the school's population is made up of kids from all races. You could also try getting into the better government schools such as Harrison College, Queen's College, St. Michael's School or even Deighton Griffith.

As for rent for a three bedroom, I think the absolute minimum for a decent house would be Bds$1500, but a more likely figure would be Bds$2000 - Bds$3000. Cable and Wireless just a few days ago doubled the speed of internet connections so for Bds$99 per month you get a blistering 1024 kbps :curseyou are probably more used to 8 Mbps for that price).

A reconditioned Mazda 323 (three years old from Japan) is about $38,000. A new Toyota Yaris is about $53,000.

Food, I guess for four or five of you, you would spend a minimum of Bds$500per week. Check www.supercentre.com for prices.

Hope this helps.

rossam

Hello, this is my first time using the site. I have been reading the information and emails from people moving to the Caribbean.

Myself and my partner and two children want to move to either Tortola or Barbados. Has anyone information on how to go about this. Do we need visa etc.
We are hoping to buy property and start a business is there any restrictions that would apply to us just moving over there and doing this.

Bajanboy

Buying a house in Barbados does not give you the right to reside here indefinitely. You will only get six months at a time and will need to leave Barbados, or reapply at the immigration department. Starting a business here is also not an automatic way to get a work permit. You will need to discuss what you plan to do with the High Commission or Embassy where you live. I believe that you would have to invest a substantial amount of money and have a business that creates lots of jobs to get a work permit. So if you plan do have a small business that employs just you and your partner, I doubt they will allow you to get a work permit on that alone. The High Commissions or Embassies have sections that deal with attracting foreign businesses to Barbados, so it would be best to get advice from them.

My flatmate here in Barbados has a boyfriend who, until recently, was working in Tortola. She said it is harder to get a working visa there because they really try to protect local jobs. So, it does not matter that Tortola is part of the BVI which is a british colony.

What kind of business were you thinking of setting up?

rossam

Thank you banjanboy for your reply.
We will look into more details from the Embassies and Immigration departments.

azure_eyes

hey everyone, i have just joined the site and have been reading this thread with great interest.

i recently returned from a week in barbados with my 20mth old son and some friends. i fell completely in love with the island and the people - especially the people!

i grew up in Cyprus and don't cope very well with the long winters in the UK so Barbados was like heaven to me - 20 times better than cyprus!

I recently separated from my husband and I can now choose my own life, so at the moment i am making tentative research into moving to barbados with my son in a year and a half or so.

At the moment I am studying a course in Sports Massage and will be done in ten months, so that is my idea for self-employment there, possibly through hotels. However, I have a few questions about property.. I dont own here in the UK and would probably not be able to afford to buy over there straight away. What is rent like over there? We would only need a tiny place. Also, is owning property a condition of citizenship? Would it be best to do the six month thing to start off with and work it out from there?

There has been some great advice on here, and I've pasted some of it into a document for future reference! I would love to hear from anyone with any thoughts on this,

Many THanks
Azure_eyes

Olderman

I've seen a lot of talk about schools on this site, but not many specifics. Does anyone out there have any experience with specific schools that they could say were good or bad? (Either primary or secondary)
Someone said that some of the state schools were very good. But which ones?
What about the private schools? Are they mostly white, or evenly mixed, do some have a better or perhaps just different reputation than another? I would love to hear from people with children in school there or recent graduates.
Thanks,http://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

GerrySports

Hi Linda,

We've just joined this site as we are also looking to relocate in Barbados in the near future.

I do agree that Barbados is the better of the islands, it's friendly (the racism is far & few between & from our experiences & talking to other ex pats limited to words or looks). Bajans old & young acknowledge the fact that foreigners bring in money & prosperity to the island & without them it would be nowhere near as developed as it is.

I have been going to Barbados for over 20yrs & have never experienced and hostility & have stayed all over the island & in local communities, my partners 17yr old daughter only experienced one incident this year with a (white bitch) from a small group of 14 - 15yr old (ignorant youths) as she was lying on the beach, but that was only because she chose to ignore their wolf whistles. :-) she can be a bit snooty when she wants to be. :-)

Barbados is a great place to relocate to, as the other person stated it is modern (although slightly behind UK) in it's thinking, the laws are more relaxed in regards to foreigners and .... trust me you won't regret it.

There are so many ex pats & brits on holiday there all year long you won't feel isolated.

We looked at schools & if we had to list preferences it would be:

Codrington - (The principle is Welsh & very approachable)
St Winifred's
The Convent

Property with the british £ being at it's best is very reasonable you can get a good sized 3/4 bed ddetachedhouse for around $600,000 (160k UK)

I would suggest before you change you should check out your other choice, it's a big move to make, & if you've not been there.........................

Best of luck

Gerry & Meriel

trutje

Why Belinda would want to be surrounded by Brits is a mistery to me...Belinda is Austrian!

Belinda1974

I don´t have anything against Brits Yesterday we joined a worship community in St. Philip, it was a very new and refreshing experience. Nice people and all of them gave us a warm welcome. They have children groups as well which is very good for Melina to learn to know other kids. The community is mixed, white and black bajans as well as expats. We were really very surprised by all these warm and friendly people there.

Although we are here now only for 2 weeks, I already felt at home from the first day on, the same to my husband and Melina. So we don´t feel alone here, not a t all

bajangirl

Hello all. I have a question about salaries in Barbados. My husband has a chance at getting a job in Barbados for an off shore company. He is an electrician and we were wondering what would be considered a good salary for a family of 5 to live on. We would like to put our 2 older children 7 and 10 in private schools. Our understanding is that an off shore company pays more than working for a local company. I am a Barbadian citizen by descent since this past May and I believe the company will be taking care of my husbands papers if required. Nothing is certain yet

Thank you to anyone who has the time to answer.

Belinda1974

Hi bajangirl,

it all depends on your lifestyle, and if you are planning to rent a house/apartment or rather buy one. I and my family are now here and already had an overview of the property rental prices, if you need 3 bedrooms and want a nice house in a secure and quiet neighbourhood, maybe with a big garden around it, you should calculate BD$ 1.500 - 3.000,- - depending on the "luxury level" of the house. We just found a quite huge house in St. Philip for 2.000,- a month, but this was a bargain.......
Add BD$ 250,- - 350,- for energy, water and telephone per month, also depending on your spendings....

If your 2 kids will attend private school, plan around BD$ 800,- a month for both for tuiton fees if you are a national. For non-nationals it is more expensive....
We will pay around BD$ 700,- a month for St. Winifreds for our daughter.

Also living is not cheap, I personally would say that you will need around BD$ 500,- a week for 5 persons, if not more......

I am not a specialist in these things because we recently came over and are experiencing all this at the moment, but for our small family I calculated around BD$ 4.500,- per month for all (house, energy, water, phone, school, food, gas.....), but I suppose It will be little bit more once we really life here.....

I wish you the best for your plans, and hope that your husband will get a very good salary over here!