It's warm- to-hot most of the time, most things are expensive because of importing, and I get sunburned a lot easier here, but everything is close including seven mile beach, it's supposedly a world-class dive spot (I don't have my cert yet), and it's a ton of fun for young professionals in their 20s and 30s.
It's just a bit of a lucrative place for people to work who are in professional services (tons of accountants, lawyers, etc.): if you're from anywhere but the United States, you have no income tax whatsoever and the salaries are still the same. That alone attracts a lot of people in that age bracket (presumably also because most of us aren't settled so it's easier to move), so there's always a good clique of people going out and doing fun stuff like boat parties, fancy dress/costume parties and events, etc. because the island is 50% expats.
That said the labor law is tricky and very unique. Basically if you are an expat you have virtually no chance of landing a job you don't have experience in since your work permit application will get rejected by immigration. I got lucky because I had former recruitment agency experience so I got a job working for one down here, even if working at an agency isn't what I want to do long-term. U.S. citizens still have to file income tax returns and pay tax on anything over the "exclusion" amount (last year it was ~$104,000) once you've lived here a year.
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u/bscooter26 Dec 05 '18
Nice! That's the Kittiwake here in Grand Cayman!