Two job positions related to my field have opened up in the Caribbean. One is in St. Kitts and Nevis, and the other in Trinidad and Tobago. Based on job description only, the Trinidad offer seems to be a better fit. But, since I’ve never been to either island, I wanted to know if other Dopers had lived/visited those islands and could tell me more about living, not just working, on those places.
I know there is at least one Doper living in Trinidad (grude?), but I don’t know if there are others, or any who are in St. Kitts…
Note: None of the jobs may pan out and I may end up in the Antartica, for all I know (oh God, no)… But I want to know, out of curiousity.
I lived in Trinidad for three years and worked in St. Kitts and Nevis, too. I loved the Eastern Caribbean. Please feel free to email me for info. JillGat at gmail dot com.
I visited Nevis for a few days; very peaceful and quiet. Seemed not as touristy as some of the other islands; didn’t seem to have the space for the mega cruise ships to call. You can walk around the main town in about ten minutes. I can recommend a great beachfront bar, though.
I noted that just by looking at the population stats. And I’m definitely a city person, I’d be afraid I’d go eventually crazy in St. Kitts.
How easy is travel between the Lesser Antilles/Eastern Caribbean? I know that for me, even though I lived on an island, travelling to any of the Lesser Antilles was somewhat exotic (excluding the US Virgin islands, which you can see from one of our own islets). People ask me if I have visited such and such island and I’m like… eh, no, that is expensive.
But how easy is it to travel between them, if you live there?
Trinidad is nothing like you’d expect, Port Of Spain is like a tiny bit of NYC plopped into the Caribbean.
Trinidad is by far the most developed of the Caribbean, but sometimes it even bugs me a little.(no 24 hour grocery stores?! etc) But cost of living is shockingly high for the area.
You can PM me if you’d like, when I’m feeling more energetic I might type something longer and more sensible lol.
It’s easy enough to travel between the islands - check out www.liat.com but it’s not cheap. The islands are further apart than you might think. Not sure if they still offer an island hopper where you can touch down in several islands for a package price. The French speaking islands have ferries running between them http://www.express-des-iles.com/ you’ll note that includes Dominica (the Commonwealth of) and St Lucia where french patois is commonly spoken.
Don’t forget Trinidad has Tobago as a sister island.
Monkeys on St Kitts too. At Turtle Beach there is a beach bar where the monkeys will climb right up on the bar and take fruit out of your drink. http://stkittsrental.com/Monkeys3_600.jpg
St Kitts is overall a much more low key island than Trinidad. That also means it can be more prone to rock fever and the inability to find certain items for purchase locally.
Bumped the thread because I did get the job in Trinidad, so I will be going there eventually (in a few weeks). I’d appreciate more information about the island, though.
How good is public transport? How cheap? How reliable? How walkable is it? I’m guessing some areas may be more walker-friendly than others.
I was told that eating out would be expensive, but what about groceries? I don’t tend to eat fast food, I get my excess calories from proper restaurants or from eating a lot of what I already cook. What staples should I find? Would they still be expensive?
Public transport (bus) is cheap and reliable, aside from that there is nearly 24 hour private maxis/taxis route service as well. It is very walkable, compared to the US.
You’ll hear a LOT about how horrible crime is(seems to be the national obsession) but it is mostly gang warfare in specific areas around POS. Just take sensible precautions.
St.Augustine and Curepe is fairly safe area.
http://www.hilofoodstores.com/content/ That is a major grocery chain, check out their weekly ad. Food prices are high compared to the US, alcohol is outrageously priced due to taxes I’m guessing. I use a combo of being flexible at the grocery, buying what is on sale or two for one, and buying produce and fish at open air markets.
It doesn’t matter now but having just sen this thread I think you’ll be happier in T & T. A week in St. Kitts and Nevis was probably all we needed to see everything worth seeing. It’s a lovely place, friendly people and good food but not the ‘be all and end all’ of Caribbean islands.
Never been to the Eastern Caribbean-but the comment about “high cost of living” rings true-in Jamaica, Aruba, Curacao, food costs easily 2-3X what it is in the USA. In Jamaica, even though the island is big enough for farms, most of the food is imported. In Aruba, the restaurants were easily 3-4 X the price in the USA. About the only place where yo get a break is Isla Marguerita (Venezuela), food from the mainland is pretty reasonable.
