DebitNM

My DD, her husband and their 2 yr old daughter are thinking of moving due to job offer.

I am looking for some insights [to pass along to them] as to what life would be like for them should they make this move.

Things of concern:
safety
health care
schools [preschool]
cost of living
food
expat population

I lived in Martinique for a 6 month stint, as well as Mauritius, so I am familiar with life on an island, but that was a long time ago -- but I was a single person, with no family.

Neither of them has ever been to Caribbean island, so they have no idea of what it is like to live anywhere but the US with all of its taken for granted comforts of home.

Any insights that I can pass along to them would be most appreciated, even if your experience was on a different island.

Thanks~

sassy_cat

Hi Deb,

My 2 year experience of living on a Caribbean island, St.Kitts was just over 20 years ago so I can't help with current conditions but here's my advice!

Find a good expat forum for information. I use British Expats and here's a link to a current Trinidad thread.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=673534

Visit the island first if possible. Company might pay for moving costs and include a preliminary visit to find accommodation.

I presume visas will be taken care of by the company but know that there is always time consuming red tape involved.

Would this be short term? I think a year or two would be a wonderful adventure.

I went to Trinidad for a week and stayed with a Trinidadian teacher (it was work related; marking exams)and I loved the island and the people. The food was excellent; love rotis and the secondary school system (from 11-18 years)was based on the British system with exams at 16 and 18 years.

Good luck with your research and keep us posted!It sounds like an exciting adventure but I'm sure you'd miss your DD and grandbaby.

RoamsAround

I second sassy_cat's advice - the single most important thing your DD and husband can do is to make a "pre-move visit. Have them go as potential residents, not tourists. This means staying in an "efficiency or housekeeping unit" not a resort. They should do things like shopping and other weekly or daily chores, check out various neighborhoods for housing they can afford, what's it's like to commute, do some banking, etc.

Trinidad is a big island so it's not as remote as many other Caribbean islands but it will still offer it's own challenges. The idea is to find out as much as you can before making any drastic decisions.

Good luck!

virginia

i've not been to t&t yet but my first instinct is to shout hurrah - what an incredible opportunity - hit the road
buuuuuut for real advice i'd say hit the road. they need to go look. they need to do the same things they would do if they were moving to kansas > go see the schools, look at housing, go to the grocery, see what involved with hooking up utilities, go to church if inclined - in other words get a feel for the place. staying in a resort is probably not as useful as renting a tourist villa for a week or so.
i've thought about moving to the islands (currently in maine where it's snowing & spent 20 yrs in colo where we had snow 8 months of the yr). i'm sure i could find a new brand of peanut butter, get used to driving on the other side, etc - the one thing i worry about is getting from one side of the country to another in an hour - i'm used to driving long distances and might feel confined. however they're young and i assume don't plan to stay forever.
these pages have good info: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35638.htm
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...043.html#crime
info on one school: http://www.internations.org/guide/view/7148
hope this helps you get a start...

suze

I agree. They really need to make a trip there. And stay at least a few weeks. It's great to research on the internet, but I would never accept a job and move to a place I'd never even seen before.

islebethere

Debit,
The two islands are very different. Trinidad is quite large, and the crime rate is high. Tobago is much smaller and calmer, but the crime rate is rising there, too.

The local newspapers will give you some idea of the mood of the country:

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/
http://guardian.co.tt/
http://www.newsday.co.tt/

utrechtman

Have only been to T&T once & my wife is from there. I can say that generally, things are pretty expensive. When I was there (Feb 2010) the exchange rate was 6-1 TT-to-US dollars, which I thought would be great! But then, eg. I payed $35 TT just for a fish sandwich. I can't imagine how the "average" or poor Trinis survive! Many Trinis prefer to buy certain things (clothes, electronics, etc.) in the USA. They keep telling me how much they can save. I felt very safe while there, but it was carnival week, and I'm sure the police/army presence is greater during that time. Go to YouTube and watch some videos, but remember many nations have their "rougher" neighborhoods
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj8L2...eature=related