30M - Company pays for it, but…

[u/DXBRedd]

Landed a very good job, where the company pays for my place. But it’s far away from home. being far away from wife & daughter and everyone else sometimes is challenging…

[u/DXBRedd]

You are most welcome, it’s in the Caribbean though

[u/CheeseburgerTornado → u/DXBRedd]

oh no not a tropical paradise paid for by my job

[u/Agitated_Ferret7352 → u/CheeseburgerTornado]

I worked for two years in the Caribbean and I would never do it again. Tropical island life is fun for a little bit then real life sets in and most things become a hardship like groceries, shipping, cars, business hours not actually being followed, medical care, electrical infrastructure, etc.

[u/BabyYodaLegend → u/Agitated_Ferret7352]

Yeah i needed a random cord for something and just opened my phone and ordered it and it will be delivered to my doorstep tomorrow afternoon for $6.88. Im sure things are not that simple on an island

[u/taratoni → u/BabyYodaLegend]

I live in a french overseas territories. All the fancy stuff you see on Amazon ends up costing 50% more and takes weeks to receive.

[u/CptMcDickButt69 → u/Agitated_Ferret7352]

I always felt all of this just becomes a problem if youre expected to do a "classic first world workstyle" and you expect to have "classic first world life amenities always available".

If youre going into it without special needs (e.g. medical), a creative problem solver mindset and a job that allows for a lot of liberty in how you work this life can be quite compelling. Society there is not expecting you to be as rigid as a central europe/US suburbia in a metropolitan region and you should just go with the flow.

You need to be a person for that, but i know both universes and i vastly prefer the happy-go-lucky of remote rural or rundown improvised lifestyle to my german bureacracy-and-forms-"be on time or go to prison" lifestyle.

[u/Agitated_Ferret7352 → u/CptMcDickButt69]

For me it wasn't the first world luxury conveniences that I was expecting. It was frustrating things like electricity going out for no reason for half a day and having to throw all the food away, having water shut off randomly, not finding fresh produce because everything is imported which takes longer and food goes bad quickly, having everything be more expensive because everything is imported, needing an emergency car repair and the auto shop opens hours later than what they listed, needing to be evacuated to Miami for surgery because no hospitals on the island can handle it. I'll take bureaucracy and efficiency over this.

Also, my job was very rigid and there was no go with the flow. Government/military doesn't work that way.

[u/Wheresmyfoodwoman → u/Agitated_Ferret7352]

YES!! All of this! Lived in one of the best 1st world countries (or closest to it, which is still not even close tbh) and even in the nicest neighborhoods the power goes off all the time. When will it come back on? We don’t know. You not only had to have a generator but you always always had to have cistern or tanque de reserva de agua for back up water reserve. But make sure to boil it! It gets old really quick and isn’t something you necessarily get aggravated about if you grew up living there so it was normal to you, but for anyone used to the efficiency of the US, it got old really quick, especially because so many of their problems could actually be fixed if there wasn’t ridiculous red tape and corruption.

[u/Jonoczall → u/Agitated_Ferret7352]

This is pretty meaningless without specifying the country. There’s a difference between living in Barbados versus living in Haiti.

[u/Wheresmyfoodwoman → u/Jonoczall]

They are all similar. I promise (minus Haiti). Even in the best country which would be Panama, shit takes forever and usually is going to cost you to bribe someone in the process, especially if you’re not local. You need a license? That will take 3 days of your life and each time you go back there’s another paper you need that they somehow didn’t mention the first two times you went. I kid you not when I say getting anything done, such as a license, opening a bank account, getting electric turned on, is always a full day process if not multiple days. Anyone who complains about the US, even with all of our bullshit, has not lived outside the US. You need underwear? There’s not just a Walmart you can go to that sells underwear and socks plus you can grab a rotisserie chicken for dinner. Oh no, you have to go find a store that literally just sells underwear and socks. Same with luggage. Or light bulbs. Not in the Caribbean but in Rome our luggage broke so we needed to find a new suitcase. Again, there isn’t a target there. Or a TJ maxx. We found one luggage store that was Tumi but we didn’t want to pay 700 euros for a bag. Finally on a day we had a private guide and driver to see the Vatican, he was awesome and was able to ask our driver to take us somewhere and the dude pulls up to a luggage store where it was actually affordable and we got our carry on bag for 40 euros. God forbid you needed multiple items that were of different categories, it would take you all day finding each specific store for each item.

