New members of the Vanuatu forum, introduce yourself here

Hello,
I'm a newbie, and I'm planning to move from  New Zealand to Vanuatu later this year. I've been running a business teaching yoga in Queenstown since arriving from the UK 6 years ago.
I'll be new to the Vanuatu community so would love to get to know people there.
Looking forward to connecting with you and listening to any words of advice!
Thank you!
Gabrielle

Welcome aboard Gabrielle !

thanks for introducing yourself, I wish you a lot of success in your project.

Please do not hesitate to ask any question you may have on the Vanuatu forum.

Why did you choose Vanuatu ?

Hi! I chose Vanuatu for the lifestyle and the ease at which Incan love their and have residency. I've visited before and have been thinking about a new location for a while. Looking forward to settling there soon!

....I meant the ease in which I can live there!

Just joined the blog to gain any information or insight into moving to Vila from Mid North Coast of Australia.
Currently in Oz we own s steel fabrication shop, so we specialize in aluminum, stainless steel TIG & Mig welding.
Coming over again in April for 2 weeks to do our DiveMaster Course and to look at Real Estate, Rentals, business / employment opportunities. Open up a bank account etc etc etc to make the necessary steps to move to a beautiful slice of heaven. Hubby and I love our diving and loved last time we were in Vila as we gained some amazing new friends who showed us around "their" Port Vila. Local Futsal matches are so awesome to watch, these guys are "Majik"!
Looking forward to walking the streets and hopefully running into some expats to pick their brains about Port Vila.

Hi,
My name is Voh and I'm from Perth but most recently have been on the Gold Coast and presently in the Tropic of Capricorn in Sarina house sitting a lovely property with cows and chooks surounded by green luch mountains and wonderful nature.
I am a natural therapist practising massage, Bowen, Reiki, Reflexology and Naturopathy.
I love to live by the ocean and hear that there are no snakes nor any 'killer jellyfish' like there are here.
A friend has just built a couple of houses in Vanuatu and has invited me over at Easter, so I'm contemplating my options after that.
This is a great forum,
Thanks for the chance to share,
Voh

My wife and I lived in Vila 1972-75, and were very happy there. I managed a trust company (Investors Trust, which may not be there any more); she taught at the British High School briefly, then became a tour-guide with Burns Philp. For a time, we utilised as an unofficial youth hostel, the maid's quarters that came with our rented house . I was once called in to defend our operating the hostel without a licence, but I explained that our fee of a dollar a night made it more of an eccentric hobby than a business. Case dismissed, amid laughter!

I have reminisced about our time there in several posts in my personal blog ("Barlow's Cayman") - though only two of them have been solely about what was then called The New Hebrides. Those two were "Phoning Princess Margaret": in September 2013 and "Aiding and abetting adultery" in November 2012. I wonder if the hospital on Iririki is still called by its old name; and i wonder if aiding and abetting adultery is still against the law. there may be some natural embarrassment to enquire about the latter, but is somebody is brave enough, I'd be very grateful.

Hi all,
Don't know if I'm too new but I have lived in Port Vila for nearly 18mnths. My  parents brought me here for a holiday when I was 10 and cried as I didn't want to leave... I had my dream wedding here where I married my husband at the Le Lagon Resort in 2001 with about 30/40 friends and family attending...
3 years ago we decided to bring our 5 children over for a holiday to show them where we were married and that's when we started looking for work over here.
After the passing of my mother I wanted a lifestyle change desperately and that's when a job came up, with my husband being the Expat teaching the Vanuatu staff his skills.
Recently we have purchased a business and are looking forward to the future providing great customer service to the local Expat / Ni- Vanuatu Community.
Our children go to the local school, which mainly consists of Ni-Vanuatu children and we love it, the principal is Australian.
Looking forward to seeing all the new comers on this site

Hello I am coming to Port Vila and was wondering if there are pet stores there as we are coming with two house cats.  I am accompanied by my wife and was interested what there is to do there with regard to interesting things to do.  Thank you,

Roy

Hello Julien,

Thanks for the opportunity to post on your blog. My name is Roy and we are moving to Vanuatu in early May, my wife will follow a little later.  Can you give me an idea of the life-style I can expect there please?  Thank you,

Roy

P.S.  My son is named Julian so it feels like a very good omen.

