I started
long term cruising after receiving an inheritance. I divided the
money in thirds with one third for
purchase of a
boat and one third in an annuity for later and the final third for fitting and a kitty. In spring of 2001, I left
Florida where I bought Babylon ( a Tartan 37) with what I thought would be a 3-5 year kitty. After some unexpected
maintenance items and some surprise other expenses (new
laptop and stolen rental scootor), I found myself at the bottom of the kitty in two years. I was in
Grenada for last storm season and close to "affordable" Venesuela, but decided to turn north and see what I could find for
work in
St Martin as first choice or as an American, I'd go to the USVI or
Puerto Rico to find something. Along the way, I stopped in the Grenadines and fell in love with the area and the friendliness of the people. I worked in Pro Audio and enjoy doing
electronics. I found that no one was doing
marine electronics in the Grenadines and saw an opportunity to set up a business doing that. The (ex British)
government makes it easy for people like me to set up as we will hire locals and contribute to the economy...incorporating a business and being the managing director is a ($2000US) workaround for a
work permit. Did that. The next step is to apply for residency. There are some requirements that I had a difficult time fulfilling. There needs to be a police check from last country of residence and the SVG
government leaves it to the applicant to procure this document. As I was in the middle of the
Caribbean and didn't happen to know any cops, this took a while. Three months after starting this process, It's still not finished, but I have rented a space and as of the April issue of the
Caribbean Compass, I'll be advertising and open for business. One of the ongoing problems will be supplies. The duties are outrageous and they even charge duty on
shipping. What may appear to be easy online
shopping becomes difficult when you want to ship out of the country (US).
I am delighted with the opportunity to do what I want in paradise, but the costs of tools and
equipment and supplies are going to be a challenge to keep in line. The "island time - take it easy" ways of the locals require lots of patience and trying to expedite things in a hurry up manner doesn't work...it will be interesting to see how it develops. I always worked for other people who were left with the management headaches. Also, I'm no longer drifting around as a wandering cruiser, but commiting to being here for a while....larry
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