Jamaica

My first impression of Jamaica was Hell No!

 With its murder rates being as high as they are, their unfriendliness towards expats and the LGBT community, according to Wikipedia (but I can't believe everyone feels that way), poor quality of living and the health care nightmares I've read about I wanted to stop my research within the first few minutes. I didn't, I kept digging and although there will be challenges for new comers I think the island has a lot to offer.

About the island
Jamaica as a country has gone through a lot of changes, some as recently as the 1980's and 90's. My opinion is that they are still trying to figure themselves out. Until England conquered the island in 1655 it was possessed  by Spain.  The island didn't achieve independence from the United Kingdom (England) until 1962. They have only had 75 years to figure this out. Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as it's monarch and head of state.
 Jamaica is the third most populous English speaking country in the Americas  (after the United States and Canada) and the third largest island of the Greater Antilles.

Cost of Living
 Cost of living in Jamaica is 23% lower than in the U.S. and cost of rent is 69% less than in the U.S.. It makes it an affordable option for a Caribbean island paradise.

Property 
 Foreigners are eligible to by property in Jamaica without any restrictions. There is always lawyers involved in the process of buying land so there will be legal fees to pay as well as stamp duty (usually shared by the buyer and seller) of 4 percent and a 16.5 percent General Consumption Tax. There are registration fees and if a realtor is involved there will be fees to be paid to them. Even though the property prices are fair the taxes and fees can really start to add up. It is recommended to rent before buying when first moving to Jamaica so that you can figure out where it is you feel safe and at home.

What makes Jamaica Special
  With beautiful waterfalls and mile long beaches Jamaica has a lot to offer in the outdoor exploring department. Of course there's reggae music, what's not to love about that. Kingston, Jamaica is the home to the Bob Marley Museum. Kingston also happens to be the capital of Jamaica. Northeast of Kingston is the Blue Mountains, from its highest point (via hiking trail) both the North and South coasts of the island can be seen. Blue Mountain is also known for its coffee.
Blue Mountain Coffee is a highly sought after mild coffee known for it's lack of bitterness.
All in all a lot of good things come out of Jamaica.  I'm definitely going to keep Jamaica on my list of possible new homes.

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Cozumel

Cozumel is an island 12 miles of the coast of Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  It's a popular vacation and cruise ship destination. The cost of living is very reasonable here, more so than anywhere else I've looked so far. There are many homes for sale under $300k U.S. dollars and even some commercially zoned beach front lots at good prices.
 Unfortunately as it was with Roatan the Mexican government puts limitations on business ownership. It does seem to be a little more relaxed in Mexico than in Honduras in the sense that there are ways to own a business without having a native as co-owner and there doesn't seem to be a limit on the amount of property you can own. It is well advised to hire a lawyer to help you through the process. They will advise you on the right paperwork to file and go to bat for you if one agency or area tells you one thing and a different area something totally opposite. As a foreigner you can not work in your own business.  There is a law that says no foreigner can do the work that a native of Mexico is able to do. Basically you have to hide in back pushing papers around regardless of the fact that you own the place.
Crime is high and the government is always looking for ways to either put you out of business or bribe you.
 It's really to bad because Cozumel is an amazing place. Not only does it have the beautiful Caribbean waters and miles of Sandy beaches but it also has Mayan ruins.

 Most of these islands I've researched would make great retirement places to live but I'm in the prime of my life. I don't want to spend my days in an office I want to be out enjoying all the island has to offer. Meeting the people, working along side them and integrating myself into their lifestyles. If you're able to work from your computer and live anywhere while doing so, this would be an awesome place for you.
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I find the Mayan ruins fascinating.



Bottled water because it true what they say. DON'T DRINK THE WATER!



If you do want to live there this might be a helpful tool to starting your Internet business.


 I'm starting to get frustrated and feel like we may never find the right place for us.
Next stop on my Caribbean island tour, Jamaica.

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Cayman Islands

Oh, those wily Cayman Islands! Where people go to hide their money. When you hear of the Cayman Islands most people's first thought is no taxes and it's true, you keep the money you earn. There is no property tax, no inheritance tax and no capital gains tax but there is a 1 time stamp duty of of 7.5% for land transfers and property sales due at the time of sale.

Real Estate
Property can be pretty pricey here. Its tough to find a home under $300,000  U.S. dollars and some go for as high as 36 million dollars.
On the island of Cayman Brac I did find .51 acre beach front lot that's ready for you to build your dream home on. There are no restriction on the amount of property ownership for foreigners here like there is on some of the other Caribbean islands I've looked at.

