Safety in Mauritius

Mauritius is just like any other country to some extent in that crime exists.

Compared to Tunisia and other holiday destinations with beaches , Mauritius is very safe at present.

I guess walking is a difficult subject to address , walking in a town during the day should be ok providing you watch the traffic on the roads. At night time if you are in a busy area with street lights then it should be reasonable to walk.  Walking alone in remote areas is always a risk unless you inform somebody you trust and know as to where you are going and at what time you will return. Advice is to always carry one mobile phone with a fully charged battery when you go out with plenty of credit. If possible have two phones just in case.  Obviously wear bright clothing at night time and observe a sensible rule in that as far as possible if you need to walk on the road walk on the side that you are facing traffic coming towards you.

Social Problems are always there in some areas of life and in our towns and villages, most Mauritian people though are always friendly and willing to help you if you get lost or need directions. One should always be prepared to offer some small reward such as 10 or 20 rupees. It may not seem a lot but you can get a good amount of bread for that.

One must be prepared to see people begging on the streets sometimes it is not however that bad as the Social systems in Mauritius are continuing to improve year by year and the numbers asking for food or money are very few.

I live in Flic-En-Flac which is very safe as it has a substantial Police Station and CCTV cameras on most of the main roads and beaches.

Safety is of course a matter of how you conduct yourself when out and about.  Carrying or be seen to carry large amounts of money is not an advisable thing. Most restaurants will allow payment by card now or you use the ATM and only take out money you need. Also the same advice goes for bags and cameras, although I have never lost either it can be easy to forget a bag and I guess somewhere there would be an opportunist thief who would take the bag rather than hand it over to the shop or restaurant

Safety and security is an important factor of life these days and you can never tell if you are safe anywhere is this world. However, it is important for people to identify and understand people's behaviour in certain part of Mauritius.
Road rage is something to really avoid as I am sure you will realise that some drivers think the roads belong to them and therefore avoid any confrontation or hot/beep. Relax and drive and you will reach safely to your destination.
In Port Louis and other busy areas you are going to face up with potential thieves and with even aggression. Never go on your own in areas where you could be vulnerable. Do Not dare to adventure.  I read and see that Tourists have been targeted in popular areas like Grand Baie. Do not get into conversation with suspicious people and do not try and relax in areas that are not well frequented as you will be left vulnerable.

I feel safe becauseI am a very self aware individual and can assess situations/areas and avoid!!

Mauritius is a safe place by all means.  Do not be distracted. Just enjoy the freedom of space in Paradise Island, Mauritius.  I love being here 100%!! There is no place like Mauritius!!A melting pot of cultures and traditions  that one needs to study and understand!!

Mauritius is one of the safest places I lived in. It is definitely safer than big cities in the U.S. or even some cities in Europe. I stay at Quatre Bornes at MU and the way I see it is, if you don't bother anyone and mind your business, no one will try to bother you.

MU having some 1.2M people (75% MU and 25% expats), is well adopted to strangers to their land and respect each other's space. You may find some street bums asking u for money and things randomly but if you avoid them, they bugger off.

From safety perspective, I give MU 95/100.

miraj_talukder wrote:

Mauritius is one of the safest places I lived in. It is definitely safer than big cities in the U.S. or even some cities in Europe. I stay at Quatre Bornes at MU and the way I see it is, if you don't bother anyone and mind your business, no one will try to bother you.

MU having some 1.2M people (75% MU and 25% expats), is well adopted to strangers to their land and respect each other's space. You may find some street bums asking u for money and things randomly but if you avoid them, they bugger off.

From safety perspective, I give MU 95/100.

In no way, the number of expats in Mauritius is around 25%...it's well below 10...around 5-6%...

Hi Jede,

Any stats to support your statement? I know there are 24K registered (with Bangladesh Embassy) Bangladeshis in MU. What about all the Indians, SAs, African students? Would you say it is below 200K?

Anyways, focusing on the topic, from my experience of MU, it is a very safe place.

Thanks

25% of 1.3M is about 325,000...and there is certainly not this many expats in Mauritius!!!! Come on...Bangladeshi and Indians makes about 50,000 together, then Chinese, French and South Africans, British...total number of expats does not exceed 80,000...As for the number of foreign students, according to Weekly Magazine, it's no more than 2,000.

There is no way to know the exact figures but please do not over-inflate statistics!

If everyone will grossly estimate facts and figures, this blog will become misleading!

