Anyone live/has lived in Bermuda? Please tell me about it...

[Diorissimo1985]

We are from the UK but currently live in the Channel Islands for DH’s work (finance). We knew it was an expensive place to live but the reality is pretty tough ... in hindsight we probably wouldn’t have made the move as despite being on £80pa here, we felt ‘better off’ in the UK with more disposable income and able to save money each month, which we don’t do here

So before our next move (highly likely Bermuda) I want to know - warts and all - what life is like there! Everything I Google says Hamilton is one of the THE most expensive places to live in the world and that bread costs something like $8?!

If you’ve lived there or live there currently - what do you feel is the minimum salary required to live comfortably? We are a family of 3 (toddler DD) likely to be 4 in next few years.

And in general, please tell me what life is like for a young family..

Have you ever been to Bermuda?

Is that £80k household income at the moment - will that increase at all with the move?
I'm not surprised that financially things are a bit of a struggle. Financially
you would be better off with a move to a financial centre in the UK.

Just a quick google says that cost of living is 70% higher than London. That must make it one of the most expensive places on earth.

www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&city1=London&country2=Bermuda&city2=Hamilton

No we’ve not visited Bermuda before.

Yes £80k is household income.

If 80k is your income after the move it's not feasible. And who pays costs of move?

And yes, it would increase with the move as it would be for a new job if we did go. My question is (from the perspective of people who have lived there or live there currently) what is the minimum salary required to live comfortably?

Wallywobbles have you lived there or live there now?

Relocation costs are part of the job offer, so paid by the firm.

No. Did you look at the link I posted? It's very up to date with prices for this month.

There is a Facebook group called Two Fat Expats. People from all over. You could join be post your question there.

WallyWobbles I did but I’m looking for personal experiences of the reality of living there

Bermuda is lovely, but you will struggle on 80k

Its eye-wateringly expensive, yes a basic white loaf of bread is about $6 upwards

Have you got a visa? Will you have your rent paid? A nice 1 bed apartment in Hamilton can cost around 4.5k per month

Rent for accommodation for your family size would need to be biggish. The Immigration department will look at salary before issuing a permit to make sure that you would not be a financial burden, they have income brackets relating to family size and 80k would be for the two person bracket.

I found it very friendly when I was there for 2 months last year, I made some lifelong friends.

Thank you - there is no specific job yet in the offing so just information gathering.
What salary would be a minimum for a family of 3/4?

This is the government derived household characteristics
www.gov.bm/household-expenditure
I can only my imagine that since 2013 things have got more expensive. I believe expats can't buy property.

I Have a friend working in financial services in Bermuda. Previously they worked in London and BVI. He works, his wife is a SAHM. Two young children. His basic salary is £120pa plus bonus, flights home each year, school fees, healthcare and accommodation allowance. They have a good life but not luxurious. There can lots of issues in living on quite a remote island. They do weekends in the US as often as they can afford.

Thank you Parker231 that is useful info - -£120k plus the package describes sounds super but interesting to hear it’s not luxurious. Do you know if they plan to stay?

No - they will be staying four years. Two years left and then they are moving to the Caymans.