New members of the Vanuatu forum, introduce yourself here

Hi there, we go surfing regularly we mainly go to Pango but is a reef break that you can only surf at high tide or there is another place out of town called shark bay which is a beach break. My kids and husband go every weekend and even I attempted it the other week lol...
Hope you find accommodation.... Pango is about 7mins by car to the hospital hahahahahah we have timed ourselves as we live in this area of town and have recently brought land out that way
We love Vanuatu, yep it does have its days but I believe it's what you make of it and we have made some pretty special friendships here and have some amazing memories!!
If your wanting any info or want to catch up for a coffee feel free to inbox me

Hi everyone,
                     I will in Vanuatu in August for a month to finish my Bungalow in North Efate( Emua Village) and hope to make some new friends while im there. (Drop me a line if your about 596 6802 if it still works,if not will post new number)

My plan is to make more frequent trips to Vanuatu and eventually relocate,I work in the Film industry in Sydney so that keeps me very busy.

Look forward to meeting you all.

Regards
Marty.

Hello all,

We have been travelling back and forth to Vila for 10years now and are looking at moving in the next year or so. I am a school teacher and also own a Kumon franchise. I would live to continue my teaching career wherever I will be required. Our youngest daughter will be in year 9 and from talking to Faye Taylor a few years ago, I was told that she may need to complete years 11 & 12 by correspondence hmmm not sure !!

However the quality of our lives will be so much better, we'll have time, warmer weather all year round and good educational cultural experience for the girls.

Hi Guys n Girls, We are Wayne & Elena. We're currently in Brisbane and are buying a property a few km up the road from Lope Lope Lodge on Espritu Santo. We've had 4 trips to Vanuatu over the last 9 months and are keen to hear any tips and tricks that may help us on our slow transition to our slice of paradise. You'll find us open, honest, loyal and house trained (we may need a rental house before we build).... here's to friends:)

Greetings All,
My name is Mick,. and I have accompanied my wife to Villa for a year as she works as a volunteer pharmacist with Ministry of Health.  I need to find something gainful to do here.  I am not looking for a paid job, we are retired and self funded, so not looking for money.  I have spent most of my life in the IT industry , largely on big systems, but recently spent 18 months managing the IT system for a school in Africa.   My main passion is aviation - apart from flying myself, I have been building sports aircraft for the past ten years.  So if anyone needs a hand to do something, let me know, it won't cost you much.
Cheers,
Mick

Hi there,
My wife and I are seriously considering a move to Vanuatu with our 2 daughters 3 and 5. We would probably be looking at investing in our own business (yet to be determined but we have a few ideas). We have a lot of researching to do before we commit to the move. My wife's parents lived in Vanuatu years ago when she was a young girl for a couple of years and loved it. Obviously things have moved on however when we last did a family holiday there it was still very enticing as a lifestyle and place to live. We love the tropics and being in the islands. Maybe someone could advise the requirements to live and work in Vanuatu? Visa? Limitations (like in UK there was a 2 year working visa or 4 year ancestory visa). 
Cheers
Mike

Hi All

My Wife and I are moving to Vanuatu in February 2015 and running our business via the internet.

We are semi retired and live on the Gold Coast Queensland.

We like golf, fishing, snorkelling and seafood and drinks.

Could you please assist by advising the best areas to enjoy these things. A beachfront home of 2-3 bedrooms would be great as we will rent for 6 months before deciding what to do after that. We will come over for a week at Christmas to check out any suggestions. All leads or tips very much appreciated.

Thank you

Kind Regards

Kerry

My name is Jenny. I'm a special education teacher from Australia. My husband is a GCPA accountant. We are in our early 40s and are keen to move to Vanuatu. Any tips on job hunting would be greatly appreciated.

I am so glad to have found this site. I am a Canadian citizen living in Ottawa Canada and attended   Central Primary in the late 70's. After over 30 years, I finally have a chance to go back and visit Port Vila in a few weeks time (Nov 2014), so excited!!! One of the things I would love to do is visit my old school since I have such fond memories from there.

Can anyone provide me with contact information for the school or how to best go about setting up a visit? I also plan on bringing with me some school supplies if this is appropriate. 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Hi All

I am moving to Port Vila in early November. Looking forward to a change from NZ.

I like mountain biking, freediving and surfing... as well as most outdoor activities and being warm.

