Kingston, Jamaica Report of what it's like to live there - 11/28/24
Personal Experiences from Kingston, Jamaica
Background:
1. Was this post your first expatriate experience? If not, what other cities have you lived in as an expat?
I have lived outside the U.S. for nearly 20 years, in South America, Central Asia, SE Asia, and Africa.
2. What is your home city/country? How long is the trip to post from there, with what connections? How easy/difficult is it to travel to this city/country?
D.C. Kingston has daily flights to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, and New York. It’s a short trip and connection times are generally good.
3. What years did you live here?
2021.
4. How long have you lived here?
Two to three years.
5. What brought you to this city (e.g. diplomatic mission, business, NGO, military, teaching, retirement, etc.)?
U.S. Embassy assignment
Housing, Groceries & Food:
1. What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
U.S. housing is either a self-contained former hotel turned into USG owned apartments, or a house or townhouse on one of many gated compounds.
Some people enjoy living with all their coworkers and knowing who visits who late at night. There is also a gym, pool, and lots of kiddos on site.
Others like the privacy that the houses or townhomes offer. Most (all?) have some sort of community pool situation. You might get lucky and have great local and international neighbors or you might never see them. We made some friends in the neighborhood. Houses are big and range from good enough to quite nice.
2. How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
$$$Spendy$$$ You aren’t allowed to visit the parts of the city where you could shop for double your US budget, so you spend triple or more for depressing quality. Want to spend two dollars per squishy and nearly rotten strawberry? Kingston is the place for you!
Even local produce is soft and half spoiled by the time it reaches your grocery store at double or triple the D.C. price. Beef? Forget about it. Fresh seafood on this tropical island? It’s mostly frozen and imported.
3. What household or grocery items do you wish you had shipped to post?
Go ahead and load up on canned Italian tomatoes, nice oil, maple syrup, sunscreen, make-up, bug spray, etc. If it doesn’t spoil, save yourself mega-bucks and treat Kingston like a consumables post (it isn’t) when you ship HHE.
4. What typical restaurants, food delivery services, and/or takeout options are popular among expatriates?
Well, there are about five places you’ll return to again and again, so it won’t take you long to find them. A pizza delivery takes between 30 minutes and four hours, but you won’t know which until it arrives.
5. Are there any unusual problems with insects or other infestations in housing?
They must use some crazily deadly chemicals (there is lots of spraying on housing compounds) because there aren’t nearly as many roaches as I imagined there would be. Mosquitoes at dusk - keep that spray handy.
Daily Life:
1. How do you send and receive your letters and package mail? Are local postal facilities adequate?
DPO is pretty quick with weekly shipments from Miami. Don’t bother with local post. Couriers (bearers) are available on island for reasonable rates.
2. What is the availability and cost of household help, and what types of help are typically employed by expatriates?
Plenty of underemployed cleaners, cooks, nannies, drivers, gardeners, etc, who will take what you offer. Don’t be cheap. We paid well above the local rate and it was still embarrassing.
3. Do you feel that it is safe to walk, run or hike outside? Are there areas where bike riding is possible? What is the availability and safety of outdoor space for exercising? Are these easily accessible?
Some people ran to or from work. Generally not recommended because of crime and traffic (no good sidewalks). Definitely not a biking city. No real green space for exercise that isn’t prohibitively far away.
4. What kinds of gyms or other sports/workout facilities are available? Are they expensive?
U.S. housing compound has a gym all can use, but if you don’t live there you might not want to sit in traffic to visit. Some other compounds have a few machines. Almost zero green space to exercise.
5. Are credit cards widely accepted and safe to use locally? Are ATMs common and do you recommend using them? Are they safe to use?
Credit cards are fine. Always have a little cash. Use the ATM in a secure building.
6. What English-language religious services are available locally?
Lots of local Christian churches, at least a couple of synagogues and mosques. English is spoken locally.
7. How much of the local language do you need for daily living? Are local language classes/tutors available and affordable?
You’ll pick up a little patois, but almost everyone speaks enough standard English that you will be fine.
8. Would someone with physical disabilities have difficulties living in this city?
Yes. Kingston just sort of happened… nothing seems planned or built for accessibility.
Transportation:
1. Are local buses, trams, trains or taxis safe and affordable?
No. You can sometimes get an Uber. There are two call-ahead cab companies US personnel are allowed to use.
2. What kind of vehicle(s) including electric ones do you recommend bringing to post, given the terrain, infrastructure, availability of parts, burglary/carjacking risks, etc.? What kind of car or vehicles do you advise not to bring?
You can bring left or right hand drive, but it is much easier and safer to get a right hand drive since driving is on the left hand side of the road. A mid-sized SUV seems about right.
Phone & Internet:
1. Is high-speed home Internet access available? How long does it typically take to install it after arrival?
Switch to digicel if you can. It is cheaper, faster, and more reliable than the default. The embassy will help set up the default option for you.