Statistics,Lies and manipulations area all here BUT difficult to interprete as the immigration desk is NOT FOOL proof as every person coming here has a hidden agenda of some sort!! Some escape the Border Control!!
Whilst reading some of the profile of people on this Expat.com, I sometimes think how did they get through immigration!!
mauritius is a Paradise Island and the Most Cosmopolitan Island in this world and I hope It does not get spoilt!!


Long live Mauritius!!

Vedan wrote:

Statistics,Lies and manipulations area all here BUT difficult to interprete as the immigration desk is NOT FOOL proof as every person coming here has a hidden agenda of some sort!! Some escape the Border Control!!
Whilst reading some of the profile of people on this Expat.com, I sometimes think how did they get through immigration!!
mauritius is a Paradise Island and the Most Cosmopolitan Island in this world and I hope It does not get spoilt!!


Long live Mauritius!!

With all due respect, have you been to Paradise to keep saying that marketing tautology. Just have a look at the "Mur de la Honte" up north.
Most cosmopolitan, I doubt that
As far as the island being spoiled, it is too late !

Sorry, but that reality check needed to be said.

As far as I am concerned and looking at all the visitors feedback on all forum, I must agree that Mauritius is a melting pot and it depends from what angle you are looking at. Honestly speaking, it appears that you are very bitter and sarcastic with your comments.  However, I must admit and accept changes and evolution as much as I do not accept the level of passion amongst the younger generation with a rather poor level of respect to their elder folks and visitors as compared with the past.  I know the level of alcohol and drug taking amongst the younger generation is alarming.

I am sorry to tell you that despite living in Europe for over 42 years I still consider Mauritius to be my paradise the minute the plane lands at SSR Airport!!

My personal point of view is that Mauritius is a very safe place to live with friendly helpful people, it is a melting pot of different Nationalities, but I have to say I have never met an unfriendly local Mauritian, I often get lost driving, sometimes in remote area's and never once have I felt unsafe getting out of the car and asking for directions, in fact in one remote area, the guy actually walked ahead of my car to show me the correct road to get back onto.

Yes I have very occasionally come across "beggars" usually showing a piece of paper stating they are raising money for medical bills, whether this is true or not I usually give some loose change or a small note, not everyone will agree with this but this is what I choose to do.

As in any City in the World keeping yourself safe and being aware of what's going on around you prevails, I believe most crimes here are petty crimes. Of course I would never walk alone in a dark remote place anywhere in the World, this is simply common sense.

For me to sum up Mauritius - Paradise Island, friendly people, quality of life -  I just hope they don't develop too much and that they can kindly and humanely help the street dogs. And yes I feel very safe here

We live half the year in Pereybere and the other half in the UK.
I always felt safe before but not any more.
Last week I was in the UK looking forward to a long planned European holiday but had to cancel that and return to Mauritius quickly as our place was broken into and trashed, things stolen - they even emptied the food stores.
They even ripped the safe off the wall and took important documents.
Quite a shock and we are still trying to sort it all out.
So feeling a bit disillusioned with Mauritius at the moment

So sorry to hear the bad news.  Like anywhere if a house is left empty for a period of time it will be noticed. Hope all was insured!

barbara torrance wrote:

So sorry to hear the bad news.  Like anywhere if a house is left empty for a period of time it will be noticed. Hope all was insured!

Thanks Barbara - this was a first for us and a rude awakening as I always used to think people were over the top when they told me they were worried about their security in Mauritius - and a lot of people do feel unsafe.

We had been in the UK just over 4 weeks so not a long time.

My neighbour also had a break in - they removed his iron grille and door.
They simply smashed the glass in my front door.
Well at least my street dogs bark when I'm here even though they apparently disappear when we aren't!

This is a bit worrying  as I am leaving UK shortly and I am o n my own

Burgalry and that sort of theft is an opportunists crime, there are some things one can do to prevent this type of crime.

(1) Have an alarm/cctv fitted or at least a dummy alarm box and dummy CCTV camera.  Thieves are not sure sometimes if they are real or not. I use Caudan and if the alarm goes off  and you do not answer the callback they send a response unit . Others do the  same I think. A response unit will check the property and perhaps even catch a bugular in the act.

(2) Perhaps have a timeswitch for a couple of lights that come on for an hour or so in the evening.  Unless the thief regularly watches the house a light coming on might make them think somebody is at home.

(3) perhaps and this is always open for debate is to put your trust in theMauritius Police force and let them know that you are away at least then if they have a 'beat' patrol they can check your property

(4) always try and ensure the credentials of any domestic help you have.  Cleaners have eyes and can often spot a weakness in the security of your house and pass the information onto others !!!!.

