Time out in Barbados
 

Hi everyone, I am new to this site, and i was amazed how friendly and helpful (well most) people on here are... so really hoping for a good response to my (i apologies in advice) million and 1 questions..

I am wanting to move to Barbados for about six months or so...in Feb/March..from the UK as I just truly love the Island (in fact i have only just returned from yet another break there)..I have been to Barbados a few times and even spent 2 months there on one occasion, so i think Barbados will be a great place to take some time out..

I am not Bajan myself.. but do have family friends who are Bajans and live in barbados.. whom i am yet to consult about my move..

I have read a number of posts on here already which i have found extremely useful, however i do have a few more questions that i would really appreciate if someone could answer..

Ive been looking at apartments to rent - but non states the min tenancy period, does anyone know?

I would love to have a car whilst out there, but to buy a car in Barbados is really really expensive, I'm considering shipping a car there, has anyone done that before? would a UK car be OK in Barbados with regards to the hot climate there compared to the UK?

I have a 3.5 year old that i hope can attend a school whilst there... i keep hearing of St Gabriel's and St Wilifred which i understand are great private schools.. Does anyone know of the current fees? and whether i can begin the process of getting my child into a school from here?

Lastly... is there anything i can do work wise whilst in barbados? I work in IT as a QA Test Analyst... any such work in Barbados? are there many IT jobs in Barbados...? T
though i understand that i will require a work permit, it would be good to know that if i stayed longer then planned, and got the required documents there could potentially be some sort of work (within the same field) that i could do...

Thanks very much

Look forward to your responses..

Patty.

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Hi Patty and welcome

Due to the credit crunch there is good and bad news for you. Re the accomodation at the time of World cup Cricket it was a landlords market but now its definitley the tenants time to negotiate. I would approach any option for renting with that in mind. Now the bad news - due to the same uncertainty working in Barbados now is probably the worst time to try it. Companies are now letting expats go as these companies are affected by the market world wide - its tough enough for local IT bajan graduates to get jobs coming out of UWI - add to that the fact that work permits are just not happening and you dont have the ideal time for looking for work.

Re cars - from what i heard you end up paying 110% of the value of your car (that the barbados value and cars are expensive there) in customs duty if you are not a returning national. I am not sure if this is actually true but i do know its an expensive option.

You will also have to consider if you can actually get 6 months or so - its a risk at the moment as the present government is re-organising their immigration policies and they are just an unknown quantity for everyone right now.

Sorry this info is not the normal positive stuff i would like to send you but its only fair to warn you of the realities and uncertainties at this present time

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Serendipidy... Thank you so much for that.. a bit of an eye opener.. will certainly take on board all that youve said and investigate further... Not quite put off yet tho...

I do have to say, im not entirely surprised about the situation with regards to IT work in Barbados.. IT jobs are not exactly flourishing here in the UK either...

Work was only a consideration if i extended my planned 6months stay (thats if i can even stay up to that long)...

So what do the non-working expats do all day in Barbados? how easy is it to make friends with other expats?

From ONE Bajan point of view, i've been told that in order to become friends with (the majority of) other expats.. i am required to be quite wealthy so to keep up with the high profile lifestyle that they lead... how true is this..?

As im certainly not wealthy (yet).. and though i do not have a problem with mingling with the rich n famous, I cant really afford their life style...

Does anyone know the current school fees for St Gabriel's and St Wilifred schools?

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

That's total crap. I think there is a misconception here that all expats are wealthy. Some are and some aren't. In fact, I'd say the majority in my life are not wealthy. I'm not wealthy and people still like me :rofl:

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

P.S. sorry to mods if I'm not allowed to say "crap"....:o

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Foxy..
I should hope people would still like you even though you are not wealthy and i hope the same for myself...
It was never a question of whether id be liked or not but rather are there people that are happy to hang out, jump on the local bus, eat at local places and do local inexpensive things..(actually dont know of anything thats cheap in Barbados)..

by all means i can make friends with someone wealthy but who just cant rough it a bit.. leads a certain life style, only eats at certain places - not because they are up themselves, but thats just their lifestyle.. all which i wouldnt be able to afford too regularly... now am i gonna free load..? NO... so thats what i meant by needing to be wealthy also...