2. Do you have any recommendations regarding mobile phones? Did you keep your home-country plan or use a local provider?
We used a local SIM from one of three companies. Pretty cheap and easy.
Health & Safety:
1. Are there personal security concerns to be aware of at this post? Please describe.
You are warned about local conditions and most of the city of off limits to USG. Jamaica has the highest murder rate in the world, but personally I have felt less safe in several other posts.
2. Are there any particular health concerns? What is the quality of available medical care? What medical conditions typically require medical evacuation?
Medical care is cheap, but quality is hit or miss. Miami is close by for anything serious.
3. What is the air quality like at post (good/moderate/bad)? Are there seasonal air quality issues? Does the air quality have an impact on health?
Proximity to the sea keeps the air pretty clean most of the time.
4. What do people who suffer from environmental or food allergies need to know?
Food allergies should be fine because you’ll only visit the same few places and can quickly figure out what works for you. There are lots of blooming plants all the time that might cause problems for allergies.
5. Are there any particular mental health issues that tend to crop up at post, such as Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter blues)?
There is no winter, so no SAD. But there seems to be a lot of depression that gets exacerbated by having nothing to do, nowhere to go, and still no way to save money because life is so expensive.
6. What is the overall climate: is it extremely hot or cold, wet or dry, at any time of year, for example?
It is always hot and humid. You’ll get super excited about the breeze that comes for a few months in the evenings.
Schools & Children:
1. What is the availability of international schools? What has been your general experience with them, if any?
There is one main school, AISK, that is small but has a generally supportive atmosphere. They have good arts programs, but lack the size for anything else like sports or much in the way of STEM. A handful of kids always seem to go to Hillel, which is larger, more local, and based on the British IGCSE system. From what I understand, most were unhappy there and there were some transfers out. Hillel sounds like a good option on paper, but do your due diligence.
2. What accommodations do schools make for special-needs kids?
Both schools say they have support. Families report that neither actually does.
Expat Life:
1. What is the relative size of the expatriate community? How would you describe overall morale among expatriates?
Morale was in the tank when I was there. Some of that has to do with working conditions, but there is nothing in Kingston to balance that out. On the flip side, if you try you can make good friends by the pool because there’s nothing else to do.
2. What are some typical ways to socialize, either with local people or with other expatriates? Are there groups or clubs that you can recommend?
Drink rum by the pool?
3. Is this a good city for single people? For couples? For families? Why or why not?
I know some singles who made the most of the dating scene. With small kids, you might feel trapped. With school aged kids, you’ll just do school events.
4. Is this a good city for LGBT expatriates? Why or why not?
Jamaican culture tends to be extremely homophobic and unwelcoming, with anti-gay laws still on the books. There is an underground scene, but expect even colleagues at work to openly disapprove of your orientation.
5. Are there problems with ethnic, race/racial minorities or religious prejudices? Gender equality?
Colorism is evident across Jamaica. The darker you are, the worse you will be treated.
6. What have been the highlights of your time in this country? Best trips or experiences?
Honestly, Portland is the only place I would ever consider returning to. There are much better and cheaper places to visit in the Caribbean. Even Negril, which is the only place with that crystal clear water and white sand, is not unique in the region.
7. What are some interesting/fun things to do in the area? Can you recommend any “hidden gems"?
The North Shore is overpriced and too far for a quick trip. A day trip to the Cove, where you will see all of your neighbors, costs $200+ for a day trip to the beach for a family by the time you pay tolls, gas, entrance fees, and food and drinks. The all-inclusives that were so cheap post-COVID when crowds weren’t traveling, are packed and more pricey that ever.
Kingston has little to offer, but you’ll have to do those few things again and again and convince yourself that it’s ok if you want to survive.
8. Is this a "shopping post"? Are there interesting handicrafts, artwork, antiques, or other items that people typically buy there?
Not really. There are some cool artists that you can find on Instagram or WhatsApp that you can commission pieces from if you do the work to find them.
9. What are the particular advantages of living in this city?
Drawing a blank…
Words of Wisdom:
1. What do you wish you had known about this particular city/country before moving there?
Kingston is a poor and crime-ridden capital city of a developing nation, not a Caribbean beach paradise. I knew this, but it bears repeating in case you didn’t.
2. Knowing what you know now, would you still move to this city?
I mean, knowing what I knew before I moved to Kingston, I wouldn’t have wanted to move there. Having done it, it’s worse than expected.
3. If you move here, you can leave behind your:
Winter (and spring and autumn) clothes.
4. But don't forget your:
Anti-depressants, stacks of cash to spend on rotten groceries, and appetite for jerk chicken and rum.
5. Do you have any other comments?
If you’re with USG, check out how many people are bidding on Kingston. There are reasons.
