
Ask HN: Any Coders on HN working in the Caribbean - wilsonfiifi
Hello folks! Are there any programmers on HN working in the Caribbean? What is it like? (challenges, pros, cons etc...)
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batoure
I worked remotely for a US based software company on the island of Guadeloupe
in the Caribbean for most of 2010 while my girlfriend taught there. It was
pretty fantastic, The major challenge was as you might expect... connection
speed and stability. As you can see from the map most of the islands have
fiber jump offs:

[http://www.connectinghaiti.com/](http://www.connectinghaiti.com/)

but the challenge is in how local governments regulate them. At the time that
I was working there the very best internet money could buy as a consumer on
our island was only about 4 MB which made certain types of things challenging.
luckily I worked with a company that was in love with the idea of distributed
teams, so they maintained virtual desktops in the United States that people
could connect to do things where the slow bandwidth might mess with something
important. Mainly things like executing code with our main data warehouse.

Another thing that you run into is access to a good consumer electronics
market. If I am trying to get setup to work from home in the US it is easy to
solve little problems, I can order things online and get them the next day or
if I am impatient I can go directly to the store and buy usually exactly what
I want to solve the problem. This won't be the case when you live on a small
island, stores hit the general notes but if you are looking for something
specific that you will know will solve a problem you may be disappointed. This
can also be a risk if your primary machine goes down. I am not saying you
should pack for the trip like a survivalist, but its important to think about
things that could go wrong ahead of time so that you can plan for
contingencies. Again my work being more than accommodating direct shipped me
several items that I needed and pulled my ass out of the fire.

As to quality of life it can really be amazing. My company generally operated
on Pacific time since all of the senior managers lived in California, as a
result I would usually get up in the morning go to my surfing lessons lounge a
bit then come home at around noon and start working.

As I sit typing this I am really starting to wonder why I ever came back to
the US..... ::opens new tab to look at plane tickets::

~~~
wilsonfiifi
Hey! Thanks for taking the time to write this. Honestly where i'm from (Ghana)
4Mb is a luxury! The most you'll get is 10% of that and pay roughly $70/month.

However its great to have an little insight into what goes on in that corner
of the globe!

~~~
batoure
4mb was very expensive there too, I worked in Rep Benin for several years so I
would say that if you are used to west African speeds you won't be
disappointed at all. In fact I would say that being from Ghana depending on
where you end up you would probably really love most of the Caribbean it is
very culturally related to West Africa.

~~~
wilsonfiifi
Tell me about it! I Was in Montego Bay for about 2 months in the 90s and the
only thing that reminded me that I wasn't back in Accra was the Jamaican
accent Lol.

------
ecito
I'm starting to work remotely from my sailboat in the Caribbean. It's perfect,
I can just pack up from one paradise to the next, taking my office/working
area with me. This is after working in NY for a few years and needing a breath
of fresh air.

Currently at a marina in Bonaire, close to Venezuela, connected to
power/internet to do a remote contract. It's pretty sweet to go freediving or
scuba diving a few feet away, then go to the "office" and work my ass off.
Afterwards I'll be free again, sailing around for another bunch of months.

Challenges, well the obvious... getting distracted with the outdoors, oh man
there is so much to do out there. But the pros are totally worth it and you
strive to work hard to keep the lifestyle. If you really want it, everything
will work out.

~~~
archagon
That sounds amazing! How much can you get a sailboat for these days? Did you
have to train to use it?

~~~
ecito
price varies a lot, depends on where you're going and how you like to live...
I opted for something that was working, ready to go, could take me across
oceans safely and comfortably, and act as my home when I needed to stay put
for a bit.

my search criteria was 35-42 feet, blue water capable, strong, proven old
boat, $30k - $80k. It took me a few months of looking at boats online to get
an idea of what I wanted. So many variables and unknowns and I hadn't even
sailed seriously.

my training was a weekend sailing course in the NY harbour. After that, much
reading... internet, books. There's a ton of info out there and you realize
it's pretty doable.

after I finished working and could finally go and buy a boat, I knew exactly
what I wanted. Bought the first boat I saw in person, after drooling for it
for months and hoping nobody snatched it. She is a beauty and has treated me
well these past few months jumping around the caribbean.

all in all it's a pretty good deal. For the price of a boat I get a home with
the world as my backyard. I can't imagine living any other way at this point.