Thank you Lesjar, very useful info.

Rosiewestie wrote:

My personal point of view is that Mauritius is a very safe place to live with friendly helpful people, it is a melting pot of different Nationalities, but I have to say I have never met an unfriendly local Mauritian, I often get lost driving, sometimes in remote area's and never once have I felt unsafe getting out of the car and asking for directions, in fact in one remote area, the guy actually walked ahead of my car to show me the correct road to get back onto.

Yes I have very occasionally come across "beggars" usually showing a piece of paper stating they are raising money for medical bills, whether this is true or not I usually give some loose change or a small note, not everyone will agree with this but this is what I choose to do.

As in any City in the World keeping yourself safe and being aware of what's going on around you prevails, I believe most crimes here are petty crimes. Of course I would never walk alone in a dark remote place anywhere in the World, this is simply common sense.

For me to sum up Mauritius - Paradise Island, friendly people, quality of life -  I just hope they don't develop too much and that they can kindly and humanely help the street dogs. And yes I feel very safe here

LOL...can you elaborate please?

Ils ont agressé une touriste qui se trouvait sur la plage à Blue Bay, puis ont tenté de s'en prendre à une autre. C'était le 17 novembre 2014. Shakil Gaffar et Jean Achilles Figaro ont été punis pour les deux délits.
Neuf mois après les faits, le couperet est tombé le jeudi 13 août. Les magistrats Niroshini Ramsoondar et Azam Neerooa, siégeant en cour intermédiaire ont été très critiques et sévères dans leur jugement, qualifiant les accusés de ‘prédateurs sexuels' qui sont des menaces pour la société et les femmes. Ils estiment que les accusés ne sont pas en mesure de contrôler leurs pulsions sexuelles et sont irrespectueux envers les femmes, qu'ils ont utilisées comme des « objets sexuels ». Shakil Gaffar et Jean Achilles Figaro se sont tous les deux vu infliger une peine de 15 ans d'emprisonnement pour viol. La victime est une touriste tchèque. Pour attentat à la pudeur sur une touriste française, les magistrats ont infligé une peine de trois ans au premier. Figaro a également écopé de trois ans pour vol. 

La cour a tenu en ligne de compte les circonstances entourant le viol de la touriste tchèque. Celle-ci a été battue par les accusés, qui l'ont ensuite jetée dans une pirogue à moitié nue. Ce 17 novembre 2014, l'étrangère, qui avait loué un bungalow à Pointe d'Esny, s'était rendue sur la plage de Blue Bay pour prendre un bain. Les deux individus l'ont accostée et ont engagé la conversation avec elle. Puis ils l'ont traînée dans la mer où ils ont commis leur forfait. Jean Achilles Figaro a  ensuite fait main basse sur les bijoux de la victime. Un peu plus tard, ils s'en prendront à une touriste française de 35 ans. De même, celle-ci s'était rendue sur la plage pour se baigner. Les accusés l'ont traînée de force dans la mer. Les cris de la femme ont fait fuir ses agresseurs. Mais l'un d'eux aura eu le temps de se livrer à des attouchements sexuels sur elle.

Influence de l'alcool
Shakil Gaffar, 26 ans, et Jean Achilles Figaro, 22 ans, deux Mahébourgeois étaient poursuivis devant la cour intermédiaire. Les deux accusés ont plaidé coupables des charges retenues contre eux. Ils ont avoué leurs délits dans les dépositions lues en cour. Shakil Gaffar a présenté des excuses, arguant qu'au moment des faits, il était sous l'influence de l'alcool. Jean Achilles Figaro a promis de ne pas récidiver.

Il a un casier judiciaire vierge, alors que son compère a un antécédent de vol commis en 2008. Les magistrats ont conclu qu'ils ne pouvaient se montrer indulgents, les délits commis par les accusés étant graves. La cour a rappelé qu'elle a le devoir d'envoyer un signal fort et de protéger la société de ces « prédateurs sexuels ». Les peines seront purgées concurremment. Les 249 jours que Shakil Gaffar a passés en détention préventive seront déduits de sa peine. Pour Jean Achilles Figaro, 232 jours seront déduits de sa condamnation.

