Hi, I'm the mumsnetter who lives in Cayman, feel free to pm me.
Cayman New Resident website is the bible for those moving here, has all the info you need really
www.caymannewresident.com/
And you are right about the nurseries being good etc. And I have started to meet other mums and have playmates and stuff though still not got any true friends to let my guard down with after six months.
However, what New Resident won't do is the downsides so from my pov, they are
Very expensive to buy groceries, air-conditioning, electricity, water, rent..
Hurricane season is June 1 til Nov 30. Leave aside the worry about one actually hitting, this means hideous humidity of 75%+, so air con on all the time, mozzies, roaches, etc etc and a general sweaty dampness that makes the temperature of 30 ish feel like walking into a sweat box. This makes entertaining small children very hard for six months of the year. Many expats flee as soon as summer term ends because it is grim in the summer and do summer in the UK.
Law firms here work you hard. My husband has done a 5am one this week ( in at 5am, home 5am next day), plus worked both days last two weekends. He has been comng home to kiss baby goodnight then back to office til midnight. He worked all through Easter from good Friday til Tuesday morning, just coming home to grab bits of sleep. This is akin to his previous job at a City firm and pisses me off because fewer hours and seeing his baby, better quality of life were what motivated us to come, plus his Cayman salary would mean I could stop working to look after our baby son as the tax free nature of it would cover the 40% drop from me giving up income.
The money is good though livng costs are s i said eye watering, but the quality of life for me is very poor. Although we live in a nice rented condo, I cannot take the baby for walks outside because of the biting insects and humidity. In London, I had friends and a support network built up over two decades. I could pop to the shops or feed the ducks or walk by the canal or grab a bus to a farmers Market or whatever, even in rain or sleet. Here, I can do playgroups and play dates. I take baby to swim at 5 pm, if it hasn't rained and the mozzies aren't too vicious. I look forward to November when we can do beaches and more swimming but babies still can't swim all day and there is not much to do here apart from beach life compared to Lndon with its wealth of thngs to do and see.There are homegrown playgroups, and the fountains to play in a Camana Bay, swimmg classes, and whathaveyou and it gets better as they get older with dance, rugby, judo, all sorts of sport etc, sailing...
Your dc is older than my baby though will have the lifeline of nursery and I guess you'll be getting a live in nanny or daily helper? As you will be wrkng long hours? Most expats have one, even if they are SAHM, and there are lots of Jamaican and Phillipino women who work here looking after children and cleaning. If she works full-time for you you will need to get her a work permit.
It's socially conservative and I'm not sure how easy it would be for you to forge a satisfying social life as a single parent given how couplet and family oriented things are and now little free time you will likely have to join things like choirs or civic societies or wine appreciation groups etc. If you go to church you could build a network that way?
Reading the local newspapers online will show you a flavour of island life. Expats and locals do not mix much and there is resentment.
However, if you are able to tough it out and and cope without your loving friends and family around then the money c an be good and if your child enjoys nursery and bonds happily with the helper and your career goes well and you don't get sucked into the flashing the cash lifestyle ( people are very car conscious, etc) and save hard it could be an adventure for you!
You can see the good sides so I've just dne the negs as that si what you asked for...
Hth...And good luck!