Hi 2BSerius, To answer your question regarding the length of time a US citizen is permitted to stay. Although the law states you may stay for up to 8 months, when you go thru immigration at the AP it is at the discretion of the officer as to how long he permits the stay regardless of what your return date ticket says. Most likely he/she will ask your purpose and length of stay. You must have a return ticket. You will probably be given 30 or 60 days and it will be stamped on your passport. They may want to know how you are going to take care of your needs for a period of time since you won't be permitted to work. If your ticket is only for 2 or 3 weeks they most likely won't say anything. Once you get in and settled you should go to immigration office located at Hawkins Hill off East Bay St and speak with an officer there regarding getting an extension. Make sure you bring your passport, the imm. form you fill out when you leave the airplane, a copy confirming your return flight and something showing how you will support your stay financially. Not knowing all the details regarding your source of income and what the purpose for relocating here is I cannot speak on but I wouldn't get an apt until you know what you are up against and if you do not know anyone here already it could be expensive to stay in a hotel. It was easy for me. I came here in May of this year and I have Bahamian friends here and I am retired. Even though my ticket was for 5 months, I had to report to immigration 3 times to get extensions. I returned to the US in October and came back in November and have a ticket for May 2011. In the meantime I will have to report to immigrataion just before the time to get another extention. It is a nuisance but until I decide to apply for permanent residence this is what I have to do. I know there are others who will see this and respond to you. They have come up with some good advice and where one doesn't know someone else will. Good luck to you

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Thanks so much for your response. I personally do not know anyone in the Bahamas..living in Florida I've meet people from all over the Caribbean EXCEPT Nassau Bahamas. )Figures lol). Well I have income from Rental Property here in the USA, and a small online business that I plan to expand. The information provided will be very helpful to us.

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You're welcome 2BSirius. Since you have the on line business that could be expressed to immigration when you go to the office. Keep us posted, I'm sure others will respond. Have a great new year.

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Hi and congratulations on all your future plans. Im a Bahamian and was born here in Nassau I would book at a hotel or motel the first few weeks and feel the place out and then look around for more permanent dwelling. Its a lovely town but as a Tourist port can be quite expensive.
God Bless

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divagirl...very good advice. I would suggest the same. If she doesn't want to stay in the more expensive hotels one I would recommend is the Red Carpet Inn in Harbour Bay area. They have large rooms with counter separated kitchen area, cabinets and appliances, refridgerator and microwave. super market and shopping area right next door.

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Choosing an expat health insurance provider is an important decision. Get a quote from our trusted expat health insurance partner, CIGNA. With Cigna Global Health Options, you can create an international health insurance plan that's perfectly tailored for the needs of you and your family.

Thank you so Much Divagirl for your information. The time is winding down for us. I can not wait. Do you know of any good realtors that can help us locate an affordable apartment, in a safe area. I will check on the red carpet hotel and do the reviews. I have emailed several realtors on the island, and few seem to return calls, or emails.

Thanks again for all your help!

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Thanks so much for your input and that of Divagirl. We are expected to arrive next week in Nassau, and I have been trying to get some assistance with a few realtors to help us out with locating an affordable apartment in a safe area. We only want to stay in a hotel for about a week maybe more if we have to. Do any of the Expats have mothly or weekly meetings at all? That would be a nice way to connect.

We are nervous and excited all at once. Oh, will we be able to carry extra things like toliet paper, ant killer, small thing of cleaning supplies in our checked luggage, or do you think the officials will try to charge us a duty on them. (The quanities will not be too much that they will think they are for re-sale).

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You should not have any problem putting those things in your checked luggage. Those items shouldn't be anything they would charge for. I have been thru lots of times and they haven't ever looked in my bags.
Usually I just look on the site to see what's there. I get email messages from the expatexchange on a daily basis. I don't know of any meetings. Just in case you may need another realtor CA Christie is a good one. Best of luck to you and keep in touch to let us know the progress you make.

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2bserius...As I stated earlier, CA Christie is a good one tel 242-677-8100. Lana Basalyga rep Cell #357-7698. Another is Bahamas Realty, Sarah Parker,242-396-0000.
Both are on the internet.
www.cachristie.com and www.bahamasrealty.bs

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i concur with mstineyb, those are two of the higher end real estate firms on the island, and are both well reputed. they're a good place to start. paradise island, and the western end of the island are some very nice areas to view, although they can be pricey. There are also quite lovey dwellings in Blair Estates and the Montague and Eastern Road Areas. Enjoy the search and if you have other questions feel free to call me at (242) 322-2753 Tasha Brown. I visited Florida for four months out of last year and I know how it can be when you're new to a city.

