I get asked a lot of questions about living in the Cayman Islands and moving to Cayman,
so in this video I'm gonna tackle the most frequently asked questions.
If you end up liking the video make sure you give it a thumbs up and consider subscribing.
Let's begin with living in the Cayman Islands.
Do you just spend all your time on the beach?
While most people's social media posts make it look that way, we do have to go to work,
and the shops, and live normal lives.
In fact if you don't make the effort even if you live right on the beach you can go
for weeks without any spending time on it.
However the beach is always there for you to enjoy.
Whether it's boat parties, barbecues, working out, diving, riding jet skies or any kind
of water sport, it's all right here at your finger tips.
Some people go to the beach every day, some of my colleagues don't even like to swim,
it's completely up to you.
Is it expensive to live there?
Definitely, Cayman doesn't have any personal income tax, but it does have a lot of tax
on goods.
This is great because it means the less you spend the less tax you pay, but it also means
everything is really expensive.
Especially food, which most of us can't live without.
Your salary is high, but so are your costs.
If you're good at budgeting though, you could save a lot.
CaymanResident.com is an excellent resource for newbies and actually has a regularly updated
estimate of the cost of living in Cayman.
Do I have to buy a car here?
This was a question I asked so many times - it's a little island, can't I just walk
everywhere, isn't there a bus I can take?
Unfortunately the public transport system here is almost non existent.
I've heard the government is working on something but I'm not sure when we’ll have a solution.
Walking is tough unless you have a shower where you work.
It's it's always hot here, even when it's raining it's warm, so you will be really sweaty
even if you just walked down the road.
Sometimes I feel sweaty just getting out of the car and walking into the office.
When it rains the roads flood and you'll get drenched.
Cycling is gonna have the same effects.
Both are also not safe because there's no cycling lanes and there's almost no side walks,
so you're putting your life in the hands of distracted drivers.
I'd suggest you get a car.
So where should I get a car from?
This has been the cause of many emotional and financial struggles for me.
From being somebody who never wanted to buy a car in the first place to being on my forth
car in less than two years.
Most people buy a car second hand from ecaytrade.
That's like the Cayman version of Craigslist.
As with any second hand car, you get what you get.
Some people buy cars from Japan, that's a little bit more expensive and some people
have good experiences, I had a terrible experience, so I do not recommend it - stay away from
beforward especially.
I have had it with these ma - subscribe - snakes!
You could also get a dealer to bring in a car for you from another country, this is
a more expensive option but if they give you warranties it may be worth it.
If you have the cash buying a new car is also an option but it only makes financial sense if you're
intending to stay here for a long period.
Most people just buy something that runs and accept that they're gonna spend some time
and money with a mechanic.
What's the party scene like brother?
Firstly, look at me, you're asking the wrong person.
But I'll try and answer anyway.
There are bars, one or two clubs, even salsa nights, but this is an island built to entertain
tourists for short holidays.
Based on what friends have said, after the first few months you probably would have seen
everything, you'd have your favorites but if you're somebody who likes to try out new
things all the time this isn't going to be your vibe.
This is actually a thing a lot of young people who have lived here their whole lives complain
about.
How's the single life?
For those of you who are #ForeverSingle, the good news is there are new people coming and
going all the time from all over the world, so if you're social you may find love in whatever
form you want it.
I know a few people who have found boyfriends or girlfriends here.
The bad news is, this is a small pond to fish from, even if we have visiting fish.
Will I make any friends?
The fact that you're asking that question...
no.
But seriously as with any new place it's up to you to step out and make friends.
Coming in with an audit firm with a big group of people is certainly easier than coming
in by yourself but that would be true anywhere.
Does it get lonely being far from family and friends?
Of course, I miss my family and friends, especially my parents.
That's the biggest sacrifice an expat makes.
Is my community represented?
I've been asked, are there people like me there.
Is this race or this religion represented?
Although this is a very Christian based island, I've seen other religions represented in some
form here and many different races and cultures.
It's a very cosmopolitan island.
The majority of expats are Jamaican, with strong American, South African, English, Canadian
and Filipino communities.