women, be careful

Ils ont agressé une touriste qui se trouvait sur la plage à Blue Bay, puis ont tenté de s'en prendre à une autre. C'était le 17 novembre 2014. Shakil Gaffar et Jean Achilles Figaro ont été punis pour les deux délits.
Neuf mois après les faits, le couperet est tombé le jeudi 13 août. Les magistrats Niroshini Ramsoondar et Azam Neerooa, siégeant en cour intermédiaire ont été très critiques et sévères dans leur jugement, qualifiant les accusés de ‘prédateurs sexuels' qui sont des menaces pour la société et les femmes. Ils estiment que les accusés ne sont pas en mesure de contrôler leurs pulsions sexuelles et sont irrespectueux envers les femmes, qu'ils ont utilisées comme des « objets sexuels ». Shakil Gaffar et Jean Achilles Figaro se sont tous les deux vu infliger une peine de 15 ans d'emprisonnement pour viol. La victime est une touriste tchèque. Pour attentat à la pudeur sur une touriste française, les magistrats ont infligé une peine de trois ans au premier. Figaro a également écopé de trois ans pour vol. 

La cour a tenu en ligne de compte les circonstances entourant le viol de la touriste tchèque. Celle-ci a été battue par les accusés, qui l'ont ensuite jetée dans une pirogue à moitié nue. Ce 17 novembre 2014, l'étrangère, qui avait loué un bungalow à Pointe d'Esny, s'était rendue sur la plage de Blue Bay pour prendre un bain. Les deux individus l'ont accostée et ont engagé la conversation avec elle. Puis ils l'ont traînée dans la mer où ils ont commis leur forfait. Jean Achilles Figaro a  ensuite fait main basse sur les bijoux de la victime. Un peu plus tard, ils s'en prendront à une touriste française de 35 ans. De même, celle-ci s'était rendue sur la plage pour se baigner. Les accusés l'ont traînée de force dans la mer. Les cris de la femme ont fait fuir ses agresseurs. Mais l'un d'eux aura eu le temps de se livrer à des attouchements sexuels sur elle.

Influence de l'alcool
Shakil Gaffar, 26 ans, et Jean Achilles Figaro, 22 ans, deux Mahébourgeois étaient poursuivis devant la cour intermédiaire. Les deux accusés ont plaidé coupables des charges retenues contre eux. Ils ont avoué leurs délits dans les dépositions lues en cour. Shakil Gaffar a présenté des excuses, arguant qu'au moment des faits, il était sous l'influence de l'alcool. Jean Achilles Figaro a promis de ne pas récidiver.

Il a un casier judiciaire vierge, alors que son compère a un antécédent de vol commis en 2008. Les magistrats ont conclu qu'ils ne pouvaient se montrer indulgents, les délits commis par les accusés étant graves. La cour a rappelé qu'elle a le devoir d'envoyer un signal fort et de protéger la société de ces « prédateurs sexuels ». Les peines seront purgées concurremment. Les 249 jours que Shakil Gaffar a passés en détention préventive seront déduits de sa peine. Pour Jean Achilles Figaro, 232 jours seront déduits de sa condamnation.

Please can you translate as I do not speak French

Rosiewestie wrote:

Please can you translate as I do not speak French

I doubt that you will get it since the poster did a "cut and paste" from a French news source 
It is about the  two men raping and beating up a Czech tourist in Pointe d'Esny last year . They have been found guilty and it is prison time for them.

Rosiewestie wrote:

Please can you translate as I do not speak French

They attacked a tourist who was on the beach in Blue Bay, and then tried to blame another. It was November 17, 2014. Shakil Gaffar and Jean Achilles Figaro were punished for both offenses.
Nine months after the incident, the ax fell Thursday, August 13th. Magistrates Niroshini Ramsoondar and Azam Neerooa, sitting as Intermediate Court were very critical and harsh in their judgment, calling them accused of 'sexual predators' who are threats to society and women. They believe that the accused are not able to control their sexual urges and are disrespectful to women, they used as "sex objects." Shakil Gaffar and Jean Achilles Figaro are both received a sentence of 15 years imprisonment for rape. The victim is a Czech tourist. For indecent assault on a French tourist, the judges imposed a sentence of three years in the first. Figaro was also sentenced to three years for theft.

The court held into account the circumstances of the rape of the Czech tourist. It was beaten by the accused, who were then thrown into a half-naked canoe. This Nov. 17, 2014, the stranger, who had rented a bungalow in Pointe d'Esny, had visited the Blue Bay beach to take a bath. The two individuals have approached and engaged her in conversation. Then they dragged her into the sea where they committed their crime. Jean Achilles Figaro then made off with the jewels of the victim. Later, they went to take a French tourist 35 years. Likewise, it had gone to the beach to swim. The accused forcibly dragged into the sea. The woman's screams scared off his attackers. But one of them has had time to engage in sexual touching her.