But thanks for that Foxy,

Ill be sure to set that ONE Bajan straight about their wrong misconception... its music to my ears as im hoping meet and make friends with open n nice people, rich or poor... that i can relate with.

Patty

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

You know I was being sarcastic, right? That's what the rolling laughter icon was for ;)

Of course people will like other people whether or not they are wealthy. My point is you have nothing to worry about. You'll be just fine. There are a ton of great people here, local and expat.

Yes Barbados is expensive in some ways, but in other ways it's not. When you find the less expensive things to do, it's great! Like going to the movies - that's super cheap in my opinion. It's much more expensive in Canada, so I love going to the movies here! And tons of affordable places to eat & drink.

Best of luck with your move.

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Thanks for that Foxy, really appreciate it...

But do you mind me asking what your situation is...? Are you full time in Barbados..?

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

without having the invoice in front of me St. Gabriel's is about 1450.00bbd per term for local.. and I have to apologize, I don't know the current rate for an expat.

http://www.stwinifredsschool.com/html/admission.html.. scroll down and you will find a PDF form for the school fees, based on class (age).

Also have a look at The Convent Schools as another option.. You don't have to be Catholic to have your child attend (I'm not and my 2 daughters go to secondary school at St. Ursula's) http://www.conventschoolsbarbados.co...page/Itemid,1/

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Sunniebgi,

Thank you very much for that, very very helpful information indeed...

I would still like to put a question out to everyone... whilst in Barbados (and not working..:-((() can i expect to fill my days with exciting things, whilst my child is at school, or will i quickly get board with being a (not so wealthy) woman of leisure..?

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Hmmm, I am going to have to reevaluate my choice in friends! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Foxy is right, that is total crap...

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

I agree, I thought Foxy was loaded... Who knows how I can block her?

Patty - if your child is only 3 or 4 (was that what you said) then you can always put him/her in a preschool for the time you are here, they do not come under Ministry of Edcation rules. Much easier all round...

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Ha ha ha!!! I tricked you all!

Hm, except now the cat's out of the bag, and here I am, friendless. Should have thought this one through! :rofl:

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

You've been keeping a cat in a bag :ohmy:

Talking of which, my cat is pregnant (say nothing!!!) so if anyone knows anyone wanting a kitten sometime in Dec then let me know...

And I am now confessing the dog count has also risen slightly... :o

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

@ Shines - ill look into that.. thanks

Im now clear on what to do whilst out there... fill my days with Sarcasm.. LOL... cheers:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Haha Patty! Yeah, some of us have a bit of banter going back & forth.

Shines, OMG I would soooo love a cat (or 2!) but landlord and Netsirk both say no :( :thumbdown: Boooo to them.

And how many dogs have you now? Is that 5? I was out at a friend's last night playing with her 8 rotweiler/bullmastiff mix puppies. Gosh, they are cute at 6wks old! I'd take one if they stayed that size ;)

Back to Patty - your original question (or one of them) was how to fill your days. Depends on your interests. I'm an active person, when I'm not breaking bones, so outside of work I do a lot of running, cycling, yoga, karate, scuba & personal training.

I think someone also mentioned the British, Canadian and American Women's clubs.

Myself, I also took the opportunity to expand a couple of my hobbies (photography and web design). My goal is to get enough learning under my belt so I can open my own business when we move back to Canada (timeline undetermined at this point but that's years away).

Good luck,
Foxy

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

My friend has good accommodation for you including car and all utilities brand new 2 bedrooms upper class area west coast.$2,500usd per month.

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Neal brown..Thanks but i have now managed to get someone to sort out accommodation for me.
I am however still looking at car options tho... i have been advised that i will be hit with huge import taxes if i was to export my car to barbados..

is long term rental an option? or is it far too expensive..?

Can any one offer advice as to what they (or friends) opted to do when just staying in Barbados for a few months with regards to a car??? I understand it is a MUST have, especially with schools runs..

