HI! SINCE BEING IN BONAIRE 3 YEARS AGO I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE. I LIVE IN CONNECTICUT NOW AND RECENTLY HAD A DIFFICULT BREAKUP WITH MY 8 YEAR LOVE. I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SELLING MY HOUSE AND EVERYTHING ELSE I CAN GET MY HANDS ON. I HAVE IT IN MY MIND TO MOVE TO BONAIRE AND START A NEW LIFE. I'M A HAIRDRESSER, A BARTENDER, AND A WAITRESS AND LEARN QUICKLY WITH MOST ANYTHING I DO. HOW HARD WOULD IT BE FOR ME TO MAKE THE MOVE? HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS? SUZ

Hi suz,

You and a gazzillion others!! If you go on the main BT page and go to the bottom you'll see a "keyword search" button. I just tried "living bonaire" and got over 3,000 hits, but if you refine the search a bit I'm sure you'll be able to find the answers that have been provided to countless others before you. What you don't find out and still need an answer on I'm sure can be answered by those on the island, unfortunately I'm not one of them!!

Cheers,

Bill

Suz, Where abouts in CT? I will move to Bonaire sooner or later as well. I've been to Bonaire the past three years in a row, I know what you mean, awesome island. I'm in CT as well.....Steve ;-)>

www.garrett-opal-gems.com

STEVE, I LIVE IN THE LITTLE TOWN OF PLYMOUTH. IT BORDERS WOLCOTT, THOMASTON, AND TERRYVILLE. WHERE ARE YOU? I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL 4 ACRE WOODED LOT WITH A NEW HOUSE, BUT WTH A HEFTY MORTGAGE I CAN'T SWING IT ALONE. TOO MANY MEMORIES ALL OVER CONN. TO TRY AND START NEW HERE, ANYWAYS. I HAVE TO DECIDE WHEN TO TAKE A TRIP TO BONAIRE TO LOOK AROUND FOR JOBS AND PLACES TO LIVE. WHEN'S YOUR NEXT TRIP? SUZ

BILL AND CHERYL, THANKS FOR THE GREAT ADVISE ABOUT THE KEYWORD SEARCH "LIVING BONAIRE"! THERE WERE EVEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS I HADN'T EVEN THOUGHT OF YET. LOTS TO THINK ABOUT, LOTS OF PAPERWORK, AND A TRIP TO BONAIRE ARE ALL CALLED FOR. THANKS AGAIN! SUZ

Suz,

Good luck with your plans!

BTW, can you perhaps type in mostly lower case? All upper case (big) letters are considering "shouting" in electronic communications (plus they are much harder to read :-) ).

Take care,

Jake

Suz, I know exactly where you are and understand the mortgage thing. Too expensive to live here. I live way south of you in Norwalk. I just got back from Bonaire 7/17 and was there for two weeks. I'm going to try to go back hopefully in December but, not sure yet. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. All the best.....Steve ;-)>

Jake, my humble apologies for shouting. Just plain laziness. I'm a slow typer. Thanks for setting me straight. Suz

Suz,

Good luck with your Bonaire ambitions. Do make sure that you understand the procedures for getting a work permit, etc., on the island. It takes time (months at times) and, at least in some cases, being off island while the papers go through. There have been discussions here in the past with references to an online listing of the regs. Just don't want you to not understand quite what is required: you don't just walk in and get job.

Suz, Good luck with your venture. We also are hoping to make a move to Bonaire; but aren't sure how soon that will be happening. So, if you get there first, be sure to let the rest of us hopefuls know how you're doing! You go girl!! :-)

Candy, see you at the Tipsy then?... say around 7.

Glen, I somewhat know what's involved with moving to Bonaire. I've been gathering info for over 2 years now. I also know that I have to get back there to do some homework too. I've learned alot on Bonaire Talk. (thank you everyone!) I plan on reading "Don't stop the Carnival" recommended by Michael Gaynor and a few others. Until my affairs here are settled my hands are tied anyways. Thanks for the advise and send some more my way if you can think of anything else that might help. Suz

Candace, What are dreams for if we don't do anything about them? I'll see you on the island some day and we'll toast to dreams come true! Good luck! Suz

Sarah, hi there! we're hoping to be at the Tipsy to meet with you and Hugh! Scott is checking his vacation schedule to see if we can work it out; but if all goes well, we'll see you some time that week! :-)

Suz, dreams are what keep us all going in this crazy world we live in!!! Keep in touch and yes, we'll meet and toast to dreams on Bonaire someday!! :-)

Candy, sounds good, we'll keep in touch over the next few months.. I know that we arrive on the 27th, but not sure about what time yet. Seems we have 2 choices, the 16:00 DCA or the 17:00 Divi Divi. All depends on AA and whether we arrive at Curacao on time. Anyway, I hope we can meet again, we won't be back on the island for about another year after this next trip, and then possibly only for a week! bye for now.

Suz, slow down...have u ever lived on an island?? Do not move too fast..take a month or two here and then decide. Island life is not for all..but Bonaire is so magical. I am ending week 7 and cannot bare the thought of leaving..

Annie, your absence will increase the desire to return!