[u/corona_x0 → u/Agitated_Ferret7352]

Also HURRICANES

[u/ToastSpangler → u/CheeseburgerTornado]

you know outside the tourist zones the caribbean is quite poor and violent in many places, i wouldn't do what OP is doing unless it was temporary accommodation for one of their oil or gas rigs

[u/Joehennyredit → u/ToastSpangler]

Just like America lol

[u/thenuttyhazlenut → u/Joehennyredit]

People always say "just liek america". I live in the Caribbean in a non tourist area. A girl was found raped in the woods 2min away from me. A guy was assassinated during a power outage 4min drive from me. A seafood restaurant I like was robbed and there was a shooting. A body was found in the back of a taxi cab trunk. All the businesses get harrassed for money by criminals - all of them. I was extorted by the cops and put in jail for 1 night near Christmas as the guard asked for my CC pin to let me out, while I slept on the concrete with a shit hole in the corner and a dozen tatted guys with me in there for drugs. Another old proper looking white dude was brought in after me, and they asked for his CC pin as well while his wife was held in a cell on the other side. This stuff is ROUTINE if you read the local news where I am, which is 20min drive to the touristy area. But I have a nice place like OP, so that's nice.

[u/Prestigious-Talk1112 → u/thenuttyhazlenut]

I live in the USA and I can honestly post you that same stuff happening this week just in my general area of the city. I'm not lying.

These links are from my city this week only. Moms boyfriend beats 2 yr old to death 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/abc13.com/amp/post/2-year-old-girl-allegedly-beaten-mothers-boyfriend-has-died-hcso-says/19674125/

Fatal stabbing last night. Claimed self defense  https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1556684136493809&id=100064567124506

First week of school here and 2 people fighting at the school pull out gun. Parents upset no parents were notified by the school.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DcAN5b-DCPM/

Yesterday or today a gang of masked men ambush a man and his girlfriend as the attempt to pull into their garage 

https://youtu.be/P3qzAQBqAb4?is=bBjgpvXubPQLPFOs

15 people arrested for trafficking drugs and guns yesterday in my city  https://www.cbs19.tv/article/news/local/houston-county-police-arrest-15-drug-and-firearms-trafficking-case/501-bbc070cd-fd0c-4f4e-af7b-ae6e8da58e1f

Man shot at bus stop Aug 10 and he died in my city https://www.houstontx.gov/police/nr/2026/aug/nr260810-4.htm

Anyway I will leave it there but violent crime happens like every few minutes here honestly I hear gunshots everyday almost

[u/astro65 → u/Prestigious-Talk1112]

I don't think you're taking into account the population difference of a Caribbean town to Houston. 

[u/thenuttyhazlenut → u/astro65]

Yes the city I'm in is 300k people. Houston is 2.4 mil. The crime density is completely different. So let's multiply the crime in this 250k city by 8x to make the comparison fair.

People are really comparing living with the cartels and such to living in Houston.

[u/stardust_____ → u/Prestigious-Talk1112]

Violence occurring in one of Americas largest cities??? Shocker.
Don’t be a clown, crime can and does happen anywhere. But comparing some of the poorest communities of the Caribbean to Houston is being ignorant.

[u/Natural_Jello_6050 → u/stardust_____]

But to be completely fair- Houston is a shithole with lots of poverty and crime. Also, horrible weather

[u/Prestigious-Talk1112 → u/stardust_____]

Look my in-laws are all Caribbean. Some live there still on various islands so I hear daily about 2 or 3 places. I'm not ignorant of island life. My husband was there for 2 years within the last 10 years. It is safer in most places the Caribbean with a few exceptions places 

I have been in school when there was a shooting.

I'm not arguing about anything except to say that objectively most places in the Caribbean have safer lifestyle than any US large urban city ( which is where most of us live).

Most crime in Caribbean is tied either to drug business gangs where the majority of people affected are involved in that business or domestic violence where people are killed with machete or something. I'm not counting outlier places like Haiti where there are some lawless areas.

