{"id":34536,"date":"2021-03-25T13:33:09","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T13:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shefnews.co.uk\/?p=34536"},"modified":"2021-03-25T13:33:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T13:33:09","slug":"moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Covid-19 spread through the world at an alarming pace last year Barbados was praised for having one of the best responses to the pandemic.<\/p>\n

In an unusual move the government invited travellers to work remotely on the island using the Barbados Welcome Stamp\u00a0 special visas.<\/p>\n

The programme was announced on June 30 2020 when the island had zero cases allowing people from across the world to escape coronavirus and relocate for a maximum of 12 months.<\/p>\n

Ruby Oluoch, Minnesota, USA, who successfully applied for a visa, said: \u201cTo temporarily relocate to Barbados was the single best decision I\u2019ve ever made in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old left her Minneapolis home in December 2020 to escape the winter and the racial tension, following the death of George Floyd, which sparked protests worldwide.<\/p>\n

Ms Oluoch said: \u201cThe racial situation is a completely different experience in Barbados, and as a black woman, it has been extremely positive for my mental and emotional well-being.<\/p>\n

“I would tell anybody thinking of doing the same thing to just do it. Just buy the ticket.”<\/p>\n

\"Ruby

Ruby on a fishing trip with Eclipse Fishing Charters<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Following an outbreak of Covid-19, the island reported 100 confirmed cases for the first time on January 6 this year, and Barbados went into a ‘National Pause’, where\u00a0locals and ex-pats were confined to their homes under strict lockdown measures.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Lopez,\u00a0 35, who moved to Barbados with her family in October 2020, but has found the island\u2019s restrictions this year particularly challenging.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201c\u2018It was really great the first couple of months. We met friends here, we were seeing things around the island. But the lockdown has had not a great impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November 2020, Mrs Lopez\u2019s youngest children were attending school locally, but they were closed in January.<\/p>\n

With four kids at home \u2013 two of which are pre-schoolers, Mrs Lopez and her husband found juggling remote working and home-life challenging.<\/p>\n

Mrs Lopez, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said: \u201cMy husband and I can\u2019t always take them to the beach during the allocated times because we both work full-time. It\u2019s been hard balancing our schedules accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/a>

Elizabeth Lopez’s two youngest, on their way to school in November<\/p><\/div>\n

Gordon Seale, a beach resort owner, said: \u201cIf we continue to say that people have to go into quarantine, you can forget tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 15 recorded cases on March 23 2021, certain restrictions on the island have been relaxed this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hear from ex-pats about their experience living in Caribbean during a global pandemic. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":185,"featured_media":34566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43,21],"tags":[172,10,202],"class_list":["post-34536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-news","tag-barbados","tag-covid-19","tag-travel"],"yoast_head":"\nEx-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19 - ShefNews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Barbados has opened its doors for anyone to work remotely. This is what current expats had to say about their time on the island.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19 - ShefNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Barbados has opened its doors for anyone to work remotely. This is what current expats had to say about their time on the island.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ShefNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-25T13:33:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"joa18lt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"joa18lt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"joa18lt\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9f7da211ea90015376c2d16248216123\"},\"headline\":\"Ex-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-25T13:33:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/\"},\"wordCount\":425,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"keywords\":[\"Barbados\",\"COVID-19\",\"travel\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Culture\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/\",\"name\":\"Ex-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19 - ShefNews\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-25T13:33:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9f7da211ea90015376c2d16248216123\"},\"description\":\"Barbados has opened its doors for anyone to work remotely. This is what current expats had to say about their time on the island.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ex-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"ShefNews\",\"description\":\"Bringing you all the news from across Sheffield\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9f7da211ea90015376c2d16248216123\",\"name\":\"joa18lt\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"joa18lt\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/joa18lt\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ex-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19 - ShefNews","description":"Barbados has opened its doors for anyone to work remotely. This is what current expats had to say about their time on the island.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ex-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19 - ShefNews","og_description":"Barbados has opened its doors for anyone to work remotely. This is what current expats had to say about their time on the island.","og_url":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/","og_site_name":"ShefNews","article_published_time":"2021-03-25T13:33:09+00:00","author":"joa18lt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"joa18lt","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/"},"author":{"name":"joa18lt","@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9f7da211ea90015376c2d16248216123"},"headline":"Ex-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19","datePublished":"2021-03-25T13:33:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/"},"wordCount":425,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","keywords":["Barbados","COVID-19","travel"],"articleSection":["Culture","News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/","url":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/","name":"Ex-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19 - ShefNews","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2021-03-25T13:33:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9f7da211ea90015376c2d16248216123"},"description":"Barbados has opened its doors for anyone to work remotely. This is what current expats had to say about their time on the island.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/25\/moving-to-the-caribbean-during-covid-19\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ex-pats voice their experiences about moving to the Caribbean during COVID-19"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/","name":"ShefNews","description":"Bringing you all the news from across Sheffield","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9f7da211ea90015376c2d16248216123","name":"joa18lt","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"joa18lt"},"url":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/joa18lt\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/185"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}