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Jamaica: Anyone planning or moved to Jamaica:
Hello to all the expats living in jamaica...
I have moved to the parish of ST Catherines, with my two teenage daughters and my husband, who is Jamaican. I plan to be here for another couple of months or so andwould like to get to know and meet some other western women who have travelled here, my daughters as well, would like to meet children of their age group who have lived abroad from Jamaica. Their age group is from 12-16 years old. I do not know if I can post phone numbers on this forum, but here goes- 876-378-738, my name is Traci, feel free to call and if I am in the area we could meet for coffee or tea!!!!!
Jamaica: Dogs coming into Jamaica:
Hi,
I have been reading alot of what the ex pats have been saying about dogs not being allowed into Jamaica unless they are born in the UK.
I, too, am relocating to Jamaica, I have seven dogs, chihuahua's, which I WILL NOT PART WITH. As a trainer and breeder living in Canada, I have done extensive research on this subject.
While looking on the net, it is stated that NO Dogs are allowed into the country unless from the British Isles. The reason for this is not just because of the No rabies exuse, but also because Jamaica was under British rule for many years and there is a large majority of Jamaicans who relocate to Britain. They have some sort of agreement, probably monetary which is not broken.
Most people know that domestic dogs do not have rabies, or will never get rabies. While the Jamaican culture is slightly changing when it comes to keeping animals in the home, there are many many feral dogs which run the streets. These dogs are emaciated and are not fixed. Therefore they keep breeding and breeding which causes more "mongrels" to be running around with no shelter or food.
While, I am just one person, I know I can not change this, but when I relocate to jamaica, I will try. I have recieved notification from the SPCA in Canada that I could recieve some sort of funding to open up a shelter. I feel that this might change the amount of domestic dogs shich can come into Jamaica.
I have also spoken with Vetrinarian services of the High Commision in Kingston. They have informed me I could write the director a letter asking for "special consideration" to bring the dogs in. If everyone who is coming into jamaica writes these sorts of letters, there may be hope. I know that our pets are our family and it would be devastating to part with them.
Jamaica: Moving From CANADA To JAMAICA:
Hi,
I too am relocating to Jamaica in the early fall. I was just there for three weeks in the middle of June.
Where to start.
I have always loved Jamaica I have been going for years, I have spent time in Negril, Westmorland, Salv le Mar, Caldwell and several other little parts of the beautiful Countryside of Jamaica. I thought it was heaven.
This last visit I was in Kingston, Harborview, to be exact. My life partner of eleven years is from Kingston and he and I have lived in Canada for that amount of time. He is now there for family business and I have decided to join him with my two teenage daughters and five chihuahua's.
I have many things to say:
First, Kingston is an industrial city, geared for business people. There are no coral beaches, white sand or smells of jerk chicken in the air. Because I am white, and Canadian, every one thinks I have money and will expect you to give to them in higher quantities than the locals. Prime example: went to the Bob Marley Museum in New Kingston, where it was five hundred jamaican dollars for the locals and 1800 jamaican dollars for non locals.
This happens everywhere. For the most part I was stared at so much and felt uncomfortable in my skin that there were times I wanted to scream: Have you never seen a white person before. I have never had this experience and have travelled extensively all over the world. My children are mixed as their father is black and I have been in many 'black communities' where I felt more welcomed.
Thank God for my partners family, because they were very loving and welcoming.
With that said, I have decided not to live in the area of Kingston, but to relocate to Mandeville. This is a beautiful area and the prices for houses to rent range from 200 canadian per month to 4000 canadian per month.
Re Dogs: The Jamaican high commision states that under any circumstances, there are no dogs to be let in to Jamaica unless they are born and bred from the British Isle. No dogs from Canada or the U.S. or any other country are allowed in due to the problem with rabies. Jamaica does not have vaccinations against rabies and do not want any other infections brought into the country.
This is devastating, because as we all know, dogs are part of our family. I have spoken to the director of the vetrinarian services in Kingston and he has told me to write a letter asking for special consideration. This is a fifty fifty surity that my dog will or won't be allowed in.
Re Schooling: After much research I have decided to have my children do correspondance from the computer. This will insure that if we come back to Canada they will be accredited for their grade as well , the adjustment for a "foreign student going into the jamaican schoolboard can be tough socially as well as educationally. Each country has contacts for your children to do their school work online, like a distance ed, and you just have to pay for their books. If you have money a private school could also be considered. There are two private schools in the Kingston area and they are five thousand canadian a year.
Cost of living: Is very high in jamaica, the food is comparable to Canadian prices, the cars are at par and the price of gas is as you know ridiculous. Make sure to have a safety net of cash if one needs to get medical assistance or some other emergency because the government is not handing out money, like in Canada.
With all of that said, there are many positive aspects of living in jamaica as well.
Beauty: when travelling the island of Ja, the beautiful fauna and flora will capture you with its beauty. Negril's seven mile beach is absolutely breath taking and the sun sets captivating. If you are relocating to Negril or Montego Bay, you will meet very friendly people who are used to tourists and who will make you feel very welcome.
Culture: Jamaican culture is rich with traditionalism and envelopes modernity within certain social groups. What I like most about the culture is that the Jamaican people promote high ethical standards when it comes to education, and working. This is taken very seriously as in schools they are uniformed and most people who work within the working class system are well dressed, hardly late, and rarely call in sick. This is because people in Jamaica have it rough as there are no social services for children, women or seniors. Therefore, they work their butts off to try and survive, which is more than I can say for some westerners. Children come first with most of the women in Jamaica, dinner is cooked at noon and breakfast is provided each day with a hot drink. While some Jamaican women are poor, they will do what they can to provide food and shelter for their kids, I respect this.
Anyways, I could go on and on and on, but I will stop here and hope that some of what I am saying can be of help.
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