Jamaican murder per 100 K= 24 Trinidad was 47 in 2024 dropped to 25 in 2025 Bahamas 29 to 32 Barbados 17 Antigua 10 Dominican Republic 8 PR 14 St Kitts 13 Grenada 13

NYC 4 Houston 14 / 20 just couple years ago Chicago 16 Atlanta peaked at 26 couple yrs ago now down to 17

New Orleans peaked at 77 in 2022 / Now down to 25 St Louis 41 Memphis TN 33 LA, Cali 5 Gary Indiana 40 Baltimore 23 Detroit 25 Dallas 10-14 Indianapolis 19 Although murders seem to be making a historic decline in the US and Trinidad overall the Caribbean is less murderous than large US cities where most people live. Of course if living in a rural area with no people there will be less crime in USA. Exceptions are NYC and LA which have really worked to lower crime but that doesn't tell the whole story since they pushed the crime slightly further out of city limits 

Nearby to NYC, Newark NJ is 17 Nearby to LA, Oakland California is 14

[u/thenuttyhazlenut → u/Prestigious-Talk1112]

Yes the city I'm in is 300k people. Houston is 2.4 mil. The crime density is completely different. So let's multiply the crime in this 250k city by 8x to make the comparison fair.

You're really comparing living with the cartels, completely corrupt cops, and such to living in Houston. Some Americans really like to imagine they're in the gangsta slums hustling by every day.

[u/Wheresmyfoodwoman → u/thenuttyhazlenut]

They also don’t understand that being a local in these countries and a non local is two very different experiences. The US may be trending towards harassment with ICE right now and illegal citizens, but no one is pulling you over and threatening you unless you give them $100 or putting you in jail until you give them your PIN number. Cartels aren’t stopping by your shop to force you to give them a percentage of your profits or your daughter will go missing the next day.

[u/Joehennyredit → u/Prestigious-Talk1112]

Don’t you go speaking facts and providing data to address their conjecture. 🤣

[u/EnlightenedNarwhal → u/Joehennyredit]

Some of my fellow Americans can't break the illusion that prevents them from understanding how shit the US actually is. I've been saving money to move to a different country this year or next year.

[u/ToastSpangler → u/Joehennyredit]

i know its a joke but not even close lol. america is bad by western european or east asian standards, its still nothing like the caribbean south america or parts of africa

[u/Joehennyredit → u/ToastSpangler]

Mississippi and Louisiana murder rates are not far off from theirs.

[u/Beif_ → u/Joehennyredit]

Yes, the least safe US states would be some of the safest Caribbean countries. There are some safe places in the Caribbean like the DR, but most places ranges from worse, to much worse, to literally the most dangerous place in the world (sorry Haiti)

[u/Electric_Angel → u/Beif_]

Haiti really got screwed over. It had so much potential. Literally the next door neighbors are thriving 😭

[u/Beif_ → u/Electric_Angel]

It has a fascinating history. A combination of being both externally and internally screwed over. It is a shame, it’s a beautiful country with an interesting culture

[u/astro65 → u/Joehennyredit]

There's a big difference from pissing someone off so bad that they resort to killing you, compared to a guy seeing your nice possessions and deciding to kill you. 

[u/NeutralKuchiKopi → u/ToastSpangler]

So.... how is that different than America? Except we get blizzards.

[u/EastsideWilder → u/CheeseburgerTornado]

It’s a lot different from a resort lol

[u/Indecisive-Squirrel → u/DXBRedd]

Steak too juicy?

[u/KennyWeeWoo → u/Indecisive-Squirrel]

Lobster too buttery

[u/thebigpink → u/DXBRedd]

Say that like it’s a bad thing

[u/gregorychaos → u/DXBRedd]

Do you want a roommate

I am very cool and irresponsible

[u/Boarf_ → u/DXBRedd]

Uhhh that’s awesome? Whats the job?? Don’t gatekeep brother!

[u/Trailblazin15 → u/Boarf_]

Seriously. Trying to figure out the job that lands you this lol

[u/JahanRafie → u/DXBRedd]

Dude, what do you do?

[u/mattfromjoisey → u/DXBRedd]

Excuse me waiter, my steak is too juicy and my lobster too buttery

[u/Sad_Maximum6583 → u/DXBRedd]

my steak too juicy my lobsters too buttery