Shore Diving in Roatan

[JaimieGreen]

Thanks again! My hesitancy with Playa Miguel is that we were also wanting to rent a house on the main island so that we could really experience Roatan (part of the reason we didn't want to stay at an AI resort or right next to an AI resort). We have been scouting out the Carribean for a place that has good shore diving where we could see ourselves living long term for buying an early retirement home/vacation property. I'd like to rent a house on the main island so that we can get a sense for Roatan and whether it is a place that we would want to consider for buying a property. We were scouting out Saba but decided it wasn't right for us and have heard good things about Roatan...

The ideal option would be to find a rental house on the main island where there is a way for us to get to/from CCV for diving on the days we want to dive...still working on this one Sunrisa Del Sol may be an option since it is close to CCV and is available to rent we're just trying to figure out the logistics to ensure we can get to/from the rental house especially if we do night shore dives with CCV.

Another option could be for us to charter out a boat on our own for a week as this would enable us to not be limited by other divers and their dive plans/times...This tends to be a bit more expensive though.

Thanks again for all your suggestions/advise. Really has been most helpful!

Regards,
Jaimie

 

[Doc]

We have been scouting out the Carribean for a place that has good shore diving where we could see ourselves living long term for buying an early retirement home/vacation property. I'd like to rent a house on the main island so that we can get a sense for Roatan and whether it is a place that we would want to consider for buying a property.

And yet again, an entirely different kettle of fish.

Rent a house. Do not dive. Stay for a month at a minimum, 6 months would be better.

Then make a decision.

 

[JaimieGreen]

Too funny! Yes, that would be optimal except we both work full time with 2 3-year old twins If we like it after this first trip, we would likely travel again for longer next year though for a true home scouting trip. This first trip is to get a general sense for the island and the diving.

Thanks again for all the advise. It should be a great trip!
Jaimie

 

[RTBDiver]

Too funny! Yes, that would be optimal except we both work full time with 2 3-year old twins If we like it after this first trip, we would likely travel again for longer next year though for a true home scouting trip. This first trip is to get a general sense for the island and the diving.

Thanks again for all the advise. It should be a great trip!
Jaimie

Now this opens a whole new issue, Will you wait till your children are done with school or put them in the poor inadequate hondurans schools? A large percentage of well to do expats I know that have moved from the island is so they can provide good education for their children

 

[JaimieGreen]

This would be a second home, for vacation purposes. We would keep our primary residence here. The intent was to visit for diving several weeks of the year and then potentially consider renting it out when we were not there. Is this common on Roatan? We are still a few years out from doing this...still scouting out the Carribean to find a spot that we love. We were close on Saba but the inability to shore dive has led us to look elsewhere...

 

[Midge907]

My guess from as much reading as I've done so far on Roatan, is that you won't choose to buy a house there. Great place for tourist, not so great when integrated into having to do business with the government. I've only been to roatan for one day, I loved it but could tell I wouldn't want to live there, or own anything there. Grand Turk or curaçao on the other hand Maybe I will have a changed opinion 3 weeks from now.

 

[RTBDiver]

. I've only been to roatan for one day, I loved it but could tell I wouldn't want to live there, or own anything there.

I am glad I did not take the advice of a cruise ship passenger with one day on the Island

 

[Doc]

Caribbean Island living varies widely from island to country, but the main constant is this: The more expensive the land, the better the infrastructure, the costlier everything else becomes. If you want a real live hospital with First World medical facilities, you are pretty well limited to two Bahamian islands and Grand Cayman. Get out your wallet if you want to live there.

Thinking about medical services isn't high on most people's list, but kids and old people (which we all will be very soon) who develop medical needs are usually very time sensitive in nature. Young, healthy folks who generally are considering such a move- well, if you break a leg, that can likely be handled. Maybe.

In any foreign country, do not invest any greater amount than you can comfortably just walk away from.

Do not assume for an instant any possibility of an income. Very few make it in any way. Island mentality from all parties is one of the chief reasons.

BlueHouse could (and if prompted, will) speak volumes. Maybe another thread?

 

[JaimieGreen]

It will be interesting to see/ experience Roatan. We really loved Saba...it wasn't perfect and was rather poor but such a beautiful place...a nice diversion from the day to day life here. From what we have read, Roatan seems interesting...nice diving with potential shore access at some spots, easy access/flights from the US, democratic gov, decent level of modernization, crime doesn't appear to be horridly high, diversity of activities with rainforests/mangroves, great climate, relatively friendly to US citizens, and relatively inexpensive properties... I'm assuming that there are some significant negatives but in general from what we have read, it does seem quite nice and intriguing.

Yes, we wouldn't plan/expect for any type of rental income....if we do this in the future, the expectation would be that we retire here in the future... Prior to retirement, we would hopefully spend our vacation time and potentially work remotely if possible for a few weeks at a time.

 

[Midge907]

I am glad I did not take the advice of a cruise ship passenger with one day on the Island

Ouch!!! As stated I was a cruiseship passenger, but did make it farther away from port then some. I dove with Anemona Divers (discover scuba) and thought that it was great. However on first impression I did see some down falls that seemed like they would deal killers for myself. However I am going back for a week to hang out at CCV in January, and hope that my impressions will change on the subject of vacation homes. As for the comments on how things go when living there compared to touring there, there seems to be some major differences that you have posted in other threads. I think my biggest problem would be my comfort zone with driving around, where I would of felt perfectly comfortable in other places. Just saying