[This post has been adapted from a contest entry I wrote for ExpatsBlog. There are so many things I wish I had known before moving to Roatan... I hope this helps future expats!]My expat home is a little tropical island in the Caribbean off the eastern coast of Honduras. Just two hours from Texas by air, Roatan is easily accessible and is steadily gaining status as a scuba diving mecca and beach-lovers paradise. After a surge in popularity due to a House Hunters International show featuring ...
Living Abroad
What the Hell Happened?
"What the hell happened? Where are you?"I have heard this a bit over the last few weeks. After I went off on a tired and teary rant about how I just wasn't having any fun here anymore, I sort of disappeared, as I tend to do any time I get overwhelmed. I just shut down and watch Netflix or read books all night and check in on Facebook sometimes, and that's about it. I had a lot of long conversations with family, friends and even strangers about what my next move was going to ...
Roatan Rent: What $400/month Gets You
(Edit 2019: guys, please look at the date of this post. It's over 5 years old. I no longer live on Roatan and cannot find a rental for you. Do not email me asking about rentals. See my suggestions below if you're looking for a place, or look at my Roatan FAQ page. There are many people on the island working as property managers and they deserve your business!)I had such a huge response to my last Roatan Rent post that I decided to dig through my iPhone photos and do another post on ...
Interviewed by PADI, Clearly Internet-Famous Now.
It's been pretty hard keeping this one under wraps. I am bad at keeping secrets! So here it is:I'm super excited to share with you all my interview with PADI.... Cubicle Throwdown - Changing Office Life for Whale Sharks!!Check it out and let me know what you think.I have to thank Carmel for having friends in high places (aka PADI media specialists) who approached me to do this interview. For those that don't know, PADI is the scuba diving ...
You live in Honduras and don’t speak Spanish? Que??
I would say the #2 question* people always ask me when they find out I live in Honduras is: "So you speak Spanish then?" And then I feel guilty and ashamed for about three seconds, because the answer is "not really". BUT! I do live in Honduras.... however, I actually live off the coast of the mainland on an island called Roatan. A quick peruse of Roatan's Wikipedia page lets you know that the local islanders of Roatan are mostly of European and ...
Could You Live Off a Dive Instructor’s Wage on Roatan?
What is the salary of a dive instructor on Roatan? Well, I get a LOT of emails from people asking me what dive instructors here on Roatan make (hint: not a lot), and what it costs to live here (hint: a lot). Since inquiring minds want to know, here you go:How much do dive instructors make?You can read more about it in my tipping guidelines for diving on Roatan, but the short answer is: dive instructors here do not make very much money. A few dive shops pay a small salary (around ...
How Being an Expat Has Changed Me (or, I Never Knew I Could Drink This Much)
I'm almost coming up on a year in living on Roatan. Moving to this tiny island in the Caribbean has made me a different person. Slowly but surely, Roatan has pushed me, pulled me, stretched me and gotten under my skin and I'm changing. I think it's amazing how transplanting yourself into a foreign country can make you see yourself so differently.Since becoming an expat here...I've learned to cling less to others and rely on myself.People come and go, and come and go here. It's a ...
Just me and Bobby McGee.
The time has come....for me to finally get my own place here in West End. I have been living with anywhere from one to six other people since I arrived here last August! My roommates decided to get their own place, and it was high time that I found my own digs as well. I think 28 is too old to still have roommates! I know some people love it and for the most part I've had positive experiences here, but it was just time for my own place and my own space. So it's just me and my dog ...
When you’re up, you’re up.
I've written many times on here about the weird roller coaster that is Roatan. Longfellow was right when he said, "when she was good, she was very good indeed but when she was bad she was horrid". There isn't much middle ground here. It seems like things are either awesome or shitty. I'm on the upswing at the moment!The first awesome news is that I'm moving to my own place! I will miss my super nice apartment and my roommates, but I'm moving into town which is way more convenient ...
Million dollar toilet paper folding.
Another week, another course down. I'm now a certified junior yacht stewardess, or so my many pieces of paper say. I've spent the last week doing all kinds of things I never thought I'd do, like learning how to fold the end of toilet paper into diamonds. Because apparently rich people who own yachts enjoy their toilet paper being folded into diamonds.I also arranged flowers...And got a little tipsy during the wine & cocktail seminar...And I learned how to fold towels, iron, ...