Cost of Living
Cost of living is a little higher as well. Just like with the other islands all food and other supplies are flown or shipped in so the prices reflect that. They do offer a more diverse variety of products at grocery stores than most of the other Caribbean islands. That's a plus.

Residency 
Getting residency and work permit paperwork is a lengthy and expensive process and it's recommended to hire a lawyer to help you through it. Bummer, but if your not worried about cost or have time restrictions than it could work out nice for you.

Healthcare 
No social health care on the islands and all residence are required to have health insurance. The medical care is said to be similar to how it is in the states and most common procedures can be done on the island. There are limited on island hospitals though so it might be a bit of time before you can schedule whatever it is needing to be done. For emergencies and more complex procedures you're often flown to the closest mainland hospital excepting patients.

About the Islands
The Cayman islands are part of the British overseas territory and is made up of three islands.
Grand Cayman:  the largest of the three is known for its beaches and colorful coral reefs. It's home to the Cayman Islands National Museum and the site of colonial Fort George ruins. George Town is it's capital and a large cruise-ship port.
Cayman brac:  the Eastern most island has a lime stone bluff that runs most of its length and is full of caves to explore. There is also a parrot reserve on the island for endangered parrots.
Little cayman: the smallest island is home to the pink-hued sand of Point O' Sand beach. Things to see include the South Hole Sound lagoon and Bloody Bay Marine Park with their huge under water walls covered in coral.
The Cayman Islands share the title for friendliest country in the world with Australia and the United Kingdom according Forbes.
 Did you ever watch the t.v. show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous?  If that show was still around I know there would be an episode filmed here.

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It seems to me to be more of a wealthy retirement place than somewhere I could start a small business. Maybe once I've made my fortune ( or found my fortune in buried treasure) on one of the other islands I will come back to the Cayman Islands and retire.  It certainly sounds like a wonderful place to live, just not at this time in my life.


Next up Cozumel, Mexico

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On the heels of Irma and Maria

When I first started my research Irma hadn't struck yet. By the time I figured out I wanted to move to a Carabbian island, Irma had struck the Virgin islands and Florida as well as many other islands and main lands. My oldest boy is in Florida attending college. For those few days my focus  was on all of Florida.  I set my phone's weather app to my son's location and kept checking it day and night until the storm had passed and I knew he would be okay.  By the time Maria came along I had my heart set on St. Croix.. St.  Croix had been fortunate with Irma but was about to be hit by Maria and tremendously impacted. I don't know anyone (other than the man I spoke to on the phone) in St.  Croix but I felt connected to them. I felt like my someday home was in danger and there was nothing I could do to help the people that I will hopefully call my friends one day. My heart went out to all of them.
 A lot of people around here say things like " I would rather have my face Freeze when I step outside than go through a hurricane!" or "I would take a blizzard over a tropical storm in a heartbeat?" but I don't feel that way. I know that hurricanes are devastating and until I actually go through one I won't know how scary they can be but to me it's worth it to live in a place of paradise. They call me crazy and tell me that if I snowboarded I would enjoy winter more but I'm cold all the time. I don't see how going out into the white stuff could make me less cold. I start getting goosebumps at about 70 degrees. I rarely swim in our smaller lakes because the water is usually to cold and I never go into Lake Michigan. It's like taking an ice bath even in the middle of July.  Now you will see plenty of people out there in the summer enjoying the great lakes, splashing around on the beaches and tubing behind boats, but not me. When my family goes tubing down the Plate river I don't use a traditional tube, I look for loungers that keep me up out of the water. I am honestly miserable about 320 days a year. I'm ready to brave a hurricane to hopefully have 320 good
days a year.


Here is a link to the Red Cross donation site. If your able to help please do. Even a dollar makes a difference.
https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation

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Gofundmy what?

I had a slight freak out the other day after getting off the phone with the kindest gentle man. The piece of property I had found even though it was no longer available had a large price tag on it and was the only one I could find in all of the Virgin islands that would work for my idea. I started thinking that we won't be able to do this. We will be stuck here in Michigan enduring the harsh cold winter year after year for the rest of our lives. That we will grow old and die here and our bones will be buried for all of eternity into the frozen ground. I might be exaggerating a little, our summers are beautiful here and it's not a frozen wasteland all year round but I just can't stand the thought that I might never be able to leave. So I started a gofund me page. I was desperate and didn't know how else to make my dream come true. I didn't really expect a bunch of strangers to pour their money into my campaign and I certainly didn't expect what did happen. Our friends and family started calling Justin and I to see what was going on. They thought we were in trouble or that we had a fight. That we needed to run away from something. I may have poorly worded the campaign.  When I wrote it, it made sense in my head but to an outsider looking in I can see how it might have been confusing. I am back on track now, no more freaking out and have decided to search all of the Caribbean for affordable land. Who knows what I will find out there.
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Perhaps I should have read this first. Lol

