Jason's Notes About Stuff

Buying a car in St. Kitts Purchasing a vehicle in St. Kitts is not easy, but with armed with some basic knowledge, some hard work and searching will get you a... somewhat ok car. Photo credit: retromo The very first thing you should do is read a previous VIP's detailed article about his car purchasing experience . This was written in 2012, but it still extremely relevant. You should also read the Ross University page about vehicles and driving . Budget and Price Ranges There are 4 major price ranges: $3,000-$5,000 USD: Average "island car" - More than 10 years old, many "island quirks" $5,000-$7,000 USD: Average "island SUV" - More than 10 years old, many "island quirks" $7,000-$10,000 USD: Good vehicle - Still more than 10 years old, but only a few minor quirks over $10,000 USD: In this price range, you start to find newer vehicles that might pass for a reasonable used car in the United States Car or SUV? ...

Looking down the peninsula from Timothy Hill upon our arrival Living on the small Caribbean island of Saint Kitts The good stuff "Buddies" One of the things I truly enjoy here is being in the water. I usually snorkel at least once a week and have taken up a bit of a hobby with underwater photography. Learning to scuba dive was amazing too! I also try to hike at least once a week. The volcano on the north side of the island hosts the famous "Crater Hike" -- a challenging yet very doable climb up to about 3,000ft. There's not a whole lot to do (besides chores) on the weekends, so we often head to the beach. Beach days are great. You can often find your own little spot, or join up with friends for a beach BBQ. What else is great about St. Kitts? It's quiet -- especially outside of tourist season. And you can hang your laundry and have it dry in a few hours. The not-so-great stuff So what about the downside to living in...

We contacted  Brian Kassab Realty  by email back in June about an apartment rental. Their agent, Kym, responded in less than 24 hours with a complete list of everything available, complete with details. All of my follow-up questions were answered very quickly by email. This was great, as I very much prefer using email to having to call. She helped narrow down our choices, and decided on a unit in the St. Christopher Club in Frigate Bay. Kym was even nice enough to hold the condo for us while we waited for Mel's work visa to get processed. The lease and deposit were all done easily visa email. I was able to send a scanned copy of the signed lease, as well as our credit card information. They made the paperwork extremely easy for us. When we arrived, it was a simple matter of getting the keys from a lock box on the door knob, and we were in our new home. After our arrival, we did have a few maintenance issues. The condo is in an older building and hadn't been oc...

Answer: Not very big. Above is a scale map of St. Kitts beside a small area of Toronto. That's right -- driving from one side of the island to another is roughly the same distance as heading up the DVP. Mind you, it could be a bit slower with the winding roads. Or faster if you're comparing to rush hour :) And Toronto certainly doesn't look like this: Either way, it's a great little tropical paradise. Be sure to give us a shout if things get a little cold where you are and you'd like to visit! :)

My fiancee Melissa and I recently moved from Victoria, BC, Canada to the island of St. Kitts and Nevis . This small island of about 30,000 people is in the Caribbean aka. the West Indies in the Lesser Antilles , and more specifically, the Leeward Islands . What's different? It's hot. Hotter than when we visited Cairns, Australia. But perhaps not quite as hot as when we lived in Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand. Things move slowly. As with most hot places, people are in no hurry. Posted business hours are only a rough suggestion of when people may  be in the office. Accomplishing anything requires multiple trips. Keep left! Similar to the UK, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, they drive on the left side of the road. What's the same? The language. Sort of. The official language is English, and everyone is fluent, but most people also speak a local Kittitian dialect . Colonial origin. St. Kitts was once a split British and French colony -- the same as Canada....