Should I move to Nassau, The Bahamas?

April 30, 2009 6:50 AM

Can I afford to be an expat in Nassau, The Bahamas? Should we go for it? Bonus points if you've actually lived there.

I am an American expat who works in education in Egypt. I may have a job offer coming from The Bahamas (it's been a long process and they just sent me an email asking if I'm still interested). I don't have any specific numbers yet, but my field is not very highly paid (we're not that kind of expat). I expect it'd be a typical expat package (tuition for kids, housing allowance, home leave, etc), similar to what I have here in Egypt.

What we think we'd like about The Bahamas: being near the beach; being closer to the US; being around more black people (my family is transracial black/white, and we've experienced some racism here in Egypt); clean air; English (though this isn't a huge issue); the culture (Caribbean/African diaspora culture is more interesting to us than Middle East/North African culture).

We like a lot about being expats, and The Bahamas might be someplace we could stay for a while.

What we're concerned about:
Finances: the dollar goes much further in Egypt, and I'm not sure if we can afford to be a one-income family in Nassau, which worked in Egypt when we first got here, as long as we weren't too extravagant. And my understanding it's very hard for spouses to get a work permit in The Bahamas since

Crime: Not a huge issue, but Egypt is very safe--there's very little petty crime here. (I think we can adjust though.)

Some other relevant information: we're not independently wealthy, but we own a house in the US that's mostly paid off and that we have set up as a vacation rental (though it doesn't bring in a ton of money). We're pretty much middle class Americans, though we've had a better lifestyle than that here in Egypt.

Please share any relevant thoughts if you know anything about being an expat in The Bahamas or other islands.

posted by anonymous to work & money (6 comments total)

I hope this isn't too far off from being a direct answer to your question, but: a couple of my coworkers work on projects in the Bahamas frequently. Apparently it's really boring there. People are very conservative and the church is the focus of social life.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 7:38 AM on April 30

I have not lived there, but have anchored many times in Nassau harbor and in most of the other islands when a liveaboard yottie.

Pluses: mostly good tropical weather (except for hurricanes of course), good beaches, snorkeling etc. Good fishing if you have a boat. The "natives" are mostly friendly. No income tax I believe.

Minuses: Nearly everything has to be imported as you are living on an island, so expensive. Small town atmosphere. Possible water shortages.

Bahamian dollar is par with the US dollar. Don't know whether this is good or bad. Don't know about crime there, but everything not padlocked and chained down on your sailboat could or would disappear when you were ashore. They particularly liked small outboard motors and rubber dinghies!
posted by lungtaworld at 7:56 AM on April 30

"no taxes" is only relevant if you're renouncing your US citizenship- and that seems to be not what most Americans mean by "expat." You will still pay taxes. Also- expat in the Bahamas? Really? Why not someplace that's not an appendage of south Florida?

I'm taken aback by your comment about racism since Egyptians are generally dark- some are what we'd call "black" in NA. I'd think being fair skinned would pose a bigger problem, if indeed there is a problem.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 10:14 AM on April 30

"no taxes" is only relevant if you're renouncing your US citizenship- and that seems to be not what most Americans mean by "expat." You will still pay taxes."

Yes and no. If you live outside the US for 330 out of 365 days in a calendar year you are entitled to US$82,400 tax free as far as the IRS is concerned. Earnings on top of that will be taxed though.
posted by lazywhinerkid at 11:32 AM on April 30

When I was there for a team trip, it was crazy expensive and the food was not great (unless you looooove seafood). So I think your concerns about being a one-income family are pretty well founded.
posted by dame at 1:41 PM on April 30

lazywhiner- sorry, you're right. The amount above that will be taxed according to US or the local govt's tax scheme, whatever is higher.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 1:54 PM on April 30