Move to bahamas?

Question

i just went to the Bahamas for vacation i absolutely loved it. crystal clear water was amazing. i want to know how expensive it would be to live there. what would the job opportunity's be for me coming from the us? do they like or dislike outsiders. i was looking towards Nassau.

Answer 1

Job opportunities for non Bahamians are almost zero.  Yes, for a week or so The Bahamas are amazing, but living there is a whole different ball game. First of all the island is 21 x 7 and there are over 250,000 people living on it so it is very crowded. The crime rate is very high.  The cost of living is high because everything has to be shipped into the island.  When you buy a gallon of milk, that you will being paying twice as much for, be sure and check the date on it. It is not uncommon to find things out of date still on the shelves. There was a fire at the egg farm one time and you could not find eggs in the grocery store for about a week.  The cost of gas is higher there than it is here. Be ready to pay about 5,000 a month for someplace nice to live. You can find places much cheaper, but they won't be in the area of town where you want to live.  You will have to ship your vehicle from the US and the Bahamians will tax you on it and the tax is high so be ready to pay for the shipping and the tax.  

Since the island is so small and crowded you will want to get off every now and then so be ready to pay the airlines money.  Remember what it cost you to get there... it will cost you that much to get off also.

Last.. it is a foreign country and you will need keep in mind the laws are different. They are still hanging people in Fox Hill, which is the prison.

Answer 2

Im bahamian and live in the Bahamas. The beaches here are nice but unless you have a private beach, mainlaind public beaches tend to be pretty crowded.

If you really want someplace with fewer people and less congestionyou should look into moving to Grand Bahama ,the second most populus island in the country .  

As for job opportunities,it depends on what you do,higher level jobs in medicine and engineering are in demand as well as education. The Bahamas is really open to foreigners. In general we are a welcoming sort. One thing to be concerned about is the crime here,it can be dangerous  if you do stupid things like walk around at night in bad areas but Ive never had any problems with it.  

Another thing to think about is how much your willing to spend on purchasing a home,property here can be quite expensive, and the cost of living is pretty high. If youve got any more questions feel free to ask me:)

Answer 3

Your first concern would be getting a visa to WORK and reside there.  You will need to contact the embassy and ask as the Bahamas embassy does not have a website giving this info.

Answer 4

They'll treat you as an outsider ( tourist ) for a while until you learn to fit in ( dress, talk ) to their culture. Its pretty expensive unless you live in a hut ( I don't recommend it ), so you might want to get a roomate. Good luck!

Answer 5

I am a huge fan of the country and I travel there regularly.   I considered moving there but unless you can transfer or get an executive position, I wouldn't recommend it.   The cost of living is high and the salaries are not.  I have a friend who has a "good" job and makes under $25K.  I suggest doing what I did and getting a timeshare there OR you can look into getting a vacation home and rent it out when you do not want to use it.  

Also, life in general is very different.  Because of the size of the island, there is an insane amount of traffic.  Shopping is very hard.  My friends all go clothes shopping in Florida and try to cook as fresh as possible as you can not get all the foods and seasoning we have and those you can get the cost is sky high.  

Get a timeshare, this way you can also try other islands.