I love this thread. It gives me a better insight of the users' personalities and how they came to love Jamaica.

My daughter and I came on a cruise in November, 2003. Stopped in Mobay. She stayed at Margaritaville. I found a guide, saw a little of Mobay and then off to St Ann's Bay for a wonderful lunch. Saw more country, and almost didn't make it back to the ship (About 10 minutes to spare). This was a Wednesday. On Sunday when we returned to New Orleans, I booked a flight back and within 2 hours of leaving the ship was on a plane to Mobay. Stayed a few days to make sure I was feeling all those wonderful vibes and to make sure I had found the place for early retirement, returned home and started making plans to sell my home and pack up. Returned in Jan, 2004 and started the paperwork on buying my home in Ja. After several more trips to do the legal papers and go through the rigamarole of settling in Ja, I took possession of my home in Nov, 2004.

A lot of people still think I'm crazy for being so impetuous, since it was not my nature to do spur of the moment trips or to sell off a lot of my possessions, but I know I made the right decision. When people downgrade Jamaica, I get very resentful, usually silently. They also conjure up the weirdest ideas about it without having set foot on it's shores. Recently someone said she could never visit because they would probably cook the food in some kind of oil made from an animal. That provoked a hearty laugh from me and a brief explanation of what is available in the line of cooking oils.