Influence of alcohol
Gaffar Shakil, 26, and Jean Achilles Figaro, 22, Mahébourgeois two were prosecuted in the intermediate court. Both accused pleaded guilty to the charges against them. They confessed their crimes in the statements read in court. Gaffar Shakil apologized, saying that at the material, he was under the influence of alcohol. Jean Achilles Figaro promised not to reoffend.

It's totally irresponsible and reckless to say that Mauritius is a paradise island.

Women are constantly raped

children are sexually abused

corruption is rife rampant

pollution everywhere

druggies in large numbers

crimes on the rise

women are killed in their own houses

tourist women attacked and raped and killed

people are killed for very little things

of course, shit happens everywhere in the world, but definitely, mauritius is not the paradise like island it used to be

Vedan, you are absolutely wrong.

you live in a small village chemin grenier and you have no clue

don't mislead

Dear Salinae,

You copy paste an article from the media.
News sell and the crimes you cited are serious ones by all means.
Of course crime rates are on the increase not only in Mauritius BUT around the world too.
I still feel much safer here than in Europe.
For your information, Chemin Grenier is NOT a small village. It is probably the third largest in Mauritius!

Regards
Vedan

I feel safe when I visit Mauritius I think Mauritius has the typical petty crime but not violent (like here in South Africa).

Hi,

Frankly thinking, Mauritius is 60% safe the one's who find it 95% may I say lucky for them. Good to be here for holidays but if you are planning to move in. This place trust me can for sure become boring to the borns. How much of beach roasting and sea sports a person can do?   This is from my experience a mother with two teenagers and an 8 year old.

Hi,
Mauritius is safe as it has a stable political and social environment.
During the day and during the night in crowded places you can walk safely but not at night. I think this is a safety rule for every country.
I do think that the level of education is low here.

Thank you.

sonyasira wrote:

Hi,

Frankly thinking, Mauritius is 60% safe the one's who find it 95% may I say lucky for them. Good to be here for holidays but if you are planning to move in. This place trust me can for sure become boring to the borns. How much of beach roasting and sea sports a person can do?   This is from my experience a mother with two teenagers and an 8 year old.

And your point is ?

Some like being a lobster on the beach and the reason they move here.
Some come because they have got employment which they won't have in their country .
Some come because  they can live like kings with their income - maids, gardeners, driver and nannies.
Some have to follow their spouse and then they find that it is boring  since they don't know what to do with their time -  modus operandi of any expat spouse  in any country in the world, whether it is a puny island or a land mass like Australia, Russia, US of A or Canada .
That's why you have to do your research before moving .

Thank you for translating Salinae

Rosiewestie wrote:

Thank you for translating Salinae

Dear Rosiewestie

You are most welcome and sisterhood will ensure we are safe

Vedan wrote:

Dear Salinae,

You copy paste an article from the media.
News sell and the crimes you cited are serious ones by all means.
Of course crime rates are on the increase not only in Mauritius BUT around the world too.
I still feel much safer here than in Europe.
For your information, Chemin Grenier is NOT a small village. It is probably the third largest in Mauritius!

Regards
Vedan

Yes, I did copy and paste the news article, so what's wrong?

Your understanding of paradise is obviously very different to mine.. your belief seems to be that of a 70 year old man still lost int he time warp.

the gap between the haves and havenots, the poor and the wealthy is so wide that social unrest, tension and communal jealousy is inevitable.

As I have said before, shit happens all over the world, but to say Mauritius is a paradise is totally irresponsible and reckless.

Read my comments again if you have missed my point.

btw, chemin grenier is, in my humble opinion, an isolated, undeveloped and obscure village.

What is wrong with your cut-and-paste post, you asked, Salinae?

1.  You posted in French on an Anglophone forum.

2.  Lack of attribution of source.

3.  You posted it twice, confusing readers and wasting their time.

4.  You disparaged 70-year-old men.

cccmedia in Ecuador

Hello Dear,

You have clearly explained what I meant. Whether it's a copy paste or not. It's still the fact that there is hidden crime going on. Also most of it does not come out open in media. Such as international news and I don't understand why such hypocrisy. People need to know!!!

