Going Home to Dominica.........

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After spending the past eight years working in a highly stressful and demanding job. My husband and I decided to make the move to live in the Caribbean Island of Dominica.
My Husband is from Europe, But I was born in Dominica and spent the first 11 years of my life there, but now in my late 40’s…It was definitely time to return, as I’m of an age now, to fully appreciate the Beauty and tranquillity of the Island, proving true the old Caribbean adage that “Cow never miss its tail, until the Butcher cuts it off! ”
Sometimes you have to go away then come back before you value your treasure.

Even though we have wanted to make the move for sometime now, there is a massive difference between wanting something and actually going ahead and doing something!!
We begun by putting our beloved family home on the market (which turned out to be a blessing, because less than six months later, the Credit Crunch started biting!!)
The decision was not made in a heartbeat, and never should be, because it is a major change, not just in terms of environment but also lifestyle.
A common mistake people make is to up and move on a whim, running off to their new life in the sunset, only to discover, no matter how much the sun shines, there are still bills to pay, food to cook, laundry to clean etc…. all without their familiar surroundings and support system. Not surprisingly, many a relationship has buckled under the huge strain of moving to a new country wherever it may be, only to come home with dreams in tatters and their tail between their legs!

For the past 5 years, my Husband and I have holidayed there around three times a year, often staying with either my Grandmother in the mountain village of Eggleston with its cool breeze and amazing Sea views or with my Mother in the valley of Layou with the fringes of the Rainforest on her doorstep.
We have always wanted to retire there, but never felt the time was quite right, however it was after our last sojourn there in October 2007, when I was back in England, back to the awful weather and back to the monotony of the rat-race.
I was sitting in traffic, making the 1 ½ hour Journey home after work, when I had what Oprah would describe as a “Ah ha Moment” or an Epiphany to you and me!
It suddenly dawned on me that I had really had enough, surely there was more to life than this.

I went home and told my Husband that the time was now, I was ready to move!
I arranged some time off work and we travelled down to Dominica to begin our search for the perfect piece of land on which to begin building our dream home.
This is a hugely important part of the project, as many things need to be taken into consideration when selecting and, for instance, proximity to the Sea, Villages, Shops and other amenities, the location for trade winds, view, weather etc…

One of the oldest but best forms of information is word of mouth, speaking to the locals, people who live there all year round, as they can provide invaluable information, the type you can’t get in any guide book or internet search engine. And more often than not, they know the landowners themselves, they can also provide you with a history on the land.

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