Hello Everyone!
I'm Venezuelan and I live in Fort Lauderdale Florida at the moment. The immigration process here has gotten real hard, and my work permit is going to expire soon, so I'm planning in opening a marine store in Bonaire. I have worked for the marine industry for over 20 years and now I am the Purchase Manager for one here in Florida. I haven't been in Bonaire for a long time. I used to sail a lot to Curazao, Aruba and Bonaire with a Venezuelan company. I have read about some of the paperwork and steps to start a business there but I would really appreciate some feed backs on this project.
Thanks to all of you,
David

Hello, David, welcome to BT. Go to www.bonaireeconomy.org It is the website for Bonaire's Department of Economic and Labour Affairs and has lots of information that should assist you. Be sure to check out the Investment Guide that is one of the links on the site. Good luck.

Jim and Jane ,
Thanks a lot I'll do that right now.
Thanks again,
David

There are at least two Mairne stores on the island now. Perhaps you may want to make a trip here and do some market research before going to a lot of expense in starting paperwork, etc.

Hello everyone. My name is Michelle, I currently live in Ashland Oregon. My fiance, and I are thinking about moving to Bonair hopefully within a year. We are both 28 years old, and are just really wanting to make a change, and take a chance, and move far away. We have been told that Bonair is amazing. So I am just trying to get all kind of input. One of my questions is about the language. I speak spanish my family is from Argentina, but my fiance only speaks english, so I am wondering about the work there, if we could make it with our language. Our thought so far has been to sell everything we have, save for a year, and go and take a chance. We have talked about opening up some sort of business, or get involved with real estate. So one of my questions is what does Bonair thrive off of and what would be some good steps for us to take, things to do to try to make this happen succesfully? All and any input or comments would be great, Thank you

Hi Michelle & welcome to BT..In reading your post it appears to me that you've never been on Bonaire before. First step, I'd recommend you spend a couple of weeks on the island & discuss with the locals. From what I've read it's extremely difficult for Americans to set up a business on the island. Additionally the wages working there (if you could find a job) are low by U.S. standards.. Best of luck to you.

Hi Michelle, and welcome to Bonaire Talk Vince is correct, and in general, jobs go to locals, then Dutch, and Americans or other foreigners are the last chosen for a job. It is very difficult to get a job on Bonaire if you are not Antillean or Dutch. English is widely spoken on the island, so language would not be a problem. I'd definitely go with Vince's suggestion and go visit the island before making a move!

Hola Michelle y bienvenida al foro!,desde hace tiempo yo tambien tengo la idea de irme a vivir Bonaire,todavia no lo decido pero espero algun dia realizarlo porque creo que vale la pena y pienso que tu idea de ahorrar(save)durante un ano es muy buena porque así no tendrias apuro en tener que trabajar al llegar sino que puedes empezar poco a poco hasta que te adaptes,sin embargo las unicas opciones de obtener permiso de residencia en Bonaire son a traves de un empleo o invirtiendo(investing) en la isla,creo que piden US$28,000,de todas maneras te recomiendo que entres a esta pagina:www.bonaireeconomy.org aqui encontraras casi toda la informacion necesaria sobre como establecerse en Bonaire,bueno te deseo suerte y hasta pronto!

You need to spend time here. Jobs can be had and you can always buy a business. All it takes is money and perserverance....Spanish is helpful but the language of choice is papiamentu the then Dutch...

(Message edited by gmichael on December 29, 2006)