I second the motion that you read the Herman Wouk novel, "Don't Stop the Carnival." That is, if you're a 1960's New York show-biz agent with Lester "Otloss" for a friend, you should read it for insight into starting (and ending) a new life as a hotel owner on a Caribbean island.

Otherwise, use all the CAPITAL LETTERS you want. It's only the "netiquette" fashion-followers / police who consider it SHOUTING. It's not. It's really just CAPITAL LETTERS. Nothing more and nothing less. If it were SHOUTING, you would hear something. You would feel something.

No, wait.. this may be like the tree falling in the forest. If no one hears it, did it fall or did we just imagine it falling (shouting)?

My approach to starting a new life or moving is to go to places I like and stay until whenever. So I am looking forward to going back to Bonaire soon and also coming back from Bonaire, for the long summer evenings here in the north.

Bill,

A bit testy about the capital letters? Jake asked very politely that she not use them, and his point about their being hard to read is true.

No, I'm not in the least bit testy about the capital letters. They don't bother me. That is to say, THEY DON'T BOTHER ME. Susan, I'm sorry if you misunderstood. It's the exact opposite, and a complete reversal of your supposition: you and Jake are (or hopefully, were) a bit testy, no?

Why all this testiness? Hard to read, I can understand. However, I'll take CAPITAL LETTERS that aren't misspelled any day over lohwer kase leters. Let me ask you another question, Susan, if I may. Why is it considered rude to upbraid bad grammar or spelling, while someone else can write perfectly intelligible sentences in CAPITAL LETTERS and the tsk, tsking and the nanny-scolding can be heard all around the world? SHOUTING? I don't think that's the real reason and I don't think you do, either.

With all the offenses to which our sensibilities are assaulted every day (murder, disease, etc.), to pretend to take offense at the use of UPPER CASE LETTERS, is way more than a bit ridiculous. Sure, the first request is always made politely, and we usually go along. It's only when people like the Nazis don't get their way that the Holocaust occurs, the American Indian languishes on pestilential reservations for 100 years before the opening of their casinos, and the users of (big) CAPITAL LETTERS get banished to cyber-Siberia. You think I'm kidding?

On a lighter note, what's up with the people who type in all lower case letters? are they whispering?

Is this behavior learned in schools, or maybe they're only expressing their individuality, do you think?

I thought it was just common courtesy not to SHOUT at people when we're "talking". Or doesn't anyone believe in courtesy anymore? Doesn't seem to me that it's any different than raising your voice needlessly in conversation with friends. Just an opinion, and that's what this board is for, right?

Jake.....how was your vacation? Still waiting for my T-shirt I ordered during our BT'ers dinner meeting...any problems?

No, Candace, it is very much "different than raising your voice needlessly in conversation with friends."

You know this, too, because the original poster was not shouting at you by any stretch of your imagination.

I hope you get your T-shirt you ordered, and I hope we all live AND LET LIVE happily ever after.

Bill,
I'm not sure if you're in a bad mood and thats why you're so testy about this, but there is a very good reason that typing in capital letters means you're shouting. When communicating face to face, a large part of the communication is not just what is being said - facial expressions, hand movement, tone of voice, volume of voice etc.

On the net, we don't have the benefit of this other type of communication. So thats why shouting is shown by typing in all caps, and other things such as emoticons () are used to help communicate. Its rude to yell at some one face to face; it's also rude to yell at someone over the internet. Its just common courtesy to respect this.

Well said Darryl.

Candace - I got sidetracked with paying work while trying to get the T-shirt order processing system set up. I'll keep you and everyone posted. Sorry!

Jake

Darryl, thanks! I couldn't tell if he was in a bad mood or not...cause we aren't face to face!! But the "tone" of his message sounded like he'd gotten up on the wrong side of the world!!!!

Jake, paying work??? wow, what a concept!!! (just kidding) i understand, and will be patiently waiting! thanks! :-)

Yep. Paying work. What a concept! I get to keep the kids in clothes for the next few months now :-) (Good thing we don't need many clothes on Bonaire!) :-)

Jake

Well, when you have kids paying work is really important! Gotta have those clothes, even on Bonaire! :-)

Gee, the stuff that goes on here sometimes while you're out diving- Nazis? Native Americans? I abhor bad spelling too, but bad spellers aren't bad people. If you don't like the conventions of a society you are not obliged to participate in it's social conventions. But this is Jakes' house and we should respect his rules.

Seb, I agree. There are common rules on the internet, one of them is that capital letters are considered shouting.

Bad spelling can mean a few things...

a) The writer is a non-native english speaking person ( like myself);

b) The writer has a kind of wordblindness (is that the right term??)

c) Fill this in yourselve....


Bill, If you don't mind me saying this, you remind me of one of our gouvernment people, talking about people having to respect each other and respecting the rules of a comunity (wich is absolutely right!) and on the other hand complaining about cops who give him speeding tickets, because the current rules are not good enough for him. He wants them to get robbers and killers instead of people driving too fast.

In Holland we have a saying: "Verbeter de wereld en begin bij jezelf." Roughly translated it means something like improve the world and take the first step.

Like I said, just my opinion.

Martin