@ Foxy, I would love to say im a very active person but in reality im more a eater then a runner.. i may try yoga whilst there tho.. I guess The British, Canadian and American Women's clubs is a good starting point in getting more info as to what activities are available and possible learning or training opportunities to expand certain interests???.....I'll look at other posts to see if i can find more info about that.. Thank you..

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Long term rental is an option the villa comes with the car because my friend working overseas and i have full controll of the property,,what you can do is contact me because i dont want people think am putting out advertistment here i can send photos and work a good deal out for you.There are quite a few British expats in this area [email protected]

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Haha, I understand! Food is good.

WRT yoga - there are a bunch of places that offer classes, so I'm sure you could find one once you arrive. Others on this forum have suggestions for yoga locations. The one I usually go to (when I'm not injured - seriously accident-prone) is once a week through the Fitness Zone in Hastings Plaza. They have an outside guy come in on Tuesday evenings and he is really good.

You don't have to be a member of the gym to go to the yoga classes there.

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Neal, thanks again, but my accommodation is in hand. i am still requiring a car tho...

@ Foxy.... will certainly try the gym you've recommended.. how long i'll last? hmmm that'll be very interesting.. No chance of a male eye candy instructor is there... :D.. cheers for dat:thumbup:

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

You can buy a cheap car for about $10,000USD,Insurance can run about betweem $1,000USD to $1,400USD Road Tax $225USD anything under that price you are asking for trouble,check the Nation Barbados online go to classified section and you can find cheap stuff like accommodation,cars,furnitures and lots of other stuff and services that you can get at good prices.Thats where all the locals shop not at real estate agencies.

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

I'm starting to think Neal only posts here to advertise..... Which I understood is against the rules. Even if it isn't, it's a little irritating. He's not answering the original poster's queries at all.

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Ikon,the tread i reply to ask about accommodation cars and school, i have tried to help with accommodation and say what i could about cars am not to familiar with the school system so i cannot comment,when a person reccommend some place is that advertising if i had said Crane Hotel,Sandy Lane,Barbados Beach Club,will that be advertising what is the difference,why is it that some people can recommend hotels and villas and guest houses and some people cant?this is one of the reason i dont get to involved because of the amount of bias people in society today::thumbdown::

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Well I don't think those other people stand to profit from it, and they're not 'selling' it in the same way as you. Your posts read differently to others, and speaking personally, make me roll my eyes. If I'm the only one who feels that, then fair enough.
But I doubt it.......

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

US$10,000??? you call that a cheap car??
If you keep your eyes open you can find something old-ish and basic for around BBD$6,000 - won't be pretty but it will get you from A to B. You have to buy the Nation (newspaper) early and get on the phone straight away. If you find something i can put you in touch with a good local mechanic (south coast) who can take a look at it for you.

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Ikon am not going to discuss anything with you,seems like you are suffering from some kind of post traumatic stress & boredom,:unsure:
Expat wannabe07 notice what i have said you can get a car fo $10,000usd if you dont want any problems,does anyone here ever direct people to the Nation classified?NO i dont think so, but now i have let people know where there can find cheap stuff seems like everyone is angry with me,maybe i should of said Simpson Motors,Mcanearney where some of your friends are working then everything will be fine MMMMMMMMMMM scary people:sneaky:

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Er......i have no friends at Simpsons or MacInerney, i'm talking about a local mechanic who won't even charge for taking a look at a car.

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Neal.. you answered the post, but you said.. "your friend" had an accommodation.. then the next post you advised that "that friend was away and YOU had full control over the property".. sounds like you want to get a rental.. that's advertising, even if you don't put it that way.

We all recommend places.. papers, car dealers, restaurants (even the ones my friends own), but I'm not getting anything out of it.. maybe you aren't either, but that's not how it's coming across.

I'll let the mods deal with how you post things..

and yes.. in Barbados 10,000usd is cheap for a fairly good used car.. one that should not go boom 2 seconds after you take ownership. I also have a "reliable" mechanic close to me (St. George) who didn't charge me anything to look at my car.. but nuff to fix it.. and even more nuff if he has to get the parts locally..

