Moving To Guyana Or St. Vincent And The Grenadines

By Author: Ms Denise Jackson
Total Articles: 6
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Guyana is one of the very few South American countries that is technically in the Caribbean, and is becoming a "go to" country for expats looking to find the sun. It has lovely weather with temperatures between 20°C and 34°C, property prices are cheap, and there is a low crime rate.

The population of Guyana is just three quarters of a million and the bulk of it is of Indian and African descent. It is a former British colony and we imported Africans and Indians to work on the sugar and rice plantations. Those are still grown today, along with coffee, cocoa, coconuts, fruit, vegetables, and tobacco. Livestock includes cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and chickens.

The official language is English, although the most widely spoken language among the public is Guyanese Creole which is a mixture of English, Hindi, and African.

Guyana has lovely weather with sunshine for most of the year. It can get a bit humid at times, but along the coast the breezes from offshore keep it down. It is safer than the other Caribbean islands because it is out of the hurricane zone although it does get some flash floods in May and June, ...
... but on the whole the weather is superb.

Healthcare is good and there is an equivalent of the NHS which expats can use as well. There are 30 major hospitals, and plenty of other free health centres also. Private healthcare is also available, and it is cheaper than in the UK, the US, and Australia.

The educational facilities are also good and follow the British system with free state schools and compulsory education for children of five to 16. Many people moving to Guyana choose to live in Georgetown and it has Georgetown International Academy which is extremely popular for the children of diplomats, company executives, and NGO workers.

Transport can be quite varied, as road conditions vary considerably. in 2007, Georgetown introduced a new road system providing greater safety for road users and vehicles, and seatbelts and speed limits are strictly adhered to. However, out in the rural areas, driving conditions are different with very poor roads, and rules of the road rarely enforced. This means that driving there can be nothing short of dangerous on occasion. One good point is that, as a former British colony, you drive on the left.

St. Vincent is one of the smaller islands in the Caribbean, and is actually two islands, St. Vincent, and The Grenadines. They are only a few hundred miles off the northeast coast of South America, and the climate is warm all year round, with beautiful beaches and deep blue sea. The islands have a mixed British and French colonial past, and only gained independence in 1979. The official language is English which makes things easy for people moving there from the UK.

Unlike many of the Caribbean islands, St. Vincent still retains its' quaint olde worlde charm and the number of tourists and expats is lower than in other islands as well. The cost of living in the islands is very affordable, and not only that, you can get your British pension paid there too. There is also a relatively favourable tax system in place which is another reason people choose to relocate there.

Owning land in St. Vincent and The Grenadines is fairly easy as all you need to do is to obtain a licence from the government which takes between ten and 14 weeks. Also, unlike many of the other islands, the shopping opportunities are quite good, with incoming shipments of goods being regular and reliable.

Of course, if you are going to relocate to Guyana or St. Vincent you will need a company that specialises in shipping to Guyana or shipping to St. Vincent. Because the number of people moving there permanently – either to Guyana or St. Vincent – is relatively small, not all shipping companies will be as familiar with these two destinations as some of the larger ones. Therefore, it is worthwhile shopping around to find a shipping company which DOES go to these destinations quite often, as it will be familiar with import regulations and customs at the port of entry.

W. I. Freight is a specialist shipping company that regularly ships goods to the Caribbean including the contents of homes of people moving there permanently. The company is fully up to date with import regulations and customs clearance in all the different Caribbean islands and also Guyana.