CARIBBEAN....where to move to.?

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stella39

I can help you with (a) and (d)

The islands of the southernmost Caribbean -- such as Aruba, Barbados, Curacao, Bonaire, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago -- rarely get hit by hurricanes: Bonaire, for example, has just a 2.2 percent annual risk of being affected by a hurricane, making your odds about 50-1 against a storm interrupting your life.

I'm sure all of the islands above have internet connection. No problem there.

Health Services questionable.

Quality of life, could be some culture shock involved.

My best wishes to you professor and good luck)

caribbeanqueen2912

The abc islands will be perfect.
Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao.

hottawarrior - win lose or draw

Surprisingly enough, everything jddogg said about Barbados can be said about Trinidad and Tobago.

I wont lie to you, we have our fair share of problems, but i will recommend Trinidad and especially Tobago to anyone.

a) your choice of hi-speed/DSL or Cable

b) if you have the cash, private health services is not a problem...or if an ambulance takes you to the public hospitals, then you have nothing to worry about. PS The public hospitals are free.

c. the quality of life....the TT dollar is pegged to the US dollar nad the US dollar is currently weakening....most of our food stuff is imported, with quite a bit coming from the US, so doing the conversion of TT$6.25 (this can fluctuate to 6.33) to US1, commodities cost just a little more here than in the US, However fuel prices are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy cheaper. Trinidad has a large community of Expats here, especially for the energy sector. There is so much to do here... golf courses, restuarants that does international cuisine (Thai, Japanese, Mongolian, Indian, Arabic) and of course the local dishes. and there are so many things you can do outdoors...There is ALWAYS something to do in Trinidad.

but i will always recommend Tobago, its peaceful, tranquil, and just all round beautiful. Here you can go fishing, bird watching, diving, snorkling, etc, etc, etc. Tobago is more geared to tourist, so you can always get a guide to take you somewhere until you learn the island....you can drive around Tobago, stop and see all the Forts etc in one day...more like 4 hours. The locals are friendly, charming and always willing to assist.

d. T&T is the most southern islands in the Caribbean, we are just off the coast of Venezuela. There is a saying that "God is a Trinibagonian", hurricanes naturally veer away from us, It has been 30+ years since any sort of major storm or hurricane has made land fall on either of the two islands.

manthebraces

I live on Antigua for about 7 months each year and love it.

You DO know your Medicare is no good in the Caribbean, I suppose? I have lived in the Caribbean off and on for so many years, my basic belief is: "For a headache... take an Aspirin... for anything serious TAKE AMERIKAN AIRLINES" Puerto Rico has some excellent health care, however... but elsewhere in the Caribbean it can be shocking... you would never see chickens just outside the sculptured concrete block walls of ANY ICU in AmeriKa, but it's common in the Caribbean... sick people on one side of the wall... chickens and goats on the other side.

That being said... I have lived all over the world and the Caribbean is as close to my idea of the perfect place to live as any I can think of... Enjoy your retirement.

OH... subscribe to the CARIBBEAN COMPASS... it's about $60 a year online and it will give you all kinds of information about the Caribbean

jddog75

Hi there,

I would definitely recommend Barbados, for a number of reasons.

a) Internet Connection - Barbados has a one of the more advanced islands in terms of technical infrastructure. Internet connectivity is excellent. There is the odd problems from time to time and service is generally slower in the Caribbean than in the US or Canada but overall I have been very impressed.

I am a Canadian who has been here for almost 3 months and I operate an Internet based business where I hold web based (WebEx)meetings with clients back in Canada on some here in Barbados on a regular basis.

Given my experience you could continue to teach your college businesses courses.

b) Health Services - Health Services are very good in Barbados - the medical care is very advanced. A friend's father who lives in Dominica and is also a college professor (from Canada) has work done to his eyes here about 2 years ago,

My brother in law's wife is from the UK and after a series of miscarriages in the UK was able to successfully keep have the child here in Barbados. She felt she generally received a better overall level of health care than in the UK

If you need highly specialized doctors you may not find them in Barbados but in terms of general health services the island does well.

c) Quality of Life is very high in Barbados. There is a strong and highly educated middle class here in Barbados. The people are very friendly and there are almost a surprising number of things to do on the island.

There are a large number of golf courses, excellent restaurants, shows, festivals and concerts which take place here.

There is a wide variety of different housing options available to you in Barbados, land values tend to appreciate very rapidly here and as is the case with most of the Caribbean the home buying process can take a while, but the wait is worth it.

d) Barbados has been referred to by some as "The land behind God's back" as it sits outside the path of the hurricanes. I believe the last hurricane to hit was in the 60's.

e) If I can add one more, I would say Direct Flights, Barbados is a major hub with numerous direct flights coming to the island, I will post in a link below showing some of the different airlines that come here.

What I would suggest is that if you have not been to Barbados before take trip to the island. Try staying in some of the self catering apartments vs. the large hotels (it will give you a better sense of the island) meet with a few real estate agents and ask them to show you different parts of the island.

Finally be sure to explore some of island. Barbados has tremendous physical beauty and there is quite a bit to see and do.

Hope this helps.

James

Alison L

I would suggest an island in St. Vincent & the Grenadines called Bequia. It is in the southern Caribbean so it has very little hurricane activity. It has hi speed internet available to homeowners. I am not sure how the health services are there. Our friend who lives there had breast cancer and she didn't hesitate about getting treatment in the USA no messing around where your health is concerned. The social scene there is great not a touristy feel. There are very welcoming expats and locals who create a great community. There is no place like it. Homes there are still affordable consideing Caribbean real estate prices.

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