As it sounds, Bahamas Life is an HGTV series about people who are planning to settle in the Bahamas. However, the series is so focused on a particular part of that particular experience that it leaves out other critical considerations, with the result that what people see on the screen can be more somewhat misleading about what it is like to settle in said location.
What Does the Show Bahamas Life Get Wrong About the Bahamas?
First and foremost, there is much more to moving to the Bahamas than what is seen on Bahamas Life. After all, moving to a foreign country is a huge step for reasons so numerous that they can seem as though they are beyond counting. For example, interested individuals need to learn about what will be expected of them if they want to settle in a foreign country. However, they also need to learn about what their country of citizenship expects of them if they choose to settle in a foreign country, which is something that can seen a surprising amount of variation from country to country.
On top of these weighty matters, interested individuals also have to consider how smaller details can affect their day-to-day living. For example, while a lot of people might be fascinated by the look of the places that see the most tourists, said locations are not necessarily the right places to live. In part, this is because the leading tourist destinations are often crowded with tourists, which is something that might not please people who are actually planning to settle in. However, it should also be noted that the leading tourist destinations tend to be filled with businesses meant to cater to tourists, meaning that they might not have convenient access to the numerous amenities that people need for their day-to-day living. Something that could make living in said locations beautiful to the senses but more than a little bit inconvenient, which is a trade-off that will irritate a lot of people out there.
Moreover, it should be mentioned that the conditions of life in the Bahamas are not necessarily what people from other countries might expect. For example, some parts of the Bahamas have high crime rates, so much so that people who are planning to settle in them might have to look into whether they need additional security measures as well as what security measures are available to them. Furthermore, some people are accustomed to running and jogging for their daily exercise, which might not be a good idea in certain parts of the Bahamas where traffic is notoriously bad. Finally, it should be mentioned that the healthcare facilities in the Bahamas might not be as good as the healthcare facilities that can be found in interested individuals’ countries of citizenship, which could pose a problem for those who encounter some sort of medical emergency.
Summed up, Bahamas Life is certainly interesting, but its very nature means that it leaves out a lot of the complexities that should be involved in something as major as moving to another country. As a result, it is fine as entertainment, but it might be lacking something as education.
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Hey! Nat, I have not seen HGTV’s Bahama Life, but your article is painting The Bahamas with one broad brush; that seem’s quite unfair. The Bahamas consist of 700 islands, with 35 major islands spread over 140,000 sq. miles of Atlantic Ocean waters. That is about the size of California. The Bahamas having a population of 380,000 persons with 75% of the population living in Nassau City, New Providence Island.
As noted your article paints most of The Bahamas as having much crime and plenty vehicular traffic, which is far from the truth. Only the island of New Providence is somewhat congested and has a fairly high crime rate. But still, most of the crime incidents are confined to the local indigenous populated and not in the up-scaled tourist resort areas. The remaining 30 plus Family Islands are sparsley populated and have very little vehicular traffic and are virtually crime-free.
The Family (outer) Islands, because of their beauty, are where most of the foreign-owned ‘second-homes’ are located and are being rapidly developed, particularly in The Abaco’s and The Exuma’s… the third and fourth most populated islands. So your article is totally inaccurate when it comes to these islands.
In fact, what you wrote is like suggesting that (in the case of California), there is crime in South Central, LA, to the folks in Sacramento and San Fransico should be careful of the crime and traffic miles away in South Central, LA, It is quite obvious to me that you don’t know The Bahamas Island Chain well, or you are being intentionally misleading.
For your information this link on Forbes.com (below) on Harbour Island, where many foreign persons – including Bill Gates – own ‘second homes’ totally contradicts that which you articulate, (save Nassau City) with respect to most of the larger Family Islands. I recommend that you travel to the Family Island of Abaco and Exuma and interview the many foreign homeowners living there. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carriecoolidge/2018/01/08/harbour-island-in-the-bahamas-is-the-best-place-for-a-tropical-escape/#29cf0e1f56a3