subject: Renting in Barbados and moving to the Caribbean [print this page] Renting in Barbados and moving to the Caribbean
Janet went shopping with our friends who have lived here for over five years now and so they know which shops to go and buy the various types of food. I they left about 10:30 and I guess I was expecting them back at about 1.00, how long can it take to do some food shopping?. In the event it was gone 4:00 before they pitched up. Janet is not keen on shopping so she was very tied. Hopefully this food shopping will last the best part of the 4 weeks, so that is fantastic.
Janet was surprised at the cost of food including fruit and veg and that nothing was really cheap. You would expect there to be some local produce which is fairly priced and the only item that Janet found that was cheaper than in the UK was in fact sugar, no surprise there then! (and rum but thats not food is it?) So if you're coming to Barbados be aware that you could end up spending 50% or more on food than you do in the UK, and that is on the assumption that you are buying the local brands and not the same brands that you get in the UK, or you can double that.
Regrettably the soft phone is still not working, so my voice over the Internet (VoIP) solution that was meant to enable me to answer the phone as if sat at my own desk, while sat in the sun in Barbados is in fact not happening yet. The engineer is working on it but not given me a lot of feed back. Obviously he is unable to do anything to the computer at my end and therefore has to sort out whatever the problem is with the router back in our office.
I have received e-mail notification of another tender for me to price which is due back before I return to the UK. This is good as it will help test how practical it is for me to continue working whilst living in Barbados. I will get the drawings e-mailed over to me tomorrow and depending on the size of the project I may need to find somewhere locally where I can get the drawings printed.
Today's weather has been a bit of a mixed bag with intermittent and sometimes heavy showers. However Alec and I went down the beach at two o'clock and stayed there for nearly 4 hours which was well after it had gone dark. There were more local traders down the beach today than yesterday, this is apparently because on Tuesdays (and Wednesdays) there is a Cruise Ship that comes into the port at Bridgetown.
Great snorkelling again and Alec played in the waters edge being thrown about. It was also good to just listen to the sound of the broken coral at the edge of the water being turned over and knocking into each other, it sounded just like a wind chime and it is amazing how clear their sound was considering that it was travelling through "moving" water.
Met a couple of interesting people down on the beach today which made me realise just how friendly people are here. One of the gentlemen was from London. He is here for four months as the doctor had advised that it would be better for his wife's health. He is staying with his family in a beach side property which he has the free use of for the for an unbelievable two years. The property comes complete with maids, cooks etc. He was looking at a used restaurant/bar just off the beach and as he is a former restaurant and nightclub owner he thought it might be a good opportunity for him. He did not know what the work visa rules would allow him to do. Unfortunately although he has a four-month return ticket and letters from his wifes doctors he has to go to Bridgetown next week (IE after four weeks) to get his visa extended as they would only give him one month.
The other gentleman was locally born who moved to England some time ago as Barbados had nothing to offer at that time and so he went for the bright lights of London, although in actual fact he ended up in Birmingham.
We got back to the house just after dark and we were treated to a very pretty display by the fireflies in the trees. (We did not see them last night so whether we missed them or they are not out every night and I do not know).
