Return to the Nature Island by Celia Sorhaindo

Spring - Dominica

I was 8 years old when my father told me we were leaving our small “nature” island of Dominica and moving to England. I cannot remember a time when I did not dream of coming back home.

30 years later and after several years of planning, my dream of returning home became a reality and together with my English husband and my English sheepdog, we left our jobs, family and friends, sold our house, packed everything we owned into a 40-foot container and set off on our journey to a drastically different life in Dominica.

We had both been visiting Dominica on holiday for 10 years, but although we were familiar with many aspects of island life, we were under no illusion that being here on holiday for two weeks would be different from living and working here permanently.

My parents were among the group of “retired returnees”, so I knew first hand that the reality of coming home could be very far removed from the dream. Some of the problems many returnees face are: The Dominica you leave can be very different from the one you return to; friends and family are no longer around and people left behind are sorely missed, especially siblings, children and grandchildren.  Finally, getting around if you do not have your own transport can be difficult and limited social activities can be a problem.

We were also aware that the lifestyle in Dominica was going to be different from what we had been used to: Frequent shortages of items in the stores, water and power outages, hurricane/rainy/dry seasons, the difficulty, cost and timescale of getting certain items, a lack of medical facilities, unemployment, no social security system, low average wages, the high cost of living compared to wages and the differences in business procedures and how things are done here.

So we knew the potential problems, but had little knowledge of the actual experiences of returnees our age, who came back to Dominica to live and work. But, Dominica is a breathtakingly beautiful island offering fantastic luscious green scenery, fresh, clean air and water, good wholesome food, a warm climate and warm people. So, for us, the risks were definitely worth taking.

Our first challenge was finding somewhere to call home. We decided that we wanted to invest in a house as soon as possible rather than rent long-term or buy land and build. We had heard so many horror stories about building so we opted for what we thought would be the less stressful option of buying. Soon, we found an unfurnished house to rent while we searched for a house to buy. The idea was to rent for 6 months, by which time we were confident we would find somewhere permanent. Unfortunately 6 months proved to be extremely optimistic and 15 months later, we’re still looking for our permanent home.

The main reasons it is taking longer than expected are:

1.  Dominica has a very small population, approximately 71, 000, so there is little movement in the housing market. Unlike England where many people progress through the housing ladder from flat, terraced house to detached house, here, people tend to build for life, often handing down the property through generations or renting out parts of the property for retirement income. It is not unusual to find that many of the properties advertised have been on the market for well over a year.

2.  Finding out about potential properties for sale can be a challenge. There are only a handful of estate agents, few with an internet presence, and few people advertise.  ‘Word of mouth’ is definitely the key to finding out about potential properties.

3.  Even though house prices are cheaper compared to Europe, USA or some of the more popular Caribbean destinations, if you are living in Dominica and earn a Dominican wage, many properties can be out of your budget. Returnees who have cashed in from housing booms abroad, foreign investors and people using their homes for raising capital, all contribute to the rising property prices in Dominica.

4.  For such a small island, there can be a huge difference in climate, accessibility and type of area. In England you think about things like amenities and school catchment area, but in Dominica there are many other different things we had to consider when deciding where we wanted to live:

Climate – Areas inland can get a lot of rainfall especially during the wet season, up to 350 inches per year, some areas on the coast can become extremely hot and dry and prone to bush fires in the dry season, areas in the valleys can be prone to damp and higher elevations can become cold in the winter months.

Accessibility – Although Dominica is small, only 16 miles wide by 29 miles long, due to the mountainous terrain, a small distance on the map can take longer than expected due to the windy roads or poor road surface conditions.

Area – If you seek rivers, mountains, valleys, beaches, forests, then Dominica has all these or if you’re looking for built up, remote, village, town, noisy or quiet, then again Dominica has areas to match. Other considerations are that some areas are not connected to the mains water supply or the mains sewage system or a Cable TV network. So, depending on your criteria, the choice of available property can be limited.

The criteria we decided on were: somewhere with little rain but not too dry, less than 25 minutes from the capital Roseau, reasonable plot size, relatively quiet and with good views of the sea or mountains. This further limits the already small choice of available properties.

When we eventually find a suitable place, then the actual buying process should be straightforward. Once you ensure the vendor legally holds the certificate of title and that there are no caveats (preconditions) on the land or property, then the fees are currently 10.5% of the purchase price or market value of the property (whichever is higher).

So we have yet to overcome our first challenge but the delay is not all negative. It’s given us time to explore areas in detail, time to gain a good understanding of what’s available and time to be clear and confident about what we want. We need to make sure that the house we buy is right for us.  So, what lessons have we learnt so far?…..be patient and be flexible.