I am wondering if there is anywhere in Port Vila to buy a bike? I don't care if it's old, I just like cycling as a way to get around.  (I will deal with the muddy roads, pot holes and hills as they come)

Also, is it common to share a house with other people, or would I pretty much have to look at hiring a little apartment myself? I have been browsing online, and they all look a bit sterile for my liking....

looking forward to hearing from you guys
Sofia

Hi All

I was wondering what the situation is on buying a car in Vanuatu.?

Best type, w4d?, prices, quality, new or SH, etc.

Any assistance greatly appreciated.

Regards
Kerry

[Moderated : No free ads on the forum, please register yourself in our directory]

Hi All,

Back in Vanuatu and looking for vehicles and a rental house
Vehicle might be car, quad bike or motor bike.
Rental house would be 2 to 3 bed, aircon and a pool if possible. It may be a holiday rental that also needs some maintenance which we could do while there.

Drop us a line when convenient.

hi kerry
we will be in MELE all of Jan as we are renovating our house
we have a 3brm house on very  large block,200mtrs to beach,200mtrs to supermarket,swimming pool within gated community but still on bitumen rd.
regards
Kevin

G'day all.

Considering moving to Vanuatu at the end of 2015, I have travelled there and seen many of the islands, thinking I would live in Port Villa.

Here in Australia I am a Financial Planner and Treasurer for the Chamber of Commerce in my area. Ex-Army and love the outdoors.
Absolutely love jet ski's/Zego's, kayaking, zip lines and abseiling.

Although I have travelled overseas plenty, I have never worked or lived outside Australia, so I'm not really sure what I need to start my new life. (How/where to get a job, where to live, how much money do I need etc)

Any advice is welcome, I know I have a lot of reading to do before I start planning.

Hi All
Looking at leaving the rat race,so considering relocating to Vanuatu but of course I need a source of income. Any advise on employment and/ or business opportunities would be appreciated. I visited Port Villa a couple of times but I am also interested in Luganville. Again any advise as which of these locations would be best to derive income would be appreciated. I grew up on the land but have owned and run a Fitness centre for the last 18yrs so any opportunities involved with agriculture or Fitness would be suitable.
I have also been studying aquaculture which is a new very exciting developing industry.

Cheers

Farm boy. There is a fitness centre for sale in Port Vila- Fit for Life gym. See Professionals real estate for the listing.

Hi Sousgreen

Thanks for that info and will look it up.

cheers

Just to let you know that the person who owned that gym no doubt had a very high price on it as they did with all the other things they owned so if you are interested understand it's true worth rather than what the seller thought they might get for it:)

Hi Farmboy,

I too was about to mention the Fir For Life Business for sale in Vila. Contact Jude at L J Hooker for any leads into purchasing a business. She is wonderful and has been of great help to us over the years. Good on you for leaving the " rat race". We've been saying this for 10 years and still haven't done it...
Best of Wishes
MG

Hi Marie
I would love to go now but I have convince my wife. We have had a corrupt accountant cause us to loose nearly everything and I am still fighting him in court. He was a business partner and the accountant for business a bad combination. He is now operating out of HuaHin Thailand. You can read about the issues on my blog myclubmetrojourney.blogspot.com.au

What Bukura said is true and yes Jude would be helpful for advice as to what you should offer for that business or any other

Hi everyone,
I'm an Australian that has lived in Vanuatu but currently residing in Australia. Look forward to chatting with people here. I make bi-annual trips to Vanuatu and enjoy keeping up with all things Pacific in the meantime.

Farmboy, I did notice online today that the gymnasium was for sale. Just a thought. Not sure of the situation or if it's still available. Good luck.

Edited to add: I see others have also suggested this

Hi everyone, thought I should come in here to "introduce" myself.

I am Susan from Australia and have been to Port Vila 7 times in the past few years. We love the place and call it our 2nd home. As a photographer I have volunteered while there and linked in with some very special families.

We are seriously considering a short term living period in Port Vila from mid December this year. Our 2 children - aged 15 and almost 13 at the time - will also be with us. As I won't be working or the girls at school (they are going to do an arrangement with their current school) I would love to connect with others.

How would you all say is best to meet others in Port Vila? Both locals and ex-pats. Any sporting clubs etc? Does the local gym offer yoga or Pilates at all?

It's great to read through this forum and see what people make happen.

Thanks, Susan

Hello,

I am new to Expat.com. My wife (Darleen) and I are planning to establish a residential base in Vanuatu in the next few years. We visited Vanuatu in Nov 2013, and are going again in May 2015 to gather more information. Love to catch up with anyone living in Vanuatu when we are there 16-25 May 2015, to share in your experiences and listen to any words of advice, over a cocktail!

