Greetings from Toronto, Canada. I tried to post here yesterday but it didn't go through, so here it is again. My wife and I along with our 10 year old daughter are SERIOUSLY cotemplating a major life change. We have visited Jamaica every year since 1993 usually averaging 3 times per year. We have been to Ochi, Negril, Runaway Bay, Montego Bay etc but never Treasure Beach. We are avid treasurebeach.net followers and can't get the idea out of our minds of moving there. We are both businesspeople while of course our daughter is in school (Grade 4). I am planning on visiting Treasure Beach next week to check things out. Anyone that could send me any info in advance would earn a genuine thank-you and hopefully I could return the favour at some time. We need info on the following:

schools
housing-purchase or rental
business opportunites (yes we agree with the blend in way of TB)
immigration
health care-ie hospitals, doctors, dentists etc.

And anything we may have overlooked.
Can any help us?

Thanks in advance.

Jeff:

As background, I'm a foreigner who's both lived in and been a tourist to Jamaica. I'll wager that there are some Jamaicans reading this with a different perspective than mine, so take my advice with that knowledge in mind.

And I am not going to address the question of whether you SHOULD move to Jamaica....the old "Come, visit, have a good time, but remember to go home to your country" debate. I'll leave that for you and others to ponder.

SCHOOLS:
There are good schools in the area, especially Hampton Girls School in the hills by Malvern. The average child enters when she is 12. I know of several foreigners who have sent their children there (and Munro for boys, for that matter) and have been pleased. When I worked at Munro, I thought it was a higher quality than the US public high school I went to, EXCEPT that they lacked a lot of the basics like chairs, good chalk boards, etc. (In fact, its a testament to the teachers and students that they did so well with limited supplies.)

HOUSING:
Plenty of land for sale with and without houses and ownership laws are well enforced. And I imagine a lot of places for long term rental are available as well.

BUSINESS:
This one's much more tricky, as you need a work permit to work in the country. Having failed to get one a couple of times, let's just say it's a a lot of hassle and it helps to know people. In general, my rule of thumb is to never stake my economic future on the island's economy. A friend puts it more succinctly: As an outsider, don't expect to make money in Jamaica. If you do, it will be a pleasant surprise.

IMMIGRATION:
Don't get me started. If you don't have a work permit, then you are a tourist and can't work. And can't stay for more than 6 months, though they may only give you 3 months or less if they're in a bad mood when you approach their desk. There is Naturalized Citizen status (maybe called something different), but it ain't easy to get.

HEALTHCARE:
There are very good medical services available on the island for those who have $$$. But they are at least an hour from Treasure Beach, and most are in Kingston or Montego Bay. Research insurance options.

As for making a drastic change in life, I've heard that Nicaragua and Panama are more friendly to foreign investment and have government regulations in place to make it attractive to move there.

Just know it won't be easy, and it ain't like in the movies.

Respect Jeff, to me it is crucial that you three are in as total agreement as is humanly possible and will put equal enthousiasm to any jump into the unknown.

Get your heathcare system to recomend doctors and bring your medical charts with you.

Get your local lawyers/accountants/bankers to recomend their Jamaican counterparts if possible.

Make sure you have a steady cash flow and emergency funds.

Talk to your local insurance brokers with a view to obtain US based insurances and get them to recomend their local counterpart if possible.

Research local import regulations re vehicles and your used personal effects.

I'd suggest three of you spend a longish time in a rental situation and walk about lots.

I'd give a long lecture about the virtues of Permaculture/reforestation in Treasure Beach but hope to put my chat into practice!

Have a Blessed transformation.

turey.

Hi Eric a bit off this topic.

I have often had cause to suspect that convoluted regulations at customs, immigration, tax, law enforcement etc are partly there to give those who have been told NO! all their lives an opportunity to in turn frustrate at will when given the power.

I hope this analysis is innacurate.

