Hi, I'm a long time lurker, first time poster...

[H2H]

Hi Alll,

I've been reading and following many posts on this forum for a couple of months.   Last week, after a few months of interviewing and negotiation I received a job offer for a position in Bermuda.  It's a big change for us, so I thought it's finally time to post a few questions.

First the standard question.  Money!!!  We are a married couple (no kids) and it's a job offering $120k annual salary.  How does that salary sound for living a "middle class" life in Bermuda today?

The job is in Hamilton, so where should we be looking for a place to live?  I'm guessing Paget or Devonshire, but any suggestions on one, the other, or a different parish is welcome.  We would be looking for a nice 2 bedroom place and any extra's (pool, garden, etc) would be a bonus.  What should we expect to pay on a monthly basis for that type of accomodation with a 12 month lease?

The job starts on November 5th, so we have lots of work to complete in the next few months.  Any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

H2H

[Mike]

Hiya H2H, welcome to BermudaSucks.com.   

First (I like you already... you don't use firstly as an ordinal number!), the standard answer.  You'll be fine on that income. 

You've got it pegged as 'a "middle class" life in Bermuda'.  You can afford a nice place, the food at the grocery stores and restaurants, and a trip off Island for a sanity break.  You can't play in the rich boys club; as long as their conspicuous consumption doesn't get under your skin, you can probably still save some money too.

Keeping in mind you can drive from either end of the Island to Hamilton in well under an hour, it is much more about what conveniences and amenities you prefer when you pick your parish.  The biggest beaches are along the South shore: Warwick, Southampton.  That had a lot of appeal to me when I first lived there.  Later, I lived in St. Georges parish, on St. David's Island, and enjoyed a house on the water with a jetty for my boat - the 25 minute commute to Hamilton was worth it for lifestyle points.  Finally, I lived on North shore, in Pembroke and loved the five minute drive to the city.

Each area and neighborhood has its own atmosphere.  Even block to block things can change.  You really need to be on the ground to check out each place.  Try to arrange with your company for a month or two of temporary accommodation on arrival, then work your network for a place.  The best ones go by word of mouth.

Feel free to pepper us with questions.  The members have a wealth of experience and are happy to share.

[Kingfish]

Take your Bermuda wage, cut it in half, and that's the lifestyle you can expect here.  In other words, if you're on 120 here, that's like 60 at home, probably not bad but not wealthy.  People have looked at all the zeros in their wages and thought they'd be living like kings, then got a rude surprise when they were eating ramen noodles. 

Check the major realtors' websites (Rego, Bermuda Realty, etc), eMoo, and Sun Shopper, to get a sense for the properties available.  The best places tend to go by word of mouth, but at least you'll get a sense of how far your dollar will go.

[Pandora]

Hi,

Welcome. We may be branded moaners but we do provide a lot of useful information with the BS you get from recruiters. None of us say Bermuda is all bad. There just came a time when we had enough. Bermuda being a very small island magnifies the problems.

On that salary you should be fine. I agree with George that you need to cut in half. Do not scrimp on your accommodation.

[H2H]

Thanks for the info.  We are expecting to pay $2,500 - $3,000 for a 2 bedroom place which is hopefully enough for a decent 2 bedroom in Paget or Devonshire parishes.

Would those parishes be the preferred when working in Hamilton?  I looked on Google maps and Paget to Hamilton is about 3 kilometres +/-, so seems to allow easy'ish access to work.  I'm not looking to commute too far, as I do that now...

Thanks again,

H2H

[Kingfish]

For commute, it's not distance that matters, but direction.  All the island who live west of the Johnny Barnes roundabout converge into that bottleneck.  If you plan to commute such that you'll be in the city before 8am or after 9.15 you'll be fine no matter where you live.  The closer to 9am you come into the city, the worse traffic will be.  And then at 9am it drops back to normal.

A lot of people ride their bike and just go around the traffic down the middle.  Personally I think they're taking quite a bit of risk.  Just yesterday I saw a girl on a motorbike smacked by/into a car when she tried to pass a bus that was stopped to allow a car out of a driveway.  Looked like she broke her arm when she landed from the way she was holding it. 

So if you're working in town and want a short commute, think about Spanish Point, the north shore, or something north of the Hospital.  Just be careful as these areas can be quite block-by-block and there are a lot of gang areas.  If you live in Paget (which has little gang problems), living beyond the "Paget Lights" (where Middle and South Roads diverge) will increase your commuting time quite bit.   

[H2H]

Mike & George Stevens, thanks for the accomodation location suggestions.   

Mike, I've put a lot of thought into your suggestion to be "on the ground" for a time before settling on a specific parish/block and think that is going to be the plan going forward.  While temporary accomodation isn't being offered there is a relocation allowance as part of the package and it should serve to cover a significant portion of a temporary place.

Over the weekend I signed the offer back, so now the fun begins.  More questions to come, I'm sure.  Thanks again!

[Amore Eel]

Awesome, best of luck to you!  I look forward to hearing of your experiences here in Bermyland once you get settled.