We are thinking of relocating to either Bonaire or Curacao from the US. Please give me your opinion of either places.....schools, cost of living, crime, taking up residency, drug problems, job availability and wages for individuals without a college degree.....

We are ready for a change and well....are moving blind. We have never visited either island. We may be crazy but you could also say we are fed up with things here and are ready to jump in!!

Anything and everything will be helpful!!!!
Thanks~~M

Melody, welcome to Bonaire Talk. You are not the first person to ask this question. I suggest you peruse through the topics in this area "moving to bonaire" it will be most helpful.

Good luck with your dream

BTW, I've deleted your duplicate post under Community Chat, as this is the place you will get your answers.

Hello Melody. Be careful where you jump..you know the old saying from the pan into the fire!
My sage advice...personally visit either Bonaire or Curacao and spend some real time there. That at a very minimum is a first step (of many) you'll need to make an informed decision.
Otherwise, you really just have a pipe dream.
I'm afraid no quick easy answers on the BT chat board.

in a word DON'T come without spending time to check it out personally. If you have young kids be warned they must learn two additional languages immediately. You will only be able to find low paying jobs if you are lucky. Crime and drugs are a fact of life where ever you go. You have to show that you can support yourself and family before you will be able to gain residency. Basically it may be better if you are interested in island living try a US island where you will have fewer hurdles. Most of the people who have tried what you propose fail unless they have unlimited funds.

Melody:

I am a long time visitor to Bonaire (two or three weeks a year for well over a decade) and, but for a few things (none of which are about Bonaire), would move there. But that is with a basis of understanding the great things about Bonaire and the hard things about Bonaire.

So, here is my advice:
a) Picture your ideal place to live. What is it like? (climate, geography, size, cultural amenities, schools, incomes, languages, ease of travel, libraries). Picture your entire day there. What would it be like when you woke up, had breakfast, went to work, came home, went to bed, and then had a day off. Picture what you would do with a week off.
b) Think about every place you have ever lived. What have you really valued? What was important to you? Add that to the list.
c) Now, comes the hard one, what are those things you take for granted but would miss. A 24 hour pharmacy? The ability to go the grocery at 10pm if you forgot to get something? Trees? A really large book store? A movie plex with 16 screens? The ability to drive to the big city for opera, museums, concerts, etc? The ability to find almost anything you want at large grocery stores? To easily order stuff via the internet? Add those to the list.
d) Start prioritizing. What are those things that you are ready to do without if you can have things you don't have in Kansas?
e) Start researching destinations by internet. Ask specific questions about potential places. What are the residency and work requirements? And be realistic about certain things: cost of living is typically higher on islands where everything must be shipped in. Drugs and crime are almost everywhere. Some places worse than others but still...

And, then do as Michael and Vince suggest -- visit Bonaire. I would add one caveat: try to live that visit more as a resident than as a tourist. Most places are great when you don't have to work, can eat out as you wish and do the sports you enjoy. (Note: Bonaire is much more than that for me but that is another topic...).

So, visit the schools. Walk in town. Visit the grocery stores. Visit the other shops. Visit churches. Talk to locals. Pretend you are doing some of the shopping you do throughout the year (specific food items, clothes, etc.) Check the prices and availability. Look at houses and neighborhoods. Find out about jobs. Check out health and vet care. How is easy is to reach a larger population center? How easy to visit family/friends?

Whether Bonaire, Kansas or anyplace else: Good Luck!