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Fairytale weddings

I have talked about my "someday husband" in an earlier post and how we've been engaged for several years now with no date set. The mention of us getting married came up in our conversation at home the other day as it often does. I have been married before and although a big fancy wedding would be wonderful I'm not against the idea of a small wedding. My "someday husband" Justin on the other hand has never been married and wants it to be big and beautiful with lots of family and friends around. He wants to get married at Disney world. I'm a dreamer and a princess wedding would be magical but he's a MEGA dreamer and a Disney wedding, now that's just about pushing the limits of dreaming. Don't get me wrong I would kill to ride up in Cinderella's carriage to a ceremony in front of the castle with music playing and huge bouquets of flowers everywhere.  Wearing the most beautiful princess inspired dress. Side note, what the hell Alfred Angelo?  Let's just close up out of the blue. Now how am I supposed to wear a princess inspired dress? Okay,  sorry just had to get that out there. Back to topic. Where was I?  Oh yes, Disney fairytale weddings. I've planned countless ones on their wedding site. Small ones that only include 4 people and cost as little as 4k to big ones with all the fancy trimming priced upwards of $25,000 dollars. Just the other day I planned one for around 15k and that's when it hit me.

  People love destination weddings and we want to move to one of those beautiful destinations. Good-bye snorkeling tours hello wedding venue.
  Every day we could make people's dreams come true on the happiest day of their life. I'm loving this idea. Justin he's still stuck on the snorkeling tours thing. That's so last week for me. Lol.
Idea forming.....Duh! We could combine both. We could offer out to sea weddings and sunset cruises. We could do snorkeling trips for the bride and groom or their guests. We could make it an all inclusive wedding venue with bungalows and gardens. We could offer wedding packages that include the ceremony,  reception, pictures, tours, flowers and lodging. I frantically searched St. Croix for a piece of property that was large enough to build my dream on. I found one! $475,000  for 4.6 acres. The best part is the property around it is empty, it's for sale and someday there could be something there but for now privacy.  I could work with that. It's a waterfront lot with a rising elevation up to '100. Ideas started forming in my head. I could put a ceremony platform near the top of the property. It would offer unlimited views of the crystal blue Caribbean for the guests while the bride and groom promise  each other forever. Moving down the hill a little ways I could plant gardens of tropical flowers and greenery.  The perfect place to do wedding photos of the newlyweds.  Moving farther down towards the water a reception area where the friends and family could give their toasts and wish the newlyweds  happiness in their new life. Music would fill the air long into the night as they take part in all the wedding  traditions. Then when their ready to retire for the night bungalows would be waiting for them on the beach.
I worked up the courage to call the owner of the property. The phone rang 'Hello' he says and then we got disconnected. I stood there phone in my hand trying to decide if I should call back again. I gave myself a pep talk and dialed again. This time it worked, we spent over a half an hour talking about the property and my ideas. Although there is currently an offer in on the piece of property I wanted as well as the surrounding properties he still took the time to try to help me by thinking of other properties he knew of on the island. In the end it worked out for the best because I honestly don't know where I would have come up with the money to do all of this. I did make a friend though and hope to someday meet them if we end up moving to the Virgin islands.


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Who knew? Amazon has bouquets! Is there anything you can't get on Amazon.com? I'm tempted to check if they have husbands or wives. Just kidding!

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Hawaii's calling

I haven't given Hawaii its fair shake.  I don't know what it is, but something turns me off about Hawaii.  Maybe its the long flight or that its way out there in the middle of the ocean.  Whatever it is, I haven't given Hawaii a chance.  Recently and even in years past I've looked at Hawaii and after only a few minutes of research I've given up.  I must have done that yesterday because just as I was walking into work my phone rang.  It was Hawaii calling.  I don't remember checking on real estate but I must have. A very pleasant woman from Honolulu called to go over real estate with me. I explained our situation and our plan and she happily exclaimed that Hawaii would be perfect for me. I would love to give you the realest companies name but like I said earlier I don't remember even requesting information and as it caught me off guard when she called I didn't catch it when she said where she was calling from. I hope she calls back someday.  I promise to give you a full work up on Hawaii soon but as for now I'm going to continue scouring the Caribbean islands to find what secrets they might offer.
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A few things to get you ready for Hawaii.



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