To ask you to tell me what you know about life on Guernsey?

[SmilingAloe]

My DH may be offered a job there.

Is it nice? Good for families? Good for teenagers? Are people friendly?

I have been led to understand that the housing market is two tiered, renting is difficult and expensive and that the cost of living is generally very high. There is also no NHS.

Is it just too expensive for non rich, non locals?

Tell me anything please. What do I need to know?

Thank you

I'm a non-rich non-local and manage pretty well here (was lucky to get a local housing licence through my job though which helps massively with the cost of rent).

Yes the cost of living is a little high and the wages, unless you are in the finance industry, don't usually tend to reflect that. Having said that the pro's defiantly outweigh the cons in my opinion.

Living on a small island isn't for everyone, you have to factor in the cost of getting back to see family and friends in the UK which isn't cheap, and also the weather can make travel back to the UK very unpredictable at times.

If you are an active outdoors type of family then Guernsey is ideal, loads of beautiful cliff walks, fantastic beaches, surfing, kayaking, climbing, as well as the more usual sports such as football and rugby etc.

I can't really speak for teenagers as I don't have any but my friends teens are always off doing something and seem to really enjoy it here.

Feel free to drop me a private message with any questions if you like.

Would get private medical and dental insurance. Check you can get a local house licence. If you wish to buy there are "open market" and "local market" properties , former is a lot more expensive. Very pretty place, lovely weather, maybe too quiet for teenagers. Maybe difficult for family to visit ( expense wise but also very strict on Covid).

A grandparent born there, have visited cousins and others there. Very expensive to live there unless you are eligible for local market housing, very quiet and damp in the winter (though snow is rare) and not a great deal for younger people. Though if you want children to grow up without some of the big city issues, may be for you.

Better than Jersey currently.

I have heard it Can be tricky to find childcare as there's is an underlying assumption one parent will stay at home.

Born & raised here in Guernsey. Love it, wouldn't live anywhere else. I feel very privileged to live on such a beautiful Island.

Super safe, very low crime rates.

Cost of living pretty high but low rate of tax (flat 20% rate) so you make it work & budget accordingly. House prices are high, just a bit lower than London prices.

Travel is pretty expensive, so this may have an impact if you want to go home to visit family. Also the weather can have a big impact - boat won't sail if it's too rough & planes can't fly when it's foggy!

So many outdoor activities - too many to list! You are never more than 10 minutes from a beach, which are beautiful summer or winter. Fantastic to walk, run or bike around the Island.

Loads of sports clubs that you can sign up to or sign your kids up too. Both indoor & outdoor.

There are some amazing Islands nearby, which are like stepping back in time (ie no cars!). Easy & regular service to visit by boat.

Our Town is just stunning, with high street names & some great little shops selling locally made products.

The local history is fascinating & there are a few locals that do tours.

I would not want to raise my children anywhere else. I can let my 12 year old go off on his bike with his mates & not have to worry too much.

Bad - not much to do if it's raining for kids. The travel cost I mentioned, this can lead to newcomers feeling a little bit like they are stuck on a rock. Lack of shopping choice, so I order online a lot & there are some companies that won't deliver to the Channel Islands which can be a bit of a pain sometimes. Honestly I can't think of too many bad things!

Good - super friendly people. Someone always willing to help. Slower more relaxed way of life. Stunning beaches, stunning scenery. Low rate of tax. Low crime & always a feeling of being safe. Plus a massive bonus right now is that the COVID situation is incredibly well controlled and we have a fantastic team leading the way on that front (although you would have to isolate for 14 days on arrival at the moment).

Hope this helps!

Gosh- my husband would be jealous. We go on holiday there a bit, and he'd move in a flash.

@foreveranxious

Born & raised here in Guernsey. Love it, wouldn't live anywhere else. I feel very privileged to live on such a beautiful Island.

Super safe, very low crime rates.

Cost of living pretty high but low rate of tax (flat 20% rate) so you make it work & budget accordingly. House prices are high, just a bit lower than London prices.

Travel is pretty expensive, so this may have an impact if you want to go home to visit family. Also the weather can have a big impact - boat won't sail if it's too rough & planes can't fly when it's foggy!

So many outdoor activities - too many to list! You are never more than 10 minutes from a beach, which are beautiful summer or winter. Fantastic to walk, run or bike around the Island.

Loads of sports clubs that you can sign up to or sign your kids up too. Both indoor & outdoor.

There are some amazing Islands nearby, which are like stepping back in time (ie no cars!). Easy & regular service to visit by boat.

Our Town is just stunning, with high street names & some great little shops selling locally made products.

The local history is fascinating & there are a few locals that do tours.

I would not want to raise my children anywhere else. I can let my 12 year old go off on his bike with his mates & not have to worry too much.

Bad - not much to do if it's raining for kids. The travel cost I mentioned, this can lead to newcomers feeling a little bit like they are stuck on a rock. Lack of shopping choice, so I order online a lot & there are some companies that won't deliver to the Channel Islands which can be a bit of a pain sometimes. Honestly I can't think of too many bad things!

Good - super friendly people. Someone always willing to help. Slower more relaxed way of life. Stunning beaches, stunning scenery. Low rate of tax. Low crime & always a feeling of being safe. Plus a massive bonus right now is that the COVID situation is incredibly well controlled and we have a fantastic team leading the way on that front (although you would have to isolate for 14 days on arrival at the moment).

Hope this helps!

Oh yeah forgot to mention - medical & dental are expensive! So you would be best to get insurance. Depending on what sector of job your DH is working in though, this might make up part of his package.