David~~Thank you so much for your wonderful post!! And thank you to everyone else who took the time to offer help and suggestions!! But this post was thoughtful, insightful and ever so helpful. I enjoyed reading it. I have taken in all the suggestions you have offered. I have taken in and already previously researched most of these ideas but a few you have thought of were most helpful. I think we have decided to wait on our move as we have found that our children will suffer educationally due to the lack of fluently speaking the local languages. Even if we learned both as much as we could by August I am afraid it just wouldnt be enough to keep them in the loop educationally. We have very bright children and just wouldnt feel right holding them back another grade as it is believed they will do. I do wish ever so much it was legal to homeschool!! Perhaps as our children grow older we can come and live in such beauty. Or perhaps after deciding this IS what we want, we can better plan to learn the language in pleanty of time. We are leaving Kansas in August and we have free range of where we move.....this post helps us keep in mind what we need to consider no matter where we go next as a family.
Thank you sooooo much~~Melody

i would also add to those people who would love to move to Bonaire..(and I know of which I speak because I grew up on a small island overseas)- to any American- go to your nearest Dollar store (or Dollar General)- that is going to be your main "big store type" on the island. Not even as diverse as Wal-Mart, and the quality is not even as good as that. Can you live with that? Now find the smallest town around you that still has a grocery store- that will about be your choice on the island- if that good. Now we own a condo on the island and we are trying to find the fixer-upper stuff that we need on island. Kind of difficult when the only curtains that we could find the last time ready-made were burgundy satin types!! Early bordello anyone!?
We found the chinese warehouse and I was delighted- but for most Americans it is a bit of a culture shock- even the plastic stuff is brittle and easily broken- and it ALL is set out for sale- so buyer beware!!They dont get rid of the broken stuff as they would in an American store. We are lucky- we can leave or have stuff shipped (which actually we do not want to do, what a headache!!) But any American has to realize- it is not a matter of running down to the local store to pick up some washclothes or dishclothes. First you have to find some. And there might only be one color. (Although I was absolutely charmed by the dishwasher/stove combo that I found.)
We Americans are very lucky to be living in the land of "everything you could possibly want or need." Melody I would consider- if you really want the feeling of living in a new place- move to Florida. It is hot and expensive and in a lot of places you cannot understand the language. A lot like living overseas!! We are still living in the midwest and will be here a few more years until the kids are out of school and maybe college- its cheap! And the gas is still under $2 a gallon!!

Tami, funny you should suggest moving to Florida......that is just what we are doing! We are moving there in August. We have decided to wait until the children are out of school and we can move without that worry for them. Thank you for your suggestions and thought. I do realize that we would be moving somewhere where things are not easily bought or found. That is what I liked about the idea. I wanted to slow our lives down and have the children become aware and grateful for what we did have and our surroundings. I know moving to Florida will not do any of those things but atleast we will have the warm weather and water. We have lived all over the US and just cant seem to find just the right home. I think that is what we were hoping for in the caribbean but who knows......we may just have wonderlust forever!

lets not get hung up on the language thing .. the most important point is the culture ... what do you really know about bonaire .. the west indies? the way of life here is SOOO different .. Tami your post clearly shows this .. no insult intended as i know what you experienced -there are so many other options .. i know exactly which store .. you i must say are a "beginner...." in the bonaire ways there are so many options .you must get adventurous and get away from the Playa .. .. ..this is not America. if you can't live without . .then don't even try .. life here is super ...if you take it as it is. no more no less .. i love it here .. 30 years now ..when i came NO english was spoken and it took 1 year to get a telephone .. relax .. love bonaire as it is -- not the way you want it .. that is why we are special and why you want to live here ..change us?? i hope never .... i get a great thrill when i really need something here and it is not available .. then the word KORSOW ( curacao) comes up .. what a horrible thing to happen .. a day trip to korsow!!! the land of plenty!!!as i have posted before -- i came to stay in 1974 .the first time .. 1964 .. and believe it or not .. at that time i was able to furnish a 4 bedroom home .. with no problems or imports .. ALL here !!.. belive it or not .. i am with about 13.000 others able to survive on what is available here-- especially food .. a suitcase full of food ??? for us ?? crazy .. why not buy here and help our economy??

Richard, you have posted this more than once in this topic.. please dont spam us.. Your questions will be answered.. also please look in the archives of Moving to Bonaire.. it is not as simple as you may think.. welcome...

(Message edited by modfreddie on May 2, 2009)