Relocating to St Kitts: James Taylor’s Story

Speaker 1: And welcome back to an episode of Passport to Possibility. I'm here with a very special guest, James Taylor, all the way from the UK. He did the St. Kitts and Nevis citizenship program a couple of years ago and relocated to St. Kitts. And so we're going to ask him a series of questions about him and his journey and what life is like in St. Kitts. Maybe you can start off by telling us a little bit about yourself?

Speaker 2: Yeah, sure thing. My name is James Taylor. I'm from Bath, England originally. I've been a Kittitian for two years now. My career's been a mixture of retail and consumer goods consulting and helping out small businesses get started and mobilized. I moved here for lifestyle reasons, as I said two years ago, after we had a series of discussions about what would be right for me.

Speaker 1: And so what made you choose St. Kitts over other places?

Speaker 2: It wasn't an easy choice, so there's a range of options for anyone who's looking to do a CBI or even a residency visa scheme, and the reason I chose St. Kitts was partly it has a very and the passport itself is quite a powerful passport. But really what stood out compared to other schemes is the actual island of St. Kitts and Nevis. You've got two really wonderful nations here. You've got St. Kitts, which is a bigger, more lively nation, with a lot of expats, a lot of international schools, really nice community where the expats and the locals blend very, very well. And you also have access to Nevis, which really is a gem of the Caribbean because It's like going to the old West Indies. It's got a small community feel, lots of small independent businesses, very sleepy, very romantic, just a wonderful place to be. So you get the best of both in a place with an amazing geography and just wonderful people.

Speaker 1: What are your first impressions or how was it like to adjust when you first relocated here?

Speaker 2: Well, coming from England, anyone who's done an English winter knows you have to adjust to winters here. So in my career, I've spent a lot of time working and living overseas. So I've lived in the U.S., I've spent a long time working in Asia and a long time working in Europe. So I was used to adjusting to living abroad. What was different here to other places was how quickly you're welcomed into the community. And in weeks of moving here I've made a series of friends with local guys around the same age as me and also expats who've done, either done CBI or were studying on the island or were working on the island. So you quickly find your people and your group of friends and it just makes that adjustment to life a lot easier. The bit you do need to get used to is the climate here being very different to anywhere in the world. You're not going to get seasons. It's warm all year round. You almost guaranteed 12 hours of sunlight a day.

Speaker 2: And so you've really got to make the most of getting out and enjoying the landscape here.

Speaker 1: Yeah. And so can you share a little bit more about the pros and cons?

Speaker 2: that you... Of living in St. Kitts? Yeah, so pros I would definitely say the landscape itself, so very mountainous unlike other islands around. So you've got two big volcanoes, one in Nevis and one in St. Kitts, which are great for hiking. A lot of lovely beaches. Particular favorites are Turtle Beach and Cockleshell Beach on the south coast. You've got access to both the Atlantic and the Caribbean Ocean, so if if you want to surf or kite surf, the Atlantic side being a little bit rougher with a lot more wind, you can kind of do those hobbies and if you want to snorkel like me or kayak or learn to dive, the Caribbean Ocean's got a range of sea life and it's got a lot more calmer oceans to take advantage of. So you've got a lot of outdoor activities if you're like me, quite an outdoorsy person.

Speaker 2: Recently you've also got places like Eden Ranch opening that do night hikes to stargaze up on the hillside and are or getting into things like hunting lodges if you're into that.

Speaker 2: So there's lots of outdoor activities to take advantage of. I'd also say it's a very welcoming community here. Definitely being made to feel at home, definitely always included in what's going on. I mean even last night we were both invited to the same tech mixer with the CARICOM community on the island because once you get to know people they want you involved and they want to make you part of their team and take advantage of whatever you can do to help them out. So those I would definitely say are the pros as well as the climate like I've already mentioned. But con-wise you do need to get used to island time which is an expression you'll hear a lot in the Caribbean Everything here will take longer than you used to if you're from the West. So service at a restaurant will be slower. Just, you know, you're going out for the evening. It's going to be the evening.

Speaker 2: If you need to go see the tax office, you're going to queue three times to get any job done. If you need to make an appointment somewhere, you know, just expect that you're going to be there for a while. It's not a problem once you adjust it. It's about adjusting your expectations because just being have a slower pace of life here. People don't rush. I think there's an expression of rush slowly. So as soon as you adjust your expectations, you get used to it very quickly. Other cons, you can have a low cost of living here is what I'd say, especially if you've come from a more costly Western nation. But the UK does have high energy costs and high fuel costs and you don't have those problems here. But a lot of tax income in St. Kitts comes from tariffs on imported products. So you've got to adjust your consumer habits really to buy more local products.