I am a born Jamaican and have experienced.... "Miss Williams haffi stamp dat!"...Miss Williams, if there, will usually send one for a receipt for stamping to another office and when one returns she has disappeared. In the meantime it is discovered that one needs a new form and have to start all over! grrrrrrrrrrrr!

If only we could dump some of these archaic time wasting procedures off The Great Pedro Bluff.

Best, turey.

Turey, travel to Mexico and other parts of the Caribbean finds airport entry and departure so much easier that I think you may well be right in your theory. Such a shame for a nation that relies on tourism as much as Jamaica does.
Jamaica's # 1 asset is its citizens so where do customs people come from? They sure aren't from St. Bess!

While on the matter of Immigration let's not forget to remind visitors to our Island of the "U.S. Governments's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative". It requires all U.S. citizens and foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. to carry passports for entry or re-entry as of Jan. 1, 2007.

Then again Mike, if one can negotiate:

Immigration, customs, transport and road conditions, samphie, ginnal etc and feel at home among us in our treasured space........you are a fairly rare bird!

I'm not encouraging backwardness and innapropriate behaviour but can imagine TB and other places feeling like one of the wholesale vacation packages if we made it too easy.

Imagine...............

1 Eradication of di red batty spider and lizard dem! clear di res a cactus an bush fi gi wi a view!

2 Croc off security.

3 Nyabhingi drumming after dinner..no fire man!

4 Armed security on foot and bike.

5 Security cameras.

6 Resident tax/gct spy.

7 No mo fish. Lotsa pond raised though.

8 The Pedro Plains resounding with music...7 days a week and 24 hours per day.

9 Big Development. Accountants being the prime movers. Gardners low level.

10 Jetskis...the Big ONES!

11 More Fruit and veg for de tooris dem......
mo spray and npk.

12 For imm/customs entry....slide your credit card and welcome to ..ALL INCLUSIVE JAMDOWN........

Best, turey, exagerating for effect!

Having been a faithful traveler to the Island since 1971 and having lived in Jamaica for over 8 years from Negril to north coast and operating a B & B in Discovery Bay, I suggest an interesting book "A Year [More or Less]in Jamaica" by David Palladini...or for more fun, "Don't Stop the Carnival" by Herman Wouk. These books might shed some light on trying to make a living in a foreign country.

Cool runnin's

Dan

Thanks to all. I will source the book Dan. I appreciate the heads up.

Respect

Jeff

I am an American with a 5/2 house in TB, furnished & available for rental.

If interested u can contact me at lostmemory@bellsouth.net. I will be there in late June.

Don't let anyone put you off JA, if you are feeling for a life change, then it means it is time to move on...I am a Jamaican who lived away for over 17 years and returned four years ago..and am enjoying it.

As for Immigration, remember if you open up a business with a Jamaican partner, things are always so much easier...also remember that the gold mine here is anything to do with tourism.

There are hotels who are always looking for Management, one large one nearby to T. Beach, Sandals Whitehouse - once you are in Management, you will get a car, gas allowance and they will house you and your family...there are alot of Managers here in JA who are foreigners, my step-father who was a well known General Manager for over 35 years in Jamaica, came over to visit and ended up working in a five star hotel and remained in Jamaica after that.

This is my two cents, come to Treasure Beach and feel it out, you have to have a bit of a laid back and rootsey/rustic personality to appreciate it, I think. I mean, fab place to visit, but if you are used to first world amenities, then...well, you will see.

As for medical facilities, there are some of the very best medical facilities and Doctor's right in Mandeville, a 50 minute easy drive from T. Beach. Many returning resident Doctor's and labs and two hospitals. Also, there is a very good school with a prep school in Mandeville called "Belair" with excellent teachers and a fantastic reputation.

I would also visit Mandeville on your trip down, as it is close by and there is a good rental and real estate market there too - look at Ingleside and Bloomfield, as well as Godfrey Lands for places to buy or rent there.

Have fun, and good luck!

P.S. There is money to be made in Jamaica, as I said, most especially if you open your own business to do with tourism.