hello
I was born in jamaica left when
I was 7 haven't been back since I was 15

I am thinking about coming home in january
and spending 6 months to a year...
I really want to experience the island has an adult..

the funny thing is
although I've lived in the united states for 23 yrs.
I'm still not an american citizen..

I know I know talk about procrastination...

I was thinking about a place on the north coast..
within walking distance of the beach..

any idea how much a place like that would cost monthly?
I'm not talking about anything fancy..
just a little 1 bedroom place..


high speed internet access is a must
so that I can run my online business...

I understand that a few companies in jamaica offer high speed internet service..

does anyone know how much that cost per month?

what areas of the country are wired for high speed internet access?


thanks in advance..
great board..

welcome to the boards...

i'll try to help a bit

first and foremost, do you have any family/friends on the island? being in proximity to them will make the transition worlds easier... it's a tough place to head without any connections and even tho you are a citizen, you may find yourself treated as a foreigner and you may find everything very foreign... being integrated into jamaican communities in the US helps, but is far from the same...

most jamaicans don't live within a (reasonable) walk to the beach (most who do are in more rural communities and the "beach" is more bush than beach)... if you are sticky on the beach requirement you should be prepared to pay an escalated (tourist) rate (anywhere from 500-1000US a month rent, or more)... if you're willing to be a bit further your prices will likely drop some... i guess it depends on exactly how far you want to walk getting a room in a house sharing situation is much (much) more economical...

internet is available both thru traditional broadband (flow(limited service, but i believe better quality/reliablity), or C&W in most populated areas), or thru a wireless broadband-type set up in the country... so that shouldn't be a huge issue...

if you want to be "flow"in you need to be in bouge (mobay suburb which would actually offer a great deal of North American convieneces including the Jamiacan version of superwalmart/cosco, megamart... otherwise flow isn't currently offered outside of the Kingston, portmore and mandeville areas)...

from my experiece and understanding, cable and wireless is painful at best but i guess beggars can't be choosers

inet will run you in the range of 3500J a month i believe... you may need to pay a lot more up front to get the installation, esp if the place you choose isn't wired (many will not be).. if you go with a mobile broadband, installation is much simpler, rates are comparable, but bandwidth is capped (can't remember at what at the moment)... claro is probably the best route for mobile connection...

okay, i think that's all i've got right now... hope it helps

deleting double post...

hello
thanks for the info chelby
if I could find a place in mobay close to the beach for 500 us a month
that would be nice

I'm from new york city so I have always been around a
large jamaican population
I don't think the adjustment would be too difficult for me at all
the hardest thing to get used too would be the mosquitos..lol
has long as I have some type of high speed internet connection
I'd be good...

I'm thinking about shipping down a bicycles to make traveling easier and cheaper...

things are still in the planning stages
nothing is set in stone yet..