Speaker 2: So try buy local meats, bread, fish, eggs. Try to buy your fruit and veg from the local farmstores and get a relationship going with some local suppliers. Otherwise you are going to feel the pinch on your wallet when you go to the supermarket.

Speaker 1: So what was the process like for doing Citizenship by Investment?

Speaker 2: So before we had a conversation I was talking with a bigger firm that I won't say the name of They didn't really give me options. They basically asked for what I was after, you know, the lifestyle change and a nice climate and basically said I should go to Antigua. And when I said, well, you know, whatever islands are off of these kind of opportunities, they didn't want to talk about it. So that's when we started talking. You presented all the options that exist at Antigua, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Kitts, and we talked about the kind of lifestyle I was looking to move into and that's why we picked St.

Speaker 2: Kitts as an island and having been to all the islands they're all lovely but they all have their own little unique charms so you've got to pick the island that kind of suits the lifestyle you want and that's where someone like you has traveled around can be very helpful because you've been to the places and so when people are telling you what they're looking for you can match them to the right location. In terms of the process

Speaker 2: You need to be organised, that's what I say. A lot of people think you just hand over money and they're going to give you a passport and it's not like that. These schemes are very highly regulated and they're not going to just accept anybody. So as part of it, expect to do a full police background check for anywhere you've been a resident. You need to show your citizenship, where you're from, for your birth certificate, they might even ask for your parents' marriage certificate. There was a lot of documentation and it all needs to be notarized by a lawyer for authenticity. So that process takes time. So if you're thinking of doing this, it's best to engage with a lawyer early and work out your options because even though the process itself says three to six months, that's from when you submit the application.

Speaker 2: not from when you start the process. Another thing to be prepared for is to get a lot of your banking history because they're going to want to make sure your income is legitimate, that you've paid your taxes on this income. They don't want anything that's going to damage the program's legitimacy. So it is not... They have a stigma which isn't earned, I think. It's very thorough. So just expect it to take some time.

Speaker 1: You are quite involved in the local business community. Do you want to talk a little bit more about that?

Speaker 2: Yeah, sure. So, in the first few weeks of moving here, I made friends with a few guys locally. And the thing about St. Kitts is a lot of the

Speaker 2: the locals here have had education in the UK so the guy I got chatting to he sounded to me like he had a Yorkshire accent when we were talking and I was like, are you from the UK?

Speaker 2: He's like, no, no, I'm born and raised here but I went to school in Leeds and his dad went to school in Sheffield so you quickly kind of form those local connections because there is such a strong connection with the UK, U.S., Canada here and we started hanging out as friends quite a lot and realised there was an opportunity and the opportunity to connect the expat community with the local business community because a lot of the expats coming here I think in the past might have been older people retiring or were people just looking for the travel opportunities in the passport but increasingly you're getting people who are in their kind of late 20s to early 40s, young families looking for a lifestyle change but they bring them a lot of experience so we're getting people who are computer programmers in AI and cryptocurrency, you're getting people who who have run successful businesses and have sold them and are retiring, but they're not interested in fully retiring yet and can offer a lot of skills to the local younger business community or trying to grow their businesses internationally.

Speaker 2: So we started running just networking workshops every three months where we just hire a space at a bar, put out some wine and get the local business guys connected with the new expats coming in and it helped people form connections, make friendships, start businesses and from that I've just been doing completely free of charge freelance consulting for small businesses on how to grow, how to get started and that's what I'm trying to get more of the expats to do because you're just giving a little bit more back to the community you're part of.

Speaker 1: You also were one of the main speakers, or you spoke at the St. Kitts and Nevis Investment Summit.

Speaker 2: Do you maybe want to talk a little bit more about that? Oh yes, so that was May last year, and it's held at the Marriott. I think they do it every year now, if I'm correct, which is a very interesting summit because the government puts it on to show all of the new developments that they're doing, all of the opportunities there are for people who are coming in to invest. I was invited to speak there after a small article was written about me in the UK. It was part of a series of articles on Brits who are moving abroad and why they're doing it. So obviously me moving to the Caribbean was interesting because a lot of people would go to Dubai or Spain or Australia. So it kind of stood out a bit as something interesting. And as I explained in the article, you know, it was for the lifestyle, for the climate, for the climate, to have a slightly better cost of living and standard of living.

Speaker 2: So I basically said the same thing at the conference and I was asked a lot about, well, you know, why would someone come here over anywhere else?

