Here's just a likkle peek into the actual cost of living in Ja....

I started out this morning by withdrawing $17,000J =$200US
Grocery store:
1 large bottle wata
2 small cold wata
1 16lb. Alpo dogfood
$2,500J = $29.50US

gas for vehicle
$1,500J =$17.50US

small wire brush
$320J = $3.75US

2 pkg. cigarettes
$1,100J = $13US

1 yr. car registration
$7,000J = $82US

Fitness fee, 1 yr.
$2,500J= $30US

Total, apx. $176US....mi lef wid $1,000J+change

I guess it's definately time to stop smoking & start cooking fi de dawg dem....

Yuh see how fas $$ disappear?....how it work fi di masses?

By the way....we got "clamped" in Falmouth....we had purchased the required $50 parking fee for 1 hour, but parked in a zone that was NO PARKING, although it was NOT apparent to us because the NO PARKING signs were at either end of the very long street and had no arrows on them, nor were turned in the right direction PLUS one was hidden by a stop sign. It was a $2,550J fine to get the clamp off....

Since we had stopped to visit a friend there, she came with me to the courthouse since she knew the RIGHT person to talk to. After we told the man at the gate the situation, he just argued with us without really listening & said we had to pay the fine....we finally got in to talk to the RIGHT person, who, after we explained that the positioning of the signs was very deceiving & confusing, signed us off & called the "declamper" to come take off the clamp...

The fitness inspectors (2 of them) were both "on the road" so we had to wait over an hour for them to come back to take the fitness test....all in all, to go to Falmouth, pay for reg., fitness test & get the clamp off, it took 4 hours!

My husband is now swearing he will NEVER go to Falmouth again....of course, mi know is all chat, because we have to go there on a steady basis even to get gas!

On the bright side, there is a new gas station being built right in Duncans...YAY!....wonder what the gas prices are going to be??????

This year $15,000.00 CDN for fuel,$10,000.00 CDN for bait, $ 25,000.00 CDN for wages (not mine) $10,000.00 CDN for boat upgrades.And I didn't fish everything.That's not counting insurance,food (on boat) etc.It costs me $100,000.00 Cdn to get up on Jan 1st.Living in the "yard" is expensive.

The cost of living there is unreal.
Probably the people that to stay there the cheapest are the longer term vacationers who tend to spend less on accomodations but don't have to concern themselves with utilities, repairs, taxes etc.

Wow, Cher, that's some budgeting for sure there! Dog food is VERY expensive! How big (or small) was that bag of dog food, by the way? Are you thinking of doing the cooking for your dog? The fitness fee is a real bargain, though! Petrol, groceries = very expensive. Fi sur, quitting the ciggies would help on the savings. I never ever had any doubt that living there in Jamaica is horribly expensive. I know that you garden, correct? That's bound to help too! My hat's off to you!!

For a long time, I wondered why, with so many empty rooms at the smaller hotels and guest houses, why the room rates stay as high as they do, but it is clear that every dollar is needed for repairs, utilities, and wages. Many properties must be in survival mode.

LOL I was just about to cuss you JaJewel for complaining about a 30$ a year fitness club membership and then I realized it was a car thing LOL sorry.

A pack of 20 cigarettes here is $12 cdn

I pay $7.99 per week for dog food for a small dog that same food for dogs your size *2 would probably be 40-50 a week (but my dog is spwile and does not eat alpo/kibble)

Utility costs there are a bitch - unbelievably high. I don't own property so I don't pay property taxes. You really gotta "shop" to find decent deals on food items. And yes, pet food is very dear.

No doubt, and I've been saying this for 20 years - living in Jamaica ain't easy. It takes a lot to make a little which is why you don't see many rich expats running around there, lol. I stole my standard advice to anyone seeking to move there from a friend - "If you want to make a small fortune bring a large one" or "figure out how much you'll need then triple it."

I find for the time I spend there day to day costs of living are about the same as they are in California. Of course, I'm paying a mortgage at home and rent there and thank god my landlord is kind, the yard is not tourist yard (all full time residents except for me) so my rent reflects that. But I can still clearly remember just about 10-12 years ago where I could live very well on very little. Things have gotten very expensive in that time.

Like Sharleen, my "dream" of retiring in Jamaica has changed. I haven't rule it out and I'd still like to expand my time spent there by a month or two - but when that dream first formed it was realisitic to think that with a modest off-shore monthly fixed income I could live comfortably. I'm not so sure about that now. That, and medical care...well, I'm thinking twice about the whole situation.

Just like here, I don't live as a shut-in there but there it is a bit easier to chill in the yard and be totally satisfied with that. No need to spend tons of money when you have good friends all around you.

I'm with you Jitterbug. Spring to Fall I don't have much desire to leave Saskatchewan. We have a beautiful log cabin on a remote lake north of La Ronge and that is the place I love to be whenever I can. Nobody around and Lake Trout fishing 100yds from the dock.
I leave in winter to get a break from the bitter cold. Jamaica was our favorite place but now we have decided to make it just one of the places we will go. Cuba in a few weeks, next year undecided, maybe Thailand. It sounds like the school board might combine the Feb and Easter break which would make it alot easier for my wife to take a winter trip, something like close to 3 weeks. In my job I can "sort of" take off time as I want. I have a trade that is in high demand and employers do what they can to keep skilled workers these days in this part of the world. No such thing as recession here. Who knows how long this will last but I am banking gravy while I can.

As a teacher with 2 degrees and 10 yrs behind her my wife makes a pretty sweet salary plus has a great pension plan. But the crappy thing is that her time off coincides with alot of other people. And her winter time off also parallels high or peak season prices. With a combined vacation time taking place other than the traditional Feb and Easter breaks it would probably make things a bit less costly, and less crowds too.