{"id":87,"date":"2014-07-31T06:37:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-31T06:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/life-in-the-cayman-islands"},"modified":"2014-11-25T10:24:52","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T10:24:52","slug":"life-in-the-cayman-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/life-in-the-cayman-islands","title":{"rendered":"Life in the Cayman Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"

A comprehensive guide to living in the Cayman Islands in association with Cayman-based recruitment agency SteppingStones.<\/em><\/p>\n

Area<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Cayman Islands are located in the Western Caribbean 480 miles south of Miami, Florida and 180 miles west of Jamaica. The Cayman Islands are made up of three islands, Grand Cayman (75 square miles), Cayman Brac (15 square miles) and Little Cayman (11 square miles). The terrain is flat with the highest point, the Bluff in the Brac, just 140 feet.<\/p>\n

Climate<\/strong><\/p>\n

The average temperature is 85 degrees Fahrenheit, with the warmest temperatures around 93 degrees and the coolest 58 degrees. It rains heavily in spells between May and November and the average total rainfall per year is approximately 65 inches. Some days are sunny with a few clouds; otherwise there is perpetual sunshine during daylight hours.<\/p>\n

Standard of Living:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currency<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cayman Islands currency is the Cayman Islands dollar (CI$), divided into 100 cents. The CI$ is pegged to the US$ at CI$1.00=US$1.20 by agreement through the international monetary fund. Both CI$ and US$ are accepted at local restaurants and stores but US$ maybe accepted at a less favourable rate of exchange.<\/p>\n

Accommodation<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are numerous real estate agents that deal with rental properties but a generally helpful agent would be Amber at Century 21 www.century21cayman.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition extensive listings can be found in the local newspapers. The Caymanian Compass runs classified advertisements daily, with the Friday issue of the Compass usually having the best selection. The Cayman Net News also runs classifieds and can also be accessed online www.caymannetnews.com<\/a> and the compass is also online www.caycompass.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Activities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Water sports, in particular scuba diving and sailing are popular. As Cayman is encircled by reefs, scuba diving is highly developed and is known as one of the top dive destinations in the world. Scuba equipment is more costly here than in the US but comparable to the UK. There is a very active sailing club which organises many races, regattas and social events.<\/p>\n

There are also cycling, soccer\/football, tennis, squash, basketball, netball, cricket, rugby, running, badminton, softball and many other associations that welcome new members. There are two golf courses, an amateur dramatics society and a National Choir and many clubs and bars that have live bands and music till the early hours.<\/p>\n

Full service fitness gyms include Gold Gym, World Gym and King’s Gym that offer monthly to annual membership.<\/p>\n

There is a local cable TV station and satellite receivers are commonly used; “BBC World” is available 24 hours a day. Grand Cayman has a twin cinema and there are many video and DVD rental outlets. There are numerous radio stations, one of which is Government owned. The BBC World service is available through Radio Cayman relays at certain times of the day on short wave.<\/p>\n

Schools<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Cayman Islands Government operates a number of primary and secondary schools; however because of limited space in the primary schools, non-Caymanian children have to be enrolled in private schools.<\/p>\n

Cayman has a strong Christian heritage and many of the schools were started by churches in the formative years. A list of schools are as follows:<\/p>\n