Palau for North Americans?

May 13, 2008 4:36 PM

My SO (I'm 44 and she is 40) has been offered a job with the government in Palau and we are leaning toward going but would like opinions (other than from the offering office). 1. We've been told that it is generally expensive there but housing would be provided. How costly are food, utilities and other various expenses? 2. Palau is small of course but how do you get around? Bike? Scooter?Golf Cart? 3. I'm from the USA and quite comfortable with a variety of cultures, she is Canadian and the same . We are both polite and get along well where we've gone. According to the CIA world factbook 1.6% of the population is caucasian. What should we expect as far as socializing? 4. She will be employed, I have no job there but a fairly large skillset, can I expect to find some employment? (Full-time isn't necessary, just some work). 5. Any other advice not covered in the above questions would be appreciated.

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posted by vapidave to society & culture (2 comments total)

A college friend of mine and her husband lived for a year in Palau recently. Like your SO, she (my friend) had a job with the government. They documented their entire year, in depth, on a very good blog--and I'm sure would be willing answer additional questions. Please email me (in profile) for the link as the Palau blog exists offline as a link from her personal blog and I don't want to crash her stuff. In addition, I'll connect you to ask her questions via email. They're lovely, and helpful, and would be able to give you lots and lots of first-hand, recent info and likely connect you to folks there, as well.
posted by rumposinc at 4:52 PM on May 13

Check out this web site - it's from 10 years ago, but it was written by an American working as a law clerk in Palau, and has a good blog, FAQ, etc.
posted by LolaGeek at 5:25 AM on May 14