Speaker 2: And one of the key points is you get the impression that the government really wants you here. They see an opportunity to attract talent in to grow the island and diversify its business away from just being tourism and agriculture focused into things like technology, into computer science, sciences, and even into things like education and healthcare. So you're getting some very interesting people from Europe and Canada moving here and there's a lot of new ideas forming.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Okay, did you maybe want to share a little bit more about your favorite things to do and places to go?

Speaker 2: Absolutely. Even if you're visiting here as a tourist or as a temporary guest on a visa scheme or if you're living here there's a few places that are absolutely must go to. I would say Shipwreck Bar down on Discovery Beach on every Sunday they put on music it's a great place to eat and then it's a favorite date spot for my girlfriend so I'd like to go there on Sunday. I would also say there's a few standout beaches which are definitely worth visiting so Cockleshell Beach on the south has a lovely view of at Nevis, it's crystal blue water, it's an ideal spot for an afternoon for drinking and swimming and just making the most of that Caribbean lifestyle. I would also encourage everyone to get involved in some kind of water sport here, so we have the Yacht Club which can teach you to sail or you can learn to do open water swimming, take part in the Nevis to Saint Kitts swim, which I believe you've done, Jennifer, before.

Speaker 2: or the Peninsula Swim which goes from Discovery Beach to Frigate Bay Beach which is, if you're less adventurous like me, is the one to aim for. Definitely get involved in things like that and snorkeling. Other standout places to go, Shiggity Shack usually has some fun activity going on, be it trivia or live music or karaoke which is good fun.

Speaker 2: And then there's the spots of history on the island which are really standing out, so Brimstone Hill, perfectly preserved old British forts, gives you the Pirates of the Caribbean experience when you look around, or Old Road Rum, I think one of the island's probably most successful businesses now, best rum in the world I think now, twice, two years in a row, they do a tour of what was the original rum plantation and distillery, so you can see how it was made, all the artifacts they've discovered there, take part in a tasting, and it's right next to Romney Manor as well, which is a beautifully preserved old home with lovely gardens. So those kind of things I would definitely take the opportunity to do here.

Speaker 2: Is there any special memory or special friendship that you'd like to share? Well, there is a memory that stands out. So, having brought a kayak here, because that was the thing I wanted to get into, I took it out on Majors Bay maybe about six months ago. To paddle out quite deep into the waters. And anyone who knows the Caribbean knows it's kind of famous for sea turtles. And so, you know, maybe half a mile out from the shoreline, I had a turtle literally pop up next to me, coming up for air, and looked completely confused by what it was seeing. So it literally stared at me for about 30, 40 seconds before it disappeared. And it's stuck in my memory, that. It's a very unusual thing to happen. And I would also, yeah, that's a particularly good one. And snorkeling down at Turtle Beach, again another beautiful beach we've got here, there is some really nice deep coral there.

Speaker 2: The last time I was snorkeling there I saw an eagle ray, which is quite rare to see, so spotted eagle ray swimming around. So that's how I've gone, you should definitely go snorkeling here because you just don't know what you're going to see.

Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. And so what do your friends and family think of your move? And when you first told them that you were going to move to St. Kitts, what did they say?

Speaker 2: Well, my parents were very supportive because they get to spend their winters here now, which they definitely enjoy. I think at first a lot of people thought Why would you do a citizenship scheme when a lot of people I know go to Dubai and you get a job there, you have a tax-free income, you're still getting the climate and you're getting a good lifestyle or are going to Australia or Spain or even Portugal on a visa scheme? For me, as I explained to them was, if you want to invest somewhere it's good to be a citizen because visas are temporary and the rules change, the government changes, so what you want is consistency.

Speaker 2: So having a citizenship scheme gives you that permanent residence, permanent citizenship on an island and it means that when you're buying a property here like I did you know that you are treated the same as a citizen and if you want to build a business here like I do you're also going to have the same process as a citizen. There's not extra steps and procedures to go through.

Speaker 1: And so for our listeners do you have any and other words or advice or anything you'd like to share?

Speaker 2: I think it's managing your expectations of coming here. There is a massive amount of pros with the lifestyle change you can make as long as you are willing to accept it is the Caribbean. You're not going to this place is not going to come to the West because it doesn't want to come to the West. It wants to protect its culture and its heritage and absolutely respect that. So take advantage of that. Go to the carnival and to the fets, meet local people, try out local food, try and partner with local businesses because it will make your lifestyle here better. And just expect that because it is the Caribbean, some things are not as developed to the West. So things like and banking takes a long time to open the banking out and transferring money can take longer than usual. And just have that expectation because it will make your life here much more easy to adjust to.

Speaker 1: Yeah. All right. Well, thank you so much, James, for sharing your story and perspective. And if you like this video, make sure to put a thumbs up. And we'll see you on another episode of Passport to Possibility. All the time.