Hi Roy
There aren't any dedicated pet stores but the general stores sell a variety of pet needs.  There is also a local vet.
We did struggle to get cat litter for many months last year so when a large shipment came in we bought a years worth!

Thank you BellaM,

Are there any oriental food stores there? Like Japanese. Or Korean etc.  any  Asian restaurants?

Thank you,

Roy

There are quite a few Asian restaurants.  Mostly Chinese but we do have Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean and Thai.
I think the food may be slightly adapted to local tastes as most of it is different to the food I was eating in Australia but we do enjoy having the variety
Many of the grocery/general stores are Asian owned though I am not sure that you will find the variety of goods that you are used to.

BellaM,

Thank you so much.  Can I ask you another question please?

Is wireless for your iPAD or computer readily available in PV?

Thank you again,

Roy

We are very excited that high speed internet is finally coming to Port Vila via the submarine cable from Fiji!  Our ISP will be flicking the switch on Friday to connect us.
Many restaurants and cafes have free wireless for their customers so this will also be faster and more user friendly in the near future.
Internet is not cheap here though we are hoping that with the new cable the prices will drop.

Thank you BellaM,

The first coffee or glass of wine is on me.

Roy and Tokiko

BellaM,

I arrive on May 1, 2014 and my wife arrives a few months after. I will try and reach out to you once I am settled.

Roy

Look forward to meeting you and your wife, Roy
Feel free to PM if you have any more questions and I will try to help.

BellaM,

Thank you. We do have another question so I hope you don't mind?
We are looking for a furnished cottage or apartment with air conditioning and could you tell us would the apt. Contain kitchen utensils?

What would you suggest we must bring from the U.S.  We have two cats.
Are the apartments/cottages very expensive as we will need a furnished one. I am not sure I can rely on my employer for much assistance at this point.

Thank you,
Roy and Tokiko

I would be contacting some of the real estates and small resorts/apartment complexes here via email to get some more information.
I know there are a number of small resorts here that are happy to do all inclusive (fully furnished, power, internet) medium to long term tenancies on small bungalows but not sure how that would go with pets?
For prices I would see what is currently advertised, just Google 'real estate vanuatu' and a list of agents will come up.
Personally if I had to do this move over again I would bring the bare minimum of personal effects that I couldn't live without.  We brought all our household goods, it was very expensive and we would have been better starting fresh here.
Do you know all the processes for bringing your cats?  It is quite simple but if you don't have the correct paperwork you could be up for some pretty high import duties on them when they arrive.

Hello,
I am planning to move to Vanuatu this year. I would like to meet ex-pats, exchange information, and hopefully start some new friendships. My background is in IT, and I would like to look at starting a business once I arrive.
So much still to learn and understand...any advise or reach-out  very appreciated.

Thank you BellaM,

You have been awesome! Really appreciate your assistance.

Roy

Hi Guys, I will be in Vanuata from the 26th April to the 3rd of May.

Would like to be able to meet some expats and have a chat.

Cheers Robert

I will be there on the 11th of May and would like to have some expat friends.

Roy

Hi Roy,
I'm in Vanuatu May 9th for a month, I'll be registering my business and getting residency for my future longterm stay.
I'd like to meet some expats whilst I'm there so keep in touch if you would like to meet up.
Thanks,
Gabrielle

Hi Kylie, my name is Tracey and I'm currently doing the initial research into bring the family (one husband, two kids & four cats) to Vanuatu for three years (work opting for my husband).

My biggest concern, obviously, is the schooling for the kids. I'm thinking the international school as my daughter is starting high school next year (she'll be 11)and my son will be heading into yr 5 (he'll be10).  How have you found your kids settled/mde new friends?

Any info, greatly appreciated.

Hi Tracey I just PM you

Hey all , I`m currently in Vanuatu , would be great if could meet some expats here.

Till then take care.