Thanks Scott

Hi Scott, what a shame we arrive just days after you depart! We plan to live in Vila for 4-6 months from December this year. Things are slowly progressing as we start our journey to finding a residence (we plan to purchase eventually).
All the best with your plans!

Hello all, we are the Ward family. Mike, Ella and our little 7 year old Sarah. We have lived in Port Vila,Vanuatu on and off for 5 years. Working for others and even owning a bakery. We left last year but now are returning to live and work there permanently, as we missed it terribly. At the moment we are stuck in Brisbane waiting to see if we can fly out Sunday,due to the terrible cyclone Pam situation. We hope everyone and everything will be ok and people stay safe.

Hi,
I'm a journalist with the Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail.
I'm keen to talk to anyone living in Vanuatu or is visiting Australia from Vanuatu please.
You can contact me via [email protected]
Many thanks
Daryl

Hi, my Name is Musheer at present i am living in Karachi - Pakistan, I am a Business person, Want to do Business in your country & is there any  Pakistani person live in Vanuatu, please send me his contact details.

Best Regards

Musheer


{Moderated by Kenjee
Reason: Please avoid giving over personal contact infos on a public forum}

Hi,
Just wondering if you still live at Pango?  we have just bought land there and are coming over in early June to try and arrange some clearing and I was wondering if you knew of any local boys who may be available to help out? we had arranged for it to happen in April by some Mele boys but that fell through because of cyc Pam.
Any info would be greatly appreciated. Also my son loves his surfing and he is going over in Aug /Sept would be great for him to have a contact there if thats ok

Thanks,
Lynne

Hi Lynne, I read your post and thought that this other site might assist you:

http://traceyslist.invanuatu.net

It is an email mailing list that might reach a wider audience. I have loved seeing what people are doing, selling etc through this.

All the best! Susan

Dear All

This is a gentle reminder that this thread is specially dedicated for the presentation of our new members

Should you have any query or looking for any kind of information, I would invite you to start a new thread on the Vanuatu forum! 

Thanks & Regards

Mishna

Hi All,

I am moving to Vanuatu with my wife and 2 kids for working on a construction project.
I don't know what to expect and I would really like to get more info about accommodation, the cost of living and socializing my 3yo and 6mo kids.
We have travelled extensively so we feel we wont get much culture shock from the basic living conditions but regardless any info about what we should expect and what we should bring with us would be appreciated.

Regards,

James and Sandy

Hello Everyone,
I am looking to move to Vanautu ASAP. My background is in IT - Information Security and Risk Management /. probably not much call for it in Vanuatu.
I also, run yumiwebsolutions.com a website development , content management and  social media development company. I am open to partnership/business opportunities.   
Alternatively, I am could  obtain employment somewhere in IT.

Welcome feedback.

Regards
Alan

Hello Everyone,

Hope you are well! 

I am a newbie! I'm not an expat yet but I'm moving to Vanuatu hopefully in a few weeks.

I am Beng and I'm from Manila. I have recently accepted an employment offer to work in Port Vila for a contract period of 2 yrs and I'm just waiting for my documents to be finalized. I was advised that I'd probably fly out by end of June  and so I would like to check what are the things I need to know and prepare for when moving to Port Vila. I'm so grateful that I got a lot of useful information from this forum! Although if anyone wants to share any info or personal experience, I would very much appreciate it!

Thank you and God bless!!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Regards,
Beng

Dear All,

I am a Bangladeshi. I have 24 years of development job experience in the field of Education/TVET including working experiences with the UN, government as an international expert. I did my Masters( Educational Administration and Public Administration and PhD in Education). I have completed TAFE-Australia level 4 qualification  on TVET training and assessment. I am looking for a job in Vanuatu in the field of education and/or TVET. Recently I have completed international NGO job in Sudan.

Regards

Kabir
Bangladesh

Hi all,

I am a Filipino citizen, almost 50 years old.  I worked in Papua New Guinea for the last ten years as an accountant.  Currently I am in Manila because my employment contract as well as work permit/visa has expired.  I am a CPA, and looking for possible job preferably in Vanuatu.

Any help from the community will be very much appreciated.

Regards,
Rey

Hi all

I have just moved to port vila for a 2 year project!  Beautiful country so far and it is amazing to be here. Im from south africa and this is my first time in a new country. Ive come alone knowing no one and starting with a new company.

Would be nice to meet and make new friends here.

Looking forward for my stay in Vanuatu!