Expat Community > Bahamas

Watermelon
Joined 2017
Posts: 2

Moving to Nassau in January - a few specific questions...

6 years ago

Hi all,

After reading a lot of the useful posts here (and doing a lot of research), I still have a few specific questions that I'd love your help with!

I'm moving out from the UK to Nassau in January 2018, along with my wife, dog (labrador) and cat (who will all come a couple of months later).

Please could you help me with the following items I haven't seemed to be able to find out about so far:

*Housing - As I have pets does this generally mean I won't be able to rent somewhere within a gated community? (a ground floor condo or single house)

We are looking to live out west (cable beach / sandyport way) ideally in a 2 bed 2 bath place, with space for the animals (so a single family house is probably the best fit). Would a budget of $2,500-2,700 be ok for this? (excl. utilities) I've looked online and it looks like closer to $2,700 would be ok - but these posts may be out of date!?

* Visas - Initially I will get my wife a permit to reside, BUT she will want to get a job after 4-6 months (has a good business college / university degree). Is there the ability to start on a permit to reside and then seek a job and subsequently apply for a long term work assignment permit once she has passed an interview? If not, what options do we have?

*Vehicle - I've been looking on Automall used and a few other classifieds - I'd like some sort of SUV and happy for it to be 10-11+ years old (as long as it works!). Would $5-6k be enough for this? Alternatively - are scooters cheap to buy as a short term fix for my first 2-3 months before the family comes out (and before the rainy season)?

*Auto Insurance - Not been able to find the cost of this at all. Based on a SUV as described above, what would the annual cost of a 3rd party fire / theft policy be? So far I'm budgeting $1,200 but I fear this may be a bit low.

*Volunteering - Does anyone have any affiliation with any of the animal charities / shelters on the island that might benefit from me and my wife volunteering part time? My wife is also interested to change her career to animal care / psychology so would be very motivated to volunteer.

* Pet relocation - We've been recommended Pet Air UK to fly the dog / cat out - Has anyone brought pets from the UK with this company or any others? (I'm just about on top of the vaccination requirements etc)

I'm sure I'll think of some other questions as I'm doing my research - any help with these would be very much appreciated!

Thanks!

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