frank1961

My girlfriend and I intend on retiring in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I am nearly 50 years old and have praticed law for over 25 years. Pleading on a daily basis has left me with the desire of changing the pace. I have varied interests and know that I can contribute to the community.


I would like to hear from whomever can inform me of what I can expect. I know this is quite large. I intend on purchasing a home and possibily seeking employment with the Government or studying to gain admittance to the Bar Association.
Please talk to me about the cost of living, the property tax situation, the costs associated with driving permits,registration of a motor vehicule etc...

Although I am in excellent health, what is the medical system really like...
Thank you for your assistance,
Frank

Mitzyboy

Welcome to the forum ..... Its a very specific area so I hope someone will be along with some information for you

frank1961

Thank you for your concern and response, it is much appreciated

jinxi010

Hello,

I don't know if you plan on practicing law, but if so you will need to complete a 6 month conversion course. I have heard of British lawyers practicing where they are called in for cases on an ad hoc basis.
The cost of living in St Vincent is pretty low, compared to other Caribbean islands. Someone who actually lives there might be able to contribute more

frank1961

Thank you. I will let you know how everything pans out.

ryanknowles

Frank - are you still thinking of making the move? I live in The Bahamas but have a friend in St. V that may be able to help.. let me know and I can pass along your query

frank1961

Absouletly, I hav been enquring about real estate in Bequia but find that property is much more affordable on the mainland of St. Vincent.

I thank you for your help and would appreciate that you hook me up with your friend in St. Vincent.

Best regards,

Frank

Vincentina

Hi Frank

I'm British Vincentian and just recently returned to UK after living there for 9 years.

Firstly are you Vincentian? Born in St Vincent. If you are then most of what I have to say will be familiar. If you are not then you need to start the various processes to get residency and make some friends with Vincys who have lived abroad as well as in SVG to get a good idea of what things are really like.

Have you visited extensively, for example spent more than a month there. While I don't wish to seem negative and I love my island dearly, holiday and retirement two different thing. Many of my retired friends have found after a couple of years they are a bit limited.

Many people "return" or want to "contribute to the community" however the public employment sector is small and there are many highly qualified candidates in St Vincent as well as returning graduates who are indentured to the Govenment for a number of years. Without putting too much of a downer on your plans, if you don't know anyone in St Vincent you will find getting in not impossible but not exactly easy. People may talk nice but in the end it might come to nothing.

Having said that I successfully got a teaching job and taught for 9 years enjoyed it immensly despite the frustrations.

If you want to practice law, then be aware that the legal profession in SVG is overloaded! Its only a small island and again networking and who you know count for a lot. Law is also intensely political.

All the various costs you ask about can be found on the governments website. svg.gov

Finally you ask about medical facilities, without being too unfair frankly it was always a cause for concern for us and especially the children. We were blessed while we were there not to have any emergencies but if you cannot afford to be air ambulanced to Barbados then you will be faced with fairly rudimentary facilities.

Having said that there are some excellent doctors and nurses who are very able but when it comes down to it the medical technologies are not there. My recent experiences with my mother in law and her heart issues certainly were an eye opener as to the limitations. There is not even a cardiologist on the island.

So although I love St Vincent and I am looking forward to returning to our lovely home after the kids have come through secondary education (our reason for leaving - education) - it's not paradise and it has some serious limitation.

I hope this helps. My advice is take at least a year out and rent an apartment or house and see what happens before buying something.

All the best

pgtips

Excellent advice here !!! Especially about renting for a period and really seeing if this is for you.

Vincentian, so you will not miss living in the Caribbean ? Could you not have move to another island with more facilities ?

Vincentina

Of course I miss living in the Caribbean - I did not want to leave at all as I had a great job and a great life HOWEVER when it comes down to it you must do the best for the kids.

We looked at other islands but I do not like Barbados particuarly although the education side is very good. I prefer Trinidad but the education system is very very competitive (worse than Barbados). I love Jamaica but the problem with the schools is pretty much there as in St Vincent as it is very competitive and if you are not an academic high flier then life is tough and quality of life is not as good as St Vincent. Considered St Lucia quite strongly as I really liked it a lot and had some teacher friends there and there were possiblities for work and of course only a hop and skip home.

My husband is a home body and the idea of living somewhere else did not appeal to him at all. It's home or London for him.

The kids are still mad with us for dragging them back to the cold but they are loving school a lot more especially my son.

As I say no where is paradise.


.

frank1961

Thank you all for your helpful comments. I am born and raised and still living in Montreal, Canada. My girlfriend is originally from St Vincent but has been in Canada for several years already. I have visited your beautiful country on several occasions and adore it. I know the Chineese Gvt is investing in building the international airport in Argyle. Property is much more expensive in the Grenadines (Bequia,Canouan.....forget Mustique) than on the mainland, however we are looking everywhere.
Educational issues are important,only in so far as they concern the locals that I would want to help, if my assistance is welcome. I have practiced law in Canada for 26 yrs....I know what people think of lawyers, and I do not necessarily blame them....but Im from this very different breed, a criminal defence attorney, that has never hesitated to represent the most disinfranchised and helpless. Anyways, enough about me. I will let you know how it all pans out.

Vincentina

Interesting. Is your girlfriend willing to become Mrs Frank1961? If not then you will have to pay every year to live there as well as pay as a foreign landowner.

The Taiwanese (not Chinese) have agreed some contribution and there is Cuban expertise however the bulk of the money was to have come from Venezuala and others in the "Coalition of the Willing". Word on the ground is that money has come to a halt so don't hold your breath about the international airport.

I hope I did not appear negative about lawyers at all as I have respect for many.

Good luck with your plans.

pgtips

Have you got the option to return once your childrens studies are finished, ie have you still got your house there ?

I find the kids I know in the Caribbean seem to take their studies more seriously than in the UK, and the extra competitiveness can be a good thing for some of them. The people I know who are born, raised, and educated in the Caribbean seem to have more drive. In the UK, I think the kids are too pampered and this stunts their development as well as having to deal with some of the negative thoughts towards caribbean kids in the UK by the educational establishment.

qsch

Dear Frank, We have been living in The Grenadines on Bequia for over 30 years. We love it here and believe it or not, I would say Bequia is the favorite in St. Vincent and The Grenadines where especially British expats like to purchase property and settle down. You can purchase a nice building plot for 100k USD and above. Cottages and houses go from 300k USD upwards. We have also assisted numerous families (canadian, german, english, scottish, norwegian, swedish + more) over the years who have moved or own property here and they all like and enjoy it very much. Let me know if you require further details or message me and I would be happy to get back to you.

Best, QSCH

Vincentina

Hi PG Tips

Sorry not to reply

I see your point of view here PG and I used to think the same way myself until I lived, taught and sent my kids to school in the Caribbean.

There is a lot to be said for hardwork and we do expect a lot from our kids but the issue for most kids in the small islands is that unless they are exceptional in hard work and brains they do not see success. The selective system creams of the best and forces them on and leaves the rest to fail in many ways. I also find that although there is "good discipline" there are many times when I consider that learning is not taking place at all as the discipline is external (the rod and harsh words) rather than internal.

People do work hard here in the Caribbean because if they don't work they do not eat and they have the drive to survive which is cushioned in the UK. I find it hard to accept the "dole" mentality here but I appreciate the safety net - many of my promising students failed because of lack of money in the family.

There are many progressive moves in education at the moment in the Caribbean and there are many progressive teachers but when it comes to my own kids I am not going to wait for the system to catch up to their needs when theire needs are right now not in 5 years time.

I'll be back to carry on my work when my kids have flown