Hi Guys, I'm new here. I currently live in The Netherlands and I've been wanting to move to Bonaire. I've read some of the posts here and you guys have been so helpful and know quite a lot of information. My only worry is finding boarding and a job. I'm currently an administrative worker but I'm looking for something totally different. Perhaps working at a beach bar or something. Anyone know where I can start looking for cheap boarding and will it be difficult for me to find a job? I can speak Dutch and English and have a pretty good understanding of Spanish and Papiamento.

Thanks for you help. Looking forward to making new friends here on BT!

Have a great day!

Cheers.

Kasheny

Have you considered contacting some of the hotels for a six-month internship position (stagiere)? There really are not a lot of beach bars, which is why I'm suggesting a different sort of hospitality position. This might give you the foothold here to see if you like living on Bonaire (away from all your family & friends in Holland), and give you an idea of what it's like to find a job/live/work here, as opposed to being here on vacation (for example, finding affordable housing/transportation, etc., seeing how much it costs to live here...). The pay-scale here is much lower than in Holland, yet cost of living is high--it's the lifestyle that's the tradeoff, and whether or not you can live with it.

when you enter Bonaire you must have a confirmed place to stay .. guess you have some homework to do .. all the best ........

If you have a Dutch Passport the rules are a bit different but as Petrie mentions, it would be a good idea to find a place at least for the first few days...

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the feedback. I'll definitely do my homework before making a move.

Have a great day!

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the feedback. I'll definitely do my homework before making a move.

Have a great day!

We have recently bought a house on Bonaire. Our son will be attending St. James Medical School. The house is partially furnished but need outdoor furniture, mattresses, washer, and a few other purchases. Any suggestions as to where to buy locally? He will be bringing our 7 month old grandson and his wife, also 3 dogs. The arrangements that have been made to transport the dogs alone would fill a page!! Love Bonaire and plan to keep the house as a rental after he leaves the island. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Bonaire Supermarket for most household appliances and just about anything else. Kind of like a Wal-Mart in the states minus the food. Head north on the hotel row (don’t know road names) and hang a right at the round about where the large radio station building is. Supermarket is on your left. .

Larry.
I guess that Jason means Bonaire Superstore (known by many as Bonaire Stupid Store). Travelling from downtown and heading North, Kaya Grande becomes Boulevard Gob. N. Debrot. At the roundabout turn right onto Kaya Amsterdam. Superstore is a few hundred yards on the left.

Just a few words about BSS. Most of the stuff that they sell is imported from China and is of poor quality. Getting a refund is very difficult and electrical goods are mainly 110v. As you know, Bonaires electricity runs at 127v 50hz. The voltage can vary greatly so surge protectors are a must. Buying electrical goods rated at 110v 60hz will not last very long.

Sheets and towels are not great but pots and pans are OK. All of the cutlery sets that I found appeared to be made of some material that bends when put near to food making every meal time like a lunch date with Uri Geller.

If you can bring anything of quality from home, it will save adding to the landfill every month. I would guess that inferior Chinese goods take a fairly large percentage of the landfill space on Bonaire.

Try City Shop as well..good quality and service

Larry, I would also try Omni downtown. I bought a frig there a few years ago and it still works fine. City Shop at times has nice furniture but its hit or miss at what's in inventory at any given time. I would avoid BSS as Antony indicates above except for glassware and the like.

Patrick

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quote:

All of the cutlery sets that I found appeared to be made of some material that bends when put near to food making every meal time like a lunch date with Uri Geller.

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Good one Antony.

I second Michael on City Shop. We bought a blender there, paid the same as in the states, and it has worked fine for two years. We'll be buying a TV there in a few weeks.

e.DB

Thanks everyone for the info. If we bring linens and towels from the states in out luggage will we be charged duty at the airport? I looked at City Shop when we were there in May and they did have a decent selection.

Larry, you'll soon learn that just because you saw something once....doesn't mean it'll ever be there again (though stores are stocking more consistently than they ever had in the past). If ever you see something you need, buy it.

You may get charged import duties on the items you bring in, so have receipts handy if they're asked for. Also, re: linens (you mean bed-sheets, right?)-European bed sizes are different than US ones, so keep that in mind when shopping. If you have a king-sized mattress, definitely bring your own sheets.

Thank you Ruth for the help. Can you order from places like Home Depot and Lowes in the states and have it shipped to the island? Also is there a published list of the amount of duty charged on different merchandise? I did mean bed sheets when I wrote linens ;-)

Larry..You can order from anywhere in the states & have it shipped to Bonaire. Here's a service I used in the past, albiet it wasn't cheap. Dont expect any bargains. Good luck..

http://www.shoppersbonaire.com/

For whatever you can't carry with you, you can order it online & have it shipped to Amcar Freight in Medley, FL (you might have to add Amcar Freight as an approved delivery address for your credit card). They consolidate orders for people here, and ship them out once a week in a container. The container is received here on Bonaire a week later, at Rocargo Services (near Warehouse/Bonaco). Rocargo will do all your paperwork, calculate customs duties (that book's about 1,000 pages long & in Dutch), clear your items and even deliver them if necessary. Of course, all for a price--it's best to ship all your stuff at once, because there's a set fee for the paperwork, whether you bring in one item or a hundred, etc. Also be sure to order things that will be delivered ready for shipment (packed well)-for example, if you order a mattress from Macy's, it probably won't come in a box--but if you order it from Overstock.com, it will.

Call Amcar Freight-the woman who handles Bonaire is Mercy Marimon. She can explain how it works (but not the import duties part--for that you'd need to call Rocargo). Amcar: 305-599-8866, and Rocargo (ask for Patricia): 011-599-717-8922, ext 4. Don't expect a detailed list of import duties--it's very complicated--they can range from 0-45%, plus 5% on top of that, and all of that is on top of the shipping costs.

If you wait until 10/10/10 with the new changes, I was given to understand that most import duties will be eliminated and a flat 8% tax will be levied. Don't count on this as gospel since everything here is subject to change...

Thank you everyone for your great advice. I know we will bring cutlery due to the advice of Antony!!

Hi, God willing I'll be moving to Bonaire soon, I'd like to know how many years of residence should one have before one can begin the process of obtaining the nationality, with the new island status .

it takes you 5 years after establishing your temporary residency -which must be renewed every year - on time - or your time starts over .. to become a permanent resident .. you must be established on the island .. that is always on island,paying taxes etc. and from there i believe it is 10 years before a dutch passport ..get in contact with immigration .. it is solely up to them how you can qualify ..