If all of that sounds good, let's talk about moving to Cayman.
How did you get a job in Cayman?
My job search was really simple, I worked for an audit firm in South Africa and heard
from people who had done a stint in Cayman that it was amazing.
The island not the work.
A friend sent me a link to the application that was on their website.
I applied, did some interviews and got an offer.
Should I have a job before coming to Cayman?
It's a big risk moving to an expensive place with no guarantee of a job, so if you can
I'd definitely recommend securing a job first.
However it's much harder to get a job from off island because not all companies are willing
to pay for you to move, unless you're in professional services.
If you can't secure a job from off island, then coming here on a vacation and lining
up interviews would be your next best bet.
If you're a person who likes to bet big and go all in, then take the plunge, but make
sure you have enough cash to sustain yourself or that you're willing to do any job.
Be aware though that if you come here on a visitors visa and you get a job, you'll have
to leave the island while they process your work permit.
And then once you get it then you'll only be able to come back.
Can you help me find a job in Cayman?
Unfortunately no, I am not a recruiter, and I don't have any special connections.
Although the Cayman job market is small, there are often jobs available because expats are
coming and going all the time.
So this brings up the question, should I use a recruitment agency?
As with most countries recruitment agencies charge a fee to the company for finding employees.
Therefore most companies would prefer to hire you directly then paying those fees.
If you see a job advertised it's always better to apply directly than through a recruiter.
That being said, most jobs are advertised in the local paper, so if you're overseas,
unless you're applying to a tech savvey company like Dart or one of the big firms, you're
gonna have to use a recruiter and there's many of them on the island.
A word of caution though, be careful about signing any contract that ties you into an
agency without any guarantee of a job.
Always read the fine print and make sure you can take another job that you find if they
can't find one for you.
I want to come to Cayman to do audit, is it as amazing as it sounds?
If you've been sold on the lie that you will work less hours and be able to chill on the
beach all day, clearly you've learnt nothing from your current audit experience.
Audit is very rarely a nine to five job, and it definitely is not one here.
As with all work places you'll get a couple of lucky people who have nice clients and don't
have to work that hard but in general most people will be working long hours, and whilst
it is mostly in the first half of the year it's not exclusively there.
Some of my friends had it easy, and some of them worked like dogs.
It's luck of the draw.
Choose your firm wisely, and make sure you speak to somebody honest in their current
staff intake so that you get a good idea of what you're getting yourself into.
Also think carefully about your career.
I came here because I wanted to travel, I wasn't thinking about my career.
Whilst I lucked out and found a job that's leaning towards more of a career, many people
are stuck because there's a small number of jobs and getting those jobs requires experience.
Make sure you're getting the right experience, or take this as a life experience and don't
expect any career advancement.
But is it worth it to live in Cayman?
For me this place has been the most rewarding and the most challenging place to live in.
You can see a lot of my experiences in past videos that I've made.
Earning dollars is a life changing experience when it comes to traveling, and because I've
been able to find a great job I have been blessed with an amazing work life balance.
Even if I've had a tough week, living here is like having a beach vacation every weekend.
Every time I'm on a boat, or in the ocean, or just chilling on the beach watching tourists
spending piles of money to be in the place that I live in, I feel extremely greatfull.
How can I apply for permanent residence This is super complicated and you either have
to have a ton of money or have lived here for a number of years and invested and a whole
list of other complicated things.
The best thing to do is to check the Cayman Islands Immigration website.
Will I earn enough money?
It's never enough.
Is it really that nice?
No, it's just a trick so that you can sell your soul and then when you get here they
eat you alive.
Yeah, it is.
But aren't the stingrays dangerous?
They killed that Australian guy.
Steve Irwin was killed by a different kind of stingray to the ones that we have here.
Yes they can hurt you, especially if you stand on their tales, but that's very rare.
That's all I got for this video, don't forget to hit like and if you any other questions
that Google can't answer feel free to drop them in the comments below, I make videos
every week sketches, vlogs, travel vlogs and more - have a look around my channel and if
you like what you see hit subscribe.
See you next week.