Hello Grand Cayman

As you may have noticed from my shameless social media bragging over the last fortnight, I eventually made it to the Cayman Islands after the longest visa processing delay in global immigration history (well, that's what it felt like).

After a three month wait for my visa, on 27 May 2016 I finally departed Australian soil and set out for the Caribbean. So how, I hear you ask, did I even get here? Well that, unfortunately for you dear reader, is a 30 hour story.

Tragically for Australians, while there are a surprising number of cities in the US with direct flights to Grand Cayman, none of those are cities to which you can fly directly from Sydney. If you are in the market for a stop over from the US, you'll be pleased to know you can get to Grand Cayman from Miami (1.5 hours), New York (4 hours), Houston (2 hours, 15 minutes) and Chicago (3 hours, 15 minutes) among several others. However, en route from Sydney one must find a way to one of these airports from LA, San Francisco or Dallas. For a brief few months of the year, you can fly direct from Dallas to Grand Cayman, however those flight times in no way line up conveniently with the arrival times of the Sydney > Dallas flight.

The easiest route from Sydney is Sydney > LAX > Miami > Grand Cayman.

You get a thrilling layover in LA where you have to collect your baggage, clear customs and check your bags back in again at the transfer desk (whoever thought putting the baggage transfer desk at THE TOP of a steep ramp is nothing short of sadistic - my trolley loaded high with 4 suitcases almost took me back down with it), then sprint to the next terminal over to go back through security in an unrealistically small time frame and hope your visa paperwork is in order so they let you on the plane.

Needless to say, by the time I landed in Grand Cayman (after the Miami flight was changed to a different plane, which was then stuck on the tarmac for 2 hours), I was a mere Gem-shaped shell dragging my suitcases behind me.

However after all of that, things started to look up as I was met at the airport by two colleagues who promptly whisked me away for welcome cocktails!

So, now that you all know how to come and visit me, please form an orderly queue here....

Goodbye Sydney

Any day now, I am relocating from busy city life in Sydney, Australia to George Town on Grand Cayman, in the Cayman Islands.

By and large the reactions of friends and family to this news has been a several-stage process, which goes something like:
1. Yay, you got a new job!
2. No! You're leaving?
3. Wow, the Cayman Islands!
4. Hang on, where are the Cayman Islands?

So I thought I would start this little blog experiment (it remains to be seen how long I can keep it up) by setting out a little bit of information about the Cayman Islands from my extensive (but unsurprising if you've met me) research prior to making this decision. I also need some place to share this otherwise-completely-useless knowledge with the world.

The Cayman Islands is a tiny archipelago of 3 islands in the Caribbean, sitting between the East coast of Mexico, Cuba and Jamaica. It's about an hour's flight from Miami, Florida.

 
The largest of the 3 islands is Grand Cayman, and it is flanked by two smaller islands, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, which are former British colonies and now known as British Overseas Territories. They have a Governor, appointed by the Queen, but have their own parliament.

The population of all three islands is a whopping 55,000ish people meaning there are more registered businesses on the island (over 95,000) than humans. Many of these businesses are banks, making the Cayman Islands the fifth largest financial centre in the world. One five storey building in George Town, Ugland House, has over 18,000 businesses registered at that address. Apparently everyone loves a tax free low-visibility jurisdiction!

Weather wise, the Cayman Islands are a balmy 26-30 degrees year-around. They don't really have a spring or autumn, just a hot, wet summer and then a hot, dry winter. However, if you are feeling jealous about this weather, bear in mind that summer is hurricane season (I will do a separate post when I set up my hurricane survival kit!) plus humidity in summer will be about a thousand per cent, so my hair is going to be a hot mess.

For the time being, I will enjoy my hair straightener while it works and pack up my lightweight corporate wear for what I anticipate will be the longest and most inconvenient flight path on the planet, from Sydney to Grand Cayman....