Paradise! We all want it, when you get it, what do you do with it? Sometimes in the tropics you have to do some trade offs. My wife and I, both sailors on different boats and times, were well equipped to live this Caribbean life. as we understand the term “less is more” in the way of your living conditions. You might have to tradeoff something for another something.
You have to have a plan. My business partner has lived the Bluff Beach life for 25 years. She is getting ready to make a life change by selling and moving closer to town for convenience. She says the beach , complete with a background sound of pounding surf will be replaced for a quieter beach closer in…and she will not miss her car bouncing around on a sand road not to mention her physical well being also bouncing around. She will trade that for a shorter commute on paved roads.
My wife and I have slowly built a great life on Isla Carenero. For example, we built a long dock with a boathouse and boat lift. I no longer wake up at 3 am with pouring down rain and run out to check my boat’s bilge pump to make sure the damn boat does not sink. Here is some other things we have done to live a better life here.
We built a network of water taxis that will go and deliver pizza, sushi plus other great foods from Bocas’s restaurants.
We have a rental dock for our boat in town, so there is no hassle in searching for a place to dock every day.
We built a back deck to relax, stare at the stars and not have to talk with people passing by if we do not want to.
Our little Caribbean house is only 480 sq ft plus the 12 ft deck. We have a trusted cleaning lady one day every 2 weeks. a maintenance guy every Tuesday. and a regular gardener every week . So we can totally relax when we go home.
Since we both own businesses all this makes our life easier so when we leave town we are in another world when we get home.
There are other things we have done to make our tropical lifestyle convenient. I suggest you think ahead before you bust a wrong move and move to a place that makes life harder, not easier. Stop and think ,sometimes it all seems backward. At retirement age 65 to 75 years old people sometimes move to places that does not lend itself to making life easier. Not being able to jump up and go to town because it is raining like hell and your boat does not have a wind shield, or you might need a quick hospital visit…whops there is no ambulance on the island you live on! How about you run out of propane, or water? No running into town in the middle of a BBQ from far away.
To save yourself some stress, simply research the archipelago, talk with others that have gone before you, and then think ahead where you want to settle. Convenience is the name of the game. Hmmm maybe all these younger “digital nomads” coming to Bocas have got this timing thing figured out???
