Are you ready for an Expat Life

You can picture yourself on the beach at weekends, enjoying a sundowner after work or a jog along the beach. So what is stopping you from packing your bags and moving to the Cayman Islands?

Quite a few things possibly – let’s face it, only a handful of people really do move abroad. It often seems a farfetched dream rather than something that is easily achievable.

So why should you consider a life surrounded by crystal blue waters and white sandy beaches?

Because these days, with improved communications and ease of travel, it’s not as big a step as you think it might be. The financials services industry in the Cayman Islands is flourishing. Cayman is the number 1 offshore domicile for hedge funds, has a significant international banking presence and is the 2nd biggest captive insurance centre in the world. Moving here can be incorporated into your career progression, thanks to good regulation and positive moves by the Cayman Islands Government and Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), further establishing Cayman as a major global player.

So you can move here and improve your experience at the same time… perhaps it’s the thought of the unknown, or the barrier of the actual move that’s stopping you from taking the leap of faith?

Expat life in the Cayman Islands is absolutely unbelievable. Grand Cayman, which is where the majority of expats find themselves, has an action-packed, outdoor and sport focused lifestyle, peppered with fantastic restaurants, beach bars and of course, THAT ocean. The health care is good, the super markets are fantastic and you can find nearly everything you need (or miss from home) locally and the social scene, whether you are single, married and/or have a family, is welcoming, warm and very accepting of new people. Caymanians and expats understand that you are a newbie expat and you will find you can settle in very quickly due to this shared sense of being somewhere incredible.

Living in The Cayman Islands means you will meet, work with and become friends with a huge mix of people, Caymanian, British, American, South American, South African, Caribbean, Canadian…it makes for a varied and interesting lifestyle. You can talk to your family and loved ones via Skype or Facetime easily, making the distance automatically shrink. You will also find that by moving to the Caribbean, you have a steady stream of visitors, making it feel more like home and somewhere you want to share!

Moving here is also simple – you just need to know the right people or companies to smooth your way. Securing a job here is the first move and getting involved with a recruitment agency is the most efficient way to get employed – and they can manage the immigration process on your behalf.

Once you have your perfect job, or you take a temp job to get you here, moving really involves booking your flight, packing your bags (including sunscreen and a lot of outdoor clothing) and finding a place to live. The Cayman Resident gives a comprehensive list of who to contact when you get here (and before, where relevant), mapping out the journey and simplifying what you need to know.

If you are reading this, thinking that most of these things are not a barrier for you, you perhaps you are more ready for an expat lifestyle than you realized.

It’s as easy as: find job, book flights, pack, arrive to your new life…