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Wow...well we have arrived in Nassau about a week now, and its been quite a journey to say the least. Trying to get some of the realtors to phone back in regards to their listed rentals is darn near impossible. I will definitely try the phone numbers listed, and phone you Tasha as well. We browsed through the classified section of the newspaper and its really hard with out a car to try to figure out which apartments are in good areas and so forth. So frustrating thus far.

But excited to start a day anew tomorrow. Thanks again Expat exchange, Misty B, and Diva Girl, and others who have contributed to the posting on this website.

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2bsirius, Yes, it can be very frustrating trying to figure things out when you are new. Check out those maps. The west is a good area and can be expensive. Stapledon and Sea Breeze is good and some other areas. I'm sure Divagirl can give better advice. You may be better off going to the realty offices and dealing directly with a "live" person. If you still have a problem let us know. Good luck and keep us posted.

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Hi 2BSirius,

Welcome! I understand that you have been here now about a week and are trying to navigate some of the challenges. I am happy to put in my two cents, but I tend not to do so publicly. If you would like, I can give you a call in the next couple days to answer any questions you might have about these initial arrival issues. I've been here 5 years, and hubby has been here about 7 years. In the business he works in, he encounters lots of people in many different situations. We actually will be in the company of the Minister of Immigration on Sat. night, and have some really good connections, and the whole immigration issue is still an issue!

If you would like, give me your local phone # and I will give you a call in the next couple days and answer any questions you have.

Best,

Grace

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Well this is just a little update about our experiences thus far! We FINALLY found an apartment after looking in the Classified. Its not our ideal place, but we don't have to pay the minimum. $3k us dollars in cash to get the place, there is NO LEASE..its month-to-month, and it is in a pretty okay area. SO for that .... I am thankful. Finally some sort of stress off of our chest. We are so tired of paying pricey hotel fees!.

This place needs A LOT of work, and the landlords are not really looking to invest anything... Not even fresh paint to make this small place a little more livable...so its all on us. I am wondering if there are any thrift stores or places that we can get some cleaning products, ant/roach spray, and other household items without breaking the Bank? I did bring some towels, and one sheet of sheets, but we need pillows, eating utensils, plates, shower curtains etc etc.

This is a big step, and we are ready to get this apartment thing behind us..

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I'm glad to hear you found a place. You can always take your time to look for another place since you have a month to month rental. As I mentioned to Blackbelt, it is very expensive for groceries and household goods. You can get all of these at stores such as Robin Hood located on Harrold Road and Solomons by Fire Trail Rd. In the Marathon Mall is Kelly's that has home goods at a more upscale price and also has everything else, hardware, electrical, car, kitchen, etc. Then you have Bed and Bath located in Harbor Bay past Paradise Island on E Bay St. There is an A.I.D. home goods on Wullf Rd by Marathon Rd. For strictly food items you should try Super Value. Prices are cheaper than City Market. They are in Cable Beach area past City Market and in other locations. It is not such a hassle to get in and get out. Otherwise, you can also try Robin Hood and Solomons for the food. I too was frustrated by the prices at first. But then you have to know exactly what you want and try to stick to a budget on food. Being American, I am accustomed to the cheap prices and sales in the US. If you read Blackbelts note I sent him you can see what I'm talking about. I love Breyers ice cream but I would not buy it for $8or 10. You can get Friendleys in Robin Hood for $4.00 on sale. Lucky you brought your own sheets. Here they are of lesser quality in most stores....threadcount. If you want good sheets try Roberts Furniture Store. They cost a little more but worth it. You can always bring them back from the good old US!!

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Thanks for the comments MStin...; Well after almost two weeks... My fiancee decided that trying to get things accomplished here is too frustrating :-( so Its back to the USA for me, and back to Europe for him. We are gonna relocate to Germany! I am not looking forward to it at all. We had a rental in Montague Villas on Village Road...It was horrible. There was no way I could stay anylonger in that place. It was disgusting, and we tried to clean it and so forth...it was just too much! I booked the hotel on Cable Beach until we get back home. Thanks so much everyone for trying to assist us. We will be back to vacation and probably honeymoon.

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That's awesome information. Sorry to quickly explain, my husband and i and our 2 children are relocating from Australia at the end of 2011/start 2012. I have been looking into realty, schools etc and was wondering if there were many shops on the island or if i would need to go back to the US to get supplies. It sounds quite expensive though. We were going to try not to have to bring a lot of things with us but sounds like it may be cheaper to have our things sent from Australia than have to get all new things once we settle on the realty. I was wondering if you could please let me know if there are many cars for sale on the island or if we would need to source one from somewhere else? Sorry to bombard you, thanks Kelly

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