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Regardless of my initial query regarding Neal's blatant advertising, he's now taken it upon himself to make personal and disparaging remarks against me which not only have no place in logic, they have no place on a friendly board like this.

I trust the mods will remove them IMMEDIATELY.

Perhaps someone can let me know the process for contacting mods to arrange this? Somebody should be checking the boards for such personal comments and deleting the users without me having to ask, tbh. There's just no place for such trolling.

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Erm....:unsure: i dont really know what to say with regards to the last few posts. thou i should be honest and say my initial reaction to Neal's post was that he was trying to get a sale especially as he did seem to press on a bit. albeit Neal, i did find your third post quite informative and useful so thanks for that as you did in fact directly answer a question i posed.

Maybe there is history between Ikon and Neal i dont know, but I :D am still hoping that someone has experienced shipping a car to barbados and could possibly give me an example of the costs involved (rough guide of course)..:fingerscrossed:

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Hi Patty, Don't worry about Neal. I've no idea who he is, he just pops up here every few weeks and rather irritatingly advertises the house he has to let. I've reported him to the moderators who I trust will delete both him and his inappropriate posts.

Re. shipping a car - I can't remember the actual cost of shipping (maybe £1-2k?) as I considered that fairly negligible compared to the enormous duty - for my brand new cars from the UK, we basically paid almost the same again in duty to the Barbados government, literally tens of thousands of pounds extra for cars we'd recently bought in the UK.

There's no cheap way around car ownership here - but looking back, I would say unless you have a car you've had for a few years that it's easier to just buy one on the island.

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Ikon, I've read your complaint and quite seriously I do not see Neal advertising Nation Barbados but rather just giving a recommendation. That is what the forum is for.

He is free to use the board daily or infrequently. That is his choice, not ours and not yours.

Rete

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Thank you Rete,And p4tty for being fair :thumbup:

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

The cost of importing a car is HUGE!

They will value the car based on prices here (which are massvie) and then apply duty at possibly 100% or more...

Really not worth doing, you have to bite the bullet and get one here - check out http://caribzoomzoom.com/ - it'll give you an idea of prices

HTH

S

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Cars at carib zoom zoom is a waste of time to expensive,Nation Classified and buy direct from the owners for example i have bought a 2002 ford focus in 2006 fully loaded very good condition direct from the owner he wanted $33,000 BDS,i got it for $30,000 BDS ($15,000USD) ,I have been to Zoom, Zoom and Car Max for the same car they wanted $43,000 to $45,000BDS,Insane and dont look for any real discount from these companies you can always bargain with the owners.Nation Classified the way to go.:thumbup:

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Agree with Neal - Nation classified is the best way to buy a car....but as i said before, you should buy the paper early and get on the phone asap!

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Wednesdays and Sundays are the days with the most classifieds :)

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Thanks Expat, Foxy, Neal & shines.. 100% taxes? im so totally off the exporting car... will lease a decent car until i can buy a decent car, ill be sure to keep a very close eye on the Nation Classified - no doubt it'll take a while to get my head round having to pay thousands more for a car then i would do in the Uk - (i always believed we are ripped off in the UK in terms of cost of cars compared to most countries - but ohhh NO not in the case of Barbados). $30,000bbs for a used ford focus? is that good???:ohmy:

I think it wise to quickly come to terms with the fact that living in Barbados will be fairly expensive period!!! so get over it P and just enjoy!!!:thumbup:


How the hell do Bajans manage???:frown:

Re: Time out in Barbados
 

Patty, you're right - you kinda just have to "get over it" when it comes to car prices and duty here. I've found you'll pay about double what you'd pay at home, even for used cars. Our car is certainly not top of the line, though you'd never know by what we paid for it. Cars are one thing where you do just have to accept the higher prices here.

Lots of other things in Barbados are expensive, but they don't have to be. Someone told me, when I was moving here, that if you tried to carbon-copy your life at home here, then yes you'd pay more. But if you adapt (local produce, go to markets etc) then you don't necessarily have to pay that much more for everything. You just have to be a shrewd shopper sometimes.

Good luck with your car shopping.
Foxy