UncleFloyd

Hi, I trade foreign exchange for a living and I was considering moving to the Carribean. I am about 50 so not ready to retire; I still need to work. Such is life, ha.

Aside from Cayman Islands, does anyone have other Carribean recommendations if that's my career choice? Overall I need a place with solid infrastructure (internet, electricity, etc.), workable tax laws, and a reasonable cost-of-living. Many thanks! Barbados has been mentioned to me, but I honestly know so little about it.

uk_grenada

The caribbean actually has excellent infrastructure in terms of web access power etc,you can be anywhere. If you require to be in a banking centre for your work then sure im sure gordon barlow can advise, but if as i suspect you want to be somewhere cheap with good infrastructure and favourable tax laws that will let you move there to live - an entirely different question.

which is it?

uk_grenada

If you dont have to be in a banking centre, then your questions need to be entirely different, looking at the level of crime, the cost of things, the tax regime, whether the US will tie you up in red tape to comply with their laws assuming you arent renouncing us citizenship [we hear a lot about that] And actually most importantly will an island let you live there as most will not unless you give them circa 250k for a citizenship. I believe for example caymen is into modern slavery[indentured labour] and barbados only like millionaires.

UncleFloyd

Thank you for replying! Fair enough: if internet and connectivity are solid throughout the area, that is a big uncertainty removed. Sometimes I read things like, "Our (country ABC) internet is great. The most it ever goes down is an hour when it rains..." That won't cut it for me, ha, so I had to ask.

So the main Q would therefore shift to your latter one: looking for a less expensive (relatively speaking) place with favorable tax treatment and that would at least have a path to possible residence. No, I need not be in a major fin'l center. I am not envisioning renouncing US citizenship. I have dual US-EU citizenship as well.

uk_grenada

My internet in 100mb and hasnt gone down since ive been here - years - 4G mobile works well, costs of things are maybe 50% higher than the us roughly but houses are cheap-ish and cars are maybe twice as expensive.

Well the Path is to give them 250k about - depends on the island - a few offer it, and you are in - but tax regimes of the islands that do it as applied to your income - youll have to research.

UncleFloyd

Yes, the preliminary research Ive conducted suggests some islands are more "workable" than others. Plus there is always Central and South America to consider. OK..I will continue to research. Many thanks.

Jamesy5008

Really???? And what does that set you back a month? I pay $89 for 25mb on GC.

uk_grenada

Well, if thats us dollars you are paying a lot there, the basic here is 15mb which is in us dollars about 40us but is rock solid, low latency and there are no nasty limiting traffic policies so its actually good for most things.

100mb is about 100us but honestly is completely over the top unless you shift huge files around.

Gordon Barlow

If the OP's trades are happening off-shore of wherever he lives, how would he be liable for local income-tax?

UncleFloyd

If I established residence in, "Barbados," I'd still have to report an income to "Barbados," even if I used an offshore entity, I assume? That would be subject to some sort of local income tax? I know Uncle Sam will tax me wherever I go, ha.

Gordon Barlow

I think it might be wise to discuss this matter with a US tax-lawyer. There are such things as offshore trusts and companies. If you were to organise your affairs before you emigrate, you might be able to minimise local tax - although not US tax, probably.
But in your OP, you wrote of moving to the Caribbean as a "career" choice, not a lifestyle choice. Which is it?

UncleFloyd

It wasnt my intention to be ambiguous, but I suppose it's both a career and a lifestyle choice. Career choice in that I would be in business for myself (as opposed to working for a firm as I am now) with possible tax advantages and lifestyle choice as it would be a new chapter in life living in another country. I definitely will consult a tax professional before I move forward.

Income from what I do is clumpy; sometimes it's good and sometimes not so much. That's why having a reasonable cost of living for me is vital. I suppose I am looking for some sort of balance between cost of living and civilization, so to speak. CI would check off all boxes on professional side, but the COL is too high. Belize contrastingly has low COL, but infrastructure is weak (dodgy Internet, etc.) Im trying to identify "the middle" if that makes sense.

Gordon Barlow

If I were in your shoes, I'd have three or four islands on my short-list - headed by Grenada - and check them out by staying for a few days or a week in each one. You would be silly to choose one without testing it first.

UncleFloyd

Gordon Barlow

No, Floyd. You tell me the places you've looked into as real possibilities and I'll tell you what I think of them. These are your prospective homes; you'd be crazy to let some stranger choose them!