Yikes, a lot of depressing reading on this forum. My husband is half Mauritian and we are planning to move next year as he likely has work in cyber city.
We aren't expecting it to be paradise island, in fact most of our time before in mauritius has been spent with his family.
I am, however, quite worried about all this as it is a big thing for me. My husband has not spent a lot of time in mauritius, and me hardly any time at all. I know that break-in's are fairly common place, but it is the aspect of violence that worries me most. Considering mauritius has such a small population, some of the things said on this forum would amount to a fairly high crime rate.
Are there any young females out there who can perhaps give me a more positive view of their lives on the island?
Also, is there an area known to be a 'safe' area to live in?
Thank you all.

I am a respectable elderly person who is respectful of everybody regardless their AGE, race, sex, creed or religion.
Reproducing a news clip to highlight the safety of women is not a waste of time nor is it a “crime” with no citations. For God's sake, I am not writing another doctoral thesis. Even blind Freddy would have known that the article has been reproduced. Of course, English is not your forte.
When I was a teen, my QEC friends and I used to go to Grand Baie and enjoy ourselves without fear of being raped, molested or assaulted. We could even walk the unlit streets to reach Pereybere where we slept on the hot sandy beach watching the beautiful sun go down and woke up with the rising sun with all its splendours.
We could even go for a swim and leave behind our belongings.
If you go to Grand Baie nowadays at night, you are more likely to be confronted by drug pushers, drug addicts, by pimps exploiting vulnerable women, rapists. The beach is no longer the blue lagoon it used to be. Syringes littered everywhere.
Neighbors, unlike today's ones, were real neighbors, kind and helpful.
We could even walk at night to go and see movies and walk back home without fear.
We could go and smell the unpollluted sea at La Saline, but not anymore with all the tuna canning factories.
Those were the days when you could say Mauritius was a paradise like island.
Not any more, sadly. It makes me weep when people are still calling Mauritius a paradise.

Times have changed and our mindset must change.

Sigh.
Thank you all. Perhaps it's time to reconsider my husband's job offer. We will have some long talks!

I wouldn't not come to Mauritius solely on what has been read here. Should I not move to Bristol because judging by what I could google on UK crimes databases, bristols drug related crimes per 100 people is higher than the UK average, or anti social behavior crimes per 100 people is higher than the UK average, same for robbery, same for shoplifting, vehicle crime and sexual offence crimes, all higher than the UK national average.

At the end of the day you will find mauritius to be somewhere between the hell hole that some wish to describe it as, versus the utopian paradise it is often described as. My wife, myself, my 4 year old and 2 year old moved from Australia to mauritius in 2013. We live in black River which is in the west with many other expats. It is an amazing place to raise small children, things to do outside of work are plenty, you will meet many like minded people wherever you live if you're looking for common ground, and many people from vastly different backgrounds also. There is no rat race here, the pace is different to other first world countries but not so slow that the cost of doing business is prohibitive.

When people come to visit us we are proud to show off the best that mauritius has to offer, and we show it with pride.

In summer the humidity is extreme if hire used to dry 40 degree heat like us, the winters are perfect, you get cyclone season early in the year which means kids get some time off school, but nothing has happened for years now luckily.

Driving is atrocious, but you get used to the local rules (and non rules), just like all other local "norms" that people either adjust to, or they dont.

The political scandals/nepotism/favoritism are more amusing to me personally than anything else, but the lack of political vision is holding back a country that is well educated, multi skilled and multi lingual.

Health care is at best acceptable in our opinion compared to Australia and we've had our fair share of issues with bub #2, local clinics are poor because local talent work OS and imported labour are poorly paid. If and when you get here I can recommend good health practitioners on the island.

Everything else you will pick up along the way, just like those who have come before you; learning as you go is the fun part.

Not coming at all you will regret.

Well said Gronk !!

I have to agree with you and also I know Bristol well, just like I know many area's of England.

Cleo82 - I think you need to rethink your decision on not coming here - you must come, it is a beautiful Island with in my opinion a low crime rate - Mainly petty crime - I felt safe in England but I feel even safer here in Mauritius and the quality of life we have here cannot compete with the UK.

Go for it, try it for a year, rent your UK house out and in one year you decide here is not for you then go back but I bet you decide to stay

Good luck with your decision making

Thank you so much Rosiewestie and Gronk for your reasoned and rational responses. You are both completely right, I would regrt it, and I have to say, after calming down from the prospect of being raped/mauled by rabid dogs/drowned/beaten/robbed every time I walk out the door, I was a little sceptical of the hysteria on here.
I am from London, a dangeous city at times, and think if I managed to live there fear-free for most of my life then I will be fine. Bristol for the most part annoys me anyway.
It is also wonderful to hear of how happy your children are here, Gronk.
Thank you both for giving me a realistic view of your lives.