The Caribbean Sea is the most popular vacation spot in the whole world. Every year, millions of tourists from different countries visit the islands as well as the countries on the continental coast of the Caribbean. This is not surprising at all, as the region is rightfully referred to as ‘paradise on earth’. It offers warm weather all the year round, beautiful sandy beaches and a tranquil carefree lifestyle.
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Some foreigners choose to relocate to the Caribbean for good because they are fascinated by the wonderful climatic conditions and a relatively low cost of living in the Caribbean. Panama, for instance, is growing more and more popular with North American retirees who have been relocating there in great numbers over the recent years. Their American pensions allow living much more comfortable lives in Panama than the lives that they could live at home in their golden years.
It must be admitted, however, that living on some Caribbean islands is not exactly inexpensive. Below we consider three such Caribbean destinations: the Caymans, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos. You can find top-rate hotels there, fine cuisine, and all the luxuries characteristic of the Caribbean region but you have to be rather well off to be able to afford going there on vacations let alone relocating there for life.
Cayman Islands
‘Welcome to another day in paradise’. This is the common morning greeting in the Cayman Islands. The place is out of the ordinary without doubt. There you will find the best beaches in the world, long and wide with beach restaurants serving fantastic food. There are plenty of things to do in the Caymans: indulge in all sorts of seaside entertainments, go horseback riding around the Grand Cayman, visit the Crystal Caves, take trips to the smaller islands, go to the Stingray City, and so on.
The hotels are in different price segments but no room costs less than 200 dollars per night. A nice suite in a top-class hotel will start at around 1,000 dollars. The groceries are rather expensive too but we must note that the Cayman Islands administration does not levy any direct taxes on the residents. So even though the days bills of a Cayman resident may be rather high, his or her annual expenditures are quite comparable to the annual expenditures of a resident of the United States or Great Britain (we are talking about the average person, of course).
It is also possible to acquire legal residence by investment in the Caymans but the required investment amount is going to exceed two million dollars. You will see that it’s a lot if you compare the amount to the ‘price’ of Dominican citizenship: you can acquire citizenship of the Commonwealth of Dominica by investment if you donate a hundred thousand dollars to the state fund.
Bahamas
The Bahamas is an archipelago of around 700 islands and islets (cays). But does the high number mean that the territory is highly diverse? No, it does not: all the islands are similar to each other, they are flat (the highest elevation above sea level is only about 60 meters in the Bahamas), and even the larger islands have little vegetation. True, the sand is soft and the beaches are beautiful but the trees are few and mostly bushes grow on the islands.
Why would you want to go to the Bahamas? First and foremost, it’s the nightlife there. Round-the-clock bars, casinos, carnivals, dancing and partying dusk till dawn! Younger people love the Bahamas and no wonder they do: you can go barhopping in Nassau and one night is certainly not going to be enough to drop at every bar in the city or even in most of them. The seafood is also superb in the Bahamas. The fish goes from the water right onto your plate (well, via an oven or a grill) and the taste of frozen or canned fish is nothing in comparison to the taste of freshly-caught fish. There are some unique entertainments that you can find on the islands as well like swimming with pigs, for example.
Yes, there are cozy white villas for sale in some picturesque lagoons in the Bahamas (one villa per one lagoon) but they cost a pretty penny. The average income in the country is nearly five times as low as it is in the Caymans and living in the Bahamas is a bit less expensive but it is expensive anyway. The Bahamas are not among the cheapest islands to live on in the Caribbean: you’d better look elsewhere.
Turks and Caicos
The islands of Turks and Caicos were almost as popular with pirates as the Grand Bahama (Nassau once used to be a pirate fortress) or Barbados, for example. Luckily, the pirate era is gone and it is peaceful and quiet in the Turks and Caicos today. This is a British overseas territory with all the perks that this status brings to citizens of Great Britain and former British colonies such as the USA or Canada, for instance. There are regular flights from several American cities to the Turks and Caicos and there are direct flights from Europe too. English is spoken in the territory and the US dollar is in free circulation. Neither North Americans, nor the British, nor the EU citizens need visas to attend the islands.
What is exciting about the Turks and Caicos? Unlike the Grand Bahama, the place has no nightlife. A few bars is all that you can find there. This is a place for a relaxed vacation. A couple of Turks and Caicos beaches have won international awards for their supreme quality so lying on the beach would be a great pastime there. You can also walk around the islands at a slow pace, take trips to the smaller islands of the archipelago and become one with nature, or go birdwatching.
Many items have to be imported to the Turks and Caicos and this makes the prices there rather high. You are going to need a substantial passive income if you would like to settle down in the location. Jobs are scarce there and renting a nice apartment in Turks and Caicos will cost you around 4,000 dollars per month.
