Thinking of moving there but seems to be worse than California. Does anyone know details?
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Thinking of moving there but seems to be worse than California. Does anyone know details?
I spent a couple months there, helping some guys build a house.
They are very strict on possession and there is nowhere to shoot. Big trouble if you don't follow the rules- they don't mess around.
Before moving there, you should spend some time down there. Like a couple months. It's an odd place. And very small. I started feeling claustrophobic after a few weeks. You really need a boat so you can explore. You would use it like an RV here. Otherwise, there isn't a lot to do.
It's hot all the time. It doesn't cool down much at night. We didn't have A/C so any chance to go to K-mart or Home Depot was welcome. Beer was cheap, food expensive and nowhere near the variety we are used to here in the States.
Wild chickens everywhere.
You drive left hand drive cars on the left side of the road. No one pays attention to traffic laws so the largest vehicle has right of way.
Things move at a different pace. It's island time. People move slowly. Everything has to be brought in on a boat so if you need something, you'll wait.
There are a lot of properties that are half built so you can likely find someone's crushed dream for a discount.
Saw a machete fight in front of the crack house one afternoon on the way back from the beach.
It's a different world than what I was used to.
Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.
I was there about 15 years ago so things may have changed but I doubt it.
I don't know if this is true of St. Thomas but I know there are a lot of countries where a home is not taxed until it's "completed." As a result, it's not uncommon for homes to sit technically "unifinished" with rebar sticking out of raw concrete on top of the house. The owner actually has no intention of "completing" the house but as long as he can legitimately say "it's not finished" he can dodge taxes on it.Quote:
Originally Posted by eddiememphis
At least in some countries this explains the plethora of "unfinished" homes.
Typically any of the tropical islands are very strict with firearms. However, some of them allow air rifles. You can even charter air rifle iguana hunts.! That's something I'm currently looking in to.
Besides the gun laws. I suggest you consider staying on your property for 1-2 months. No going out, visiting, even cross the street to say hi, to the neighbors. That will give you an idea of what living on an island is like. You're also at the whim of someone with a boat, if you want to go somewhere, anywhere off the island.Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperiorDG
Throw in you need a permit and be of "good morale character" to pay for a purchase permit.
I worked on a home on Grand Cayman back in the early 2000's, spent a lot of time there. Once you get over sitting on the beach and the occasional scuba dive you come to a realization that it's a lot like living in Steamboat Springs with a fence around town that doesn't allow you to drive any more than 4 miles in any direction. The police and laws are pretty strict there, didn't want to get picked up for anything and definitely didn't want to get popped leaving a bar or restaurant to drive home. Got old real fast.
I've been to Aruba, Cayman, St Thomas, St Croix, Eleuthra, St Barts, and several others for vacations. Not just cruise ship stops, but 1 and 2 week stays in each place. Great to visit, would not like to live there. I love the tropics, scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing etc. and still could not see living there full time. Plus, its hella expensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Might be easier living in the Philippines.
So funny Attachment 87005Quote:
Originally Posted by eddiememphis
The guy that bought the property we worked on had been visiting since he was a kid. His parents had a condo they used part time and rented the rest. They were teachers here in Denver and spent the summers and holidays there.
He found a property with a great view on the north side over looking Hull Bay. From the porch we watched the sunset over Inner and Outer Brass Islands.
They ended up building three rentals on that property.
It's good that you don't need a passport to visit and they use the dollar- obviously.
A lot of the properties go unfinished and empty because it takes a long time to get anything built. Remember that almost everything has to arrive by boat. There is a concrete plant on the island but trying to get men and equipment lined up is like herding cats. It's the tropics so everyone hides from the heat since enough exposure to it drives men insane.
It took three weeks to get a digger to the property. That is the local name for the backhoe.
A lot of people run out of time and money, trying to get something built. A half finished dwelling is very susceptible to water damage since it rains almost every day and there is the occasional big blow- hurricane.
Def90 is correct. I'd jump in the truck and go for a drive to get away from the lads and get some sweet A/C. Those drives lasted about an hour. The longest drive you can take always ends up right back where you started.
When I got home, I jumped in the old F-150 and drove straight east for two hours. It felt great.
Nothing to do with gun laws but a quick story.
One night the Brits (two Englishmen that were in on the building) went to the crack house to get some cocaine.
The crack house was a pink house on the north west side of the island. That's where we saw two large black bloody people fighting over a machete one pleasant afternoon as we journeyed home after a day of surfing.
We got a call from the Brits that when they came out, the tires were flat. When they changed one of them, they lost a bunch of the lug nuts. I didn't deal with any of it, I went to bed early that night, so this is all what I learned over the next few days.
We, the "responsible" ones, took the truck to Tire Kingdom the next day to get everything fixed. They got the tires plugged and mounted. As we walked around to make sure they were the correct rims, I noticed there were only five nuts on each six lug wheel.
Mark, the guy that owned the truck went in to get the character in charge to figure out what was going on.
The proprietor came out, circled the truck twice. Turned to us and said, "No worries, mon. You only need five."
Ahh... island life.
Sounds like a good place for capitalism to thrive.Quote:
Originally Posted by eddiememphis
If I were to do some sort of Island thing I would want it as a private country where I get to make the laws....