Quote Originally Posted by eddiemingus View Post
This is an interesting thread I got my residency almost two years ago. That in itself was a total nightmare. The thing about jamaica is you can live here 25 years and even get citizenship but you will never be a jamaican or accepted as one. You will have ja friends who will say you are and treat you that way but when you are alone you are just another white man. Aubee is the one who shared that thought with me and a few others. It's not easy to live here kinda like Tombstone in the 1800s. Don't be fooled by all the smiling faces it's a very very hard life here for jamaicans 99% of them would leave here in a heart beat and never return. Just some thoughts from a tired old man trying to survive in an insane world.
Thank you for putting into words almost exactly my thoughts on living here in Jamaica... especially rural Jamaica.

Same here... about 25 years and blessed with very good friends but could only really count on one or two if it was me that needed the help they expect from me. This is not putting Jamaica or Jamaicans down. It is just a fact IMHO that Jamaica runs like a clunky old piece of machinery. It sputters and spits but it keeps grinding on with some crazy form of precision. Jamaicans have learned over the years to adapt to differences that we as outsiders will never truly understand.

I am told nearly daily that I am "almost" a Jamaican because I have learned how to adapt to rural Jamaican life. My word is not given often but when I do, I follow through at whatever cost. I have pretty much learned when to bite my tongue and agree with a nod even when I don't really agree. These are not things that can be mastered with only casual contact a couple of times a year just like with our friends back home.

I favor the idea of more people coming to Jamaica to live as long as they come with their eyes wide open and not mesmerized by Robinson Crusoe inspired ideas of living off the land and having a man Friday. Every year I return I know of more people getting VISAs and leaving Jamaica and most are more educated and better off than the ones that can't qualify. That void needs to be filled by people from affaren who have those skill sets.

I am satisfied to spend my up to 6 months a year here in Jamaica and the remainder on the beautiful East Coast of Florida.

Peace and Guidance