One Month in Cayman
Well, I have been here a month now and honestly…it’s weird.
I literally gave up EVERYTHING for this move. My job that I loved and all my friends and family. Picking up and moving isn’t easy at the best of times. Moving to a whole other country, it crazy hard. I have a newfound respect for everyone who has done this. Picking up and moving to a new country isn’t easy. There are several immigration laws that also need to be followed. Makes me question the 20-something IG influencers who “decide to move to (enter country name here)”. For most places, you can’t even visit without a visa now, and we are led to believe they can just pick up and move without a job? Ya right!
The adjustment has been slow going for sure. We don’t have a car yet (although we are working on it) so I pretty much stay home all day during the week. Expect for walking the dog, I don’t really go out. The agoraphobia I developed after my dad died has come roaring back. I push myself to walk to the downtown area to meet my husband and we go out on the weekends, but it really isn’t the same. Usually but the time Thursday or Friday rolls around I’m cranky and feeling trapped and bored. I’m hoping that once we have a car, those feelings won’t be as bad.
Putting yourself out there and trying to make friends is hard at any age and feels so much harder as an adult. Sure, people are friendly and helpful, but I can’t say that I have “friends” just yet.
Cayman Islands is odd. It is a British territory, so they drive on the left side of the road, they widely accept American currency, in fact most tourist places will default to USD. They are on the metric system, but most things are still in the imperial system. Ya, I don’t get it either!
Things I’ve noticed:
- Most things close at 5pm, including restaurants!
- Almost everything is closed on Sundays
- Sidewalks aren’t really a thing, you are basically just walking down the road
- Almost all tourist places will default to USD
- It just seems to always be hot
- People are very friendly!
- Ex-pats are everywhere!
- Things move slowly, it’s island time!
- If you want to get something done, you must do it in person. Emails don’t really get answered!
Our neighbours are amazingly friendly, and we live on a very quiet, dead-end street. The kind where you go walk out and not have to worry about cars! At the top of our street is Fitness Connection. A VERY popular place to work out in a gym or do water aerobics. I have already investigated classes and hope to start those in August. Not only will it get me out of the house, but it will also get me moving and hopefully help me meet people! We are almost right across the street from Sunset House, a hotel for divers. Sunset House has a great water side bar and restaurant. The views are great, and the food is tasty!
We don’t live “at the beach” but have a lovely little beach just a short walk away. This isn’t the kind of beach you would necessarily spend all day at, but the views are lovely and there is lots of shade, and trust me, shade is a must here!
My favourite place on the island, so far, is Camana Bay. Very popular with both locals and tourists, it’s one of the main dining and entertainment areas of the islands. With almost 20 restaurants to choose from there is something for everybody! Camana Bay is also home to The Next Chapter, a fun bookstore that sells not only books, but housewares, local gifts, toys and more! While I am a huge fan of my eReader, it’s nice to get back to reading actual books again! It has definitely become my favourite store.
I don’t think of this place as “home” just yet. There is still so much we need to do to actually complete the move, like the never-ending task of changing addresses. I know it will hit us suddenly, that this is home, but for now we are just taking it day by day.