Cheers

Ash

Hello all,
I am currently in the process of making a move to Vanuatu from the US. I would like to meet some new friends and get some advice about making the move. Any info about jobs of any kind would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

David

thanks for the warm welcome, actually im from the Solomon island been migrated to Vanuatu on contract as been a nurse by profession

thanks iam looking for ward for more post through the forum

dolsonsonia wrote:

... a nurse by profession

Sonia. In September 2013 I reminisced on my blog ["Barlow's Cayman"] about the health issues we encountered while living in what was then called Vila, New Hebrides, forty years ago. I gave the article the title, "Phoning Princess Margaret", which was misleading because it has little to do with Princess Margaret herself; but the title appealed to me! You might enjoy reading the piece, all the same. Some of us former residents would be interested to know what things are like now, in Port-Vila. I don't even know: is there still a hospital on Iririki Island?

I also wrote "A wedding to attend" just last month (April), about crime and punishment in the old days, and there was one much earlier called "Aiding and abetting adultery" - way back in November 2012 - about the Islands' laws as they were back then. They too might make for some light reading.

Hi
We are bringing  our two children  ages 3 and 6 to live next year in May   2015
How old are your kids and what has been your greatest challenge and what do you love the most.
I feel like we are jumping into the deep end so any info would be great !
Many thanks
Gem

Hi Gem,
I don't have young children so can't help out with any of that, hopefully Kylie'sIsland will pop in for a chat as she has kids in the same age range as yours though I'm sure she also won't mind if you send her a personal message with questions as she has helped a lot of people on here with advice

As far as challenges go, this place has some unique ones, one of the hardest for me is the lack of variety when shopping and having to wait for a container to come in when things run out.  At one point we couldn't buy cat litter for months!  When a shipment finally arrived we bought a years worth in case it happened again.

Feel free to PM me with any specific questions, I will give honest answers

Thanks for the reply bellam
I have contacted Kylie and we will meet up in June when I'm over
Would love to meet you as well! I won't be bringing my cats but I'll miss then terribly so I might have to come cuddle yours! Did you buy a house and car when you came over?
Do you feel safe there ( I'm assuming your a woman by your name)
Is internet readily available?
Is fuel expensive?
Many thanks
Gem

Happy to meet up when you come over
I'll quickly answer your questions....
We bought a business that came with a work van so didn't need to buy a car.
We bought a house about a year later.
Yes I feel safe here but treat security the same way as I would in Australia.  Lock the house if we're not home, lock the car at the shops etc.  (yes I'm female lol)
Internet is readily available but is very expensive by Australian standards.
Fuel is 176vt a litre which is more than Aus but this island is so small that you never have to drive too far so a full tank lasts a while

Hi Guys!

I'm Val, going to be in Vanuatu from the end of June to mid August for work. Wish I can stay for a longer period of time but unfortunately work commitments dictate I can't

Reasons why I chose Vanuatu: Its Vanuatu! I've heard the people are amazing, the atmosphere is delightful, the country is gorgeous, the surfing is acceptable, the diving is spectacular and to be honest, I'm interested in a particular field of work that Vanuatu offers too. Not heard much about the local food culture but looking forward to trying the different types.

Will be keen to meet up with people, have chats and, if anyone surfs/dives - definitely up for both! I may not be too good on the surfing front but hopefully enthusiasm makes up for it. (anyone have advice on where to go/who to look for? I prefer a sand bottom for surfing as fall as many times as standing up.. diving wise... not too bad at it. Any dive is a good dive.. almost anyway!)

I'm looking for accommodation at the moment - flat/house share or to rent. Hopefully in front of a surf beach so I can run into the surf then bike to work after. Work is at port vila central hospital and I've heard I can't be too far away as I'll be on-call. Will appreciate it if anyone has any ideas/options on accommodation. (started a post on the accommodation section if someone is interested..)

Also looking to rent/buy a bicycle if anyone is selling theirs or has a spare!

Cheers guys, look forward to meeting people in Vanuatu soon.

hello i am joana, been here my life. yeah Vanuatu is made of 83 islands with many different languages. Been here is amazing though there might be some bads and goods but i just love Vanuatu.

Hello, you wanna check out some of the accomodations. check sportman hotel & paray lodge and sent them an email and negotiate for that long term stay. what monthly rate are you looking forward to? am sure they will be able to help you out.