MY wife is planning on attending St, James Medical School and we are researching the idea of moving our family (three kids 8-12) to Bonaire for 16 months. If anyone could point us in the right direction for advice, residential options, work possibilities, schools etc, I'd be really grateful

Welcome to BT, Jordi. All I can say is WOW, best of luck in this endeavor. The little I know (more knowledgeable people will be along) is plan on home schooling, there are many housing possibilities (expensive), and do not plan on getting a job. Each of the above rates several paragraphs in explaination but what I said is true (unfortunately).

I would suggest you really do your homework before moving your family here. Most of those I have met find it really is tough on them and they soon head home. Jobs are not an option and the kids will need home schooling,however there is a grassroots International school here but it is quite expensive

Can anyone shed some light on the accommodation situation on the island?

I've noticed there don't seem to be many rental properties that would accommodate a family with three children in or nearby Kralendijk.

What is the housing situation in general?

I can't many things you could do to damage your children more than moving them to Bonaire for 16 months. The schools here make no accommodations whatsoever for English-speaking students. They will be thrown into a situation where they are expected to be fluent in Papiamentu (for the youngest one) and Papiamentu and Dutch (for the oldest one), and will fail in school. They'd be much better off doing without their mother for 16 months and keeping the rest of their lives intact. Home schooling isn't legal ... there are those that get away with it, but it isn't easy, and can result in your deportation.

Home Schooling isn't legal on Bonaire? First time I heard of that. What if the party are US citizens?

To get a residence permit, all your children have to be enrolled in a government approved school. Citizenship is irrelevant. If you are here by staying 89 days at a time, you don't have a residence permit to worry about.

Hi--do you think an occupational therapist (experienced in ortho, rehab, home-health, and hands) could get a job here? Is there any sort of rehab hospital on Bonaire or a close island for hopping to work?

Maybe you could start a private NV or EZ but you would need to learn Papiamento to service the elderly community, IMHO.

You really don't have much of a chance to either get a job or start an ez or bv in your field. There are plenty of people who already do what you were proposing. Not only would you need papiamentu, but Spanish is needed and you would be required to be fluent in Dutch to work in our health system. Don't mean to sound so negative, but those are the facts!

Thanks for the info--its tough to live in paradise, huh!!

not at all..you just have to find a niche that fits for you.

Is there an interest locally in the development of a more sustainable economy and alternative energy sources?

Is the local government engaged in promoting these types of projects?

I did notice from a YouTube link on one of the local radio sites that there appears to be a need for solid waste diversion strategies on the island...is this still the case?

Someone from Rubicon Seven was on island in Jan. and is back. You can google them and contact J. Tedrowe Bonner. He was on Sean Paton's show and is familiar with sustainability issues in the US and is working with folks on island.

Hi Ann,

Nice to hear from you again. I'm having some difficulty tracking down Tedrowe Bonner as the only Google connection is his LinkedIn page and a couple of conference and committee indexes. If anyone is aware of other contact information i would be grateful...

Hi Jordi:

My name is Tedrowe Bonner, and nice to meet you. I am more than happy to talk about the potential of Bonaire regarding socio-ecological solutions that might make the island sustainable. I will be speaking about "green" at CIEE on February 18th, and please join us for the talk and a wine and cheese reception starting at 6:30 PM if you are around.

My website is www.rubiconseven.com. Look forward to being in touch

Hi, I am Jorge Rodrigues and together with my wife Carla and daughters we are planning to come and live in Bonaire. I am wondering if there are any good Medical Insurances in Bonaire?
How does health assistance work in Bonaire?

thanks

Jorge & Carla

do you have employment? If so, you should be covered, if not, there is private insurance that is available...welcome to Bonaire..

Hi Michael,

thank you very much for responding. We plan to move to Bonaire within the next 2-3 years permanently and at this stage we are buying a plot on Bonaire to build our house.Although we are portuguese we live in Madrid, Spain.As such we will need to take out our own medical insurance once we go to Bonaire. can you suggest any good insurance companies?
REGARDS
Jorge & Carla

If you Google international health insurance will find hundreds of pages that will give you more info than you probably could read in 50 years!

Thanks Michael,

We will check it up.