Dear all,

There is the possibility of myself and th family moving from the ME to Jamacia, already being expats we are used to be living abroad but would like any advice on the following:
Saftey - Jamacia has hit the headlines and was known as the murder capital of the world not long ago. I have a young family and saftey would be a concern. Should this be an issue?
Schools - What are schools like? we have 2 1/2 year old who will need to start
Nannies - Are they easy to get and what would be the cost?
Areas to live - what are the best places to live? the job would be based in Kingston

Any advice on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Crime is still a big issue in Jamaica even though it seems to be trending down. Once you live in a "safe area" you should be fine.

schools are really good here but parent tend to push their children which equates to competitiveness among the children which is not good. However, there are couple british owned private schools and nurseries in Kingston.

Depends on how much you are willing to spend areas you can look at in Kingston is, cherry gardens, barbican (some areas) new kingston have mainly apartments I don't know if thats your style. Liguenea is very good too.

Food and utilities are very expensive here when compare to the UK. Make sure your salary can afford frequent trips to the north coast and miami or you will be bored.

Hi thanks kindly for the information

The murder is mostly gang-on-gang, but keep an eye on your family. I also have young children, and I wouldn't let them wander around, but I wouldn't in the UK either. Personally no ex-pat I know here, of those that have been here 15-30 years, has had anything to complain about with respect to crime. That sounds odd, given the headlines (and knock on wood!), but London seems worse. Some ex pats point out that there is less continuous petty crime here - ie break-ins and other such, compared to other cities. Instead, the crime is gang murders. Although that can also be scary (decapitated person found behind the super market a few weeks ago), it doesn't affect us. That may sound brutal, but it's our truth.

The prep schools are good. There is a wide variety and we only have experience with a couple, but in the East and North Kingston area there are many good schools to choose from.

We don't have a nanny, and I personally wouldn't feel really comfortable with one. That goes for anywhere though, so I'm not the person to ask. A driver for the school run is common here because traffic is a nightmare.

For places to live, I would think anywhere is fine if it's gated. Within the gated areas there is a lot of neighbourly helping out, which is nice when you are new and confused.

Other than that, the hills above Kingston are 5 degrees colder if you appreciate that.

Hey!! Sugababe are u still in jamaica?
If yes how are enjoying your stay?

Family and I moved from the ME to Kingston Jamaica a few years back and did 2 years there. I enjoyed Jamaica a lot as it was such a contrast with the ME (mountains, rivers, waterfalls, great beaches etc). The family however found it far more difficult, particularly my wife who wasn't working. We initially enrolled our five year old daughter into AISK which proved to be pretty mediocre. After a few months we were lucky enough to get her into the Hillel Academy which we found to be far better for our daughter. Economically it wasn't worth my wife working as the salaries were so low and she chose to look after the house and do the school run.

Yes Kinston had it's problems with crime but as expats we were pretty much away from it all. Totally agree with MrsX that a gated community is the way to go for an expat is it provides the necessary security and it is a great way of getting to meet people. Wouldn't feel safe in a house on it's own.

For us the best thing about Jamaica was being able to leave Kingston behind and head up to the north coast for weekends. Portland was by far our favourite destination. I miss our weekends on the beach at Frenchman's Cove and hope to return there one day.

Living in Jamaica is more challenging than life in the ME but the beauty of the country more than makes up for it. Given the choice I would rather be there than back here in the ME.