Cost of Living HAS INCREASED in the Cayman Islands in 2021

[@JasmineDreams]

Hey everybody! A few points before you leave a heated comment:

 Please note that I am not looking to start arguments with this video lol. I know that not all Caymanians (or even in certain industries that I used as examples) are making minimum wage (obviously lol), and I know that there are more than just directors making big salaries. I was just using the examples that came to mind lol. 

 That said, I also understand that there are many positives to living in Cayman (obviously! I’ve made MANY videos showing many of them off, and I chose to move back there for a reason!), but this video is specifically to highlight the increasing cost of living, the increasing wage gap, and the issues that come with that which people often ask me to discuss.

[@mreynold91]

How much does a server/bartender get?

[@nikos6317]

You are married?

[@nikos6317]

Are you Christian?

[@aimeexx5]

Hi, I've just come across your video and as a Multi Generational Caymanian, I actually do agree with a-lot of what you have said in this video. The cost of living is extortionate and Cayman is no longer for Caymanians. However, I have to disagree heavily with what you said at 29:34 - 30:05 as the Government has proactively been offering Scholarships for Caymanians to go overseas and get educated to a University degree level for decades , infact they've just increased the scholarship amount this year. They will literally pay for students to go overseas and get their degrees. Which most countries definitely do NOT do. So saying they are doing nothing to help Caymanians get educated is completely incorrect.

[@JasmineDreams]

Thanks for your comment and perspective! While I appreciate your feedback, I do stand by the point I was trying to get across, but I see where I could have been more specific. While there are scholarships and have been for a long time, even in the past year, like 80-90% of those scholarships are for business, finance, and law. There are only a few general ones, and those that exist are often for children of employees of a specific company. I have a friend who is an artist and had to fight tooth and nail to get any kind of financial help to go to university in Canada for the arts. He ended up staying in Canada because Cayman did so little to support him, and he felt he had no reason to return. That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. We need to see that type of financial support for more than just law and finance. We need more scientists and environmentalists and city planners and architects, etc etc etc Next time I talk about this subject, I’ll definitely take some time to clarify my thoughts on this. I’m pretty sure I filmed a whole rant on it when filming this video, but probably cut it due to time lol

[@aimeexx5]

@@JasmineDreams Whilst that is a heartbreaking story about your friend, again I’m pretty sure the government scholarship is open to any degree backgrounds. I have several friends who studied subjects such as Marine Biology, Interior Design, Fashion, Psychology, Health Studies, Teaching, Architecture and all got the scholarship in different locations such as Canada, The U.S and the U.K. I know for sure they definitely do NOT focus just on Finance and Law Students as so many of the big firms tend to offer private scholarships already. With that being said it is definitely true that the art scene in Cayman is minuscule but as it is such a financial capital it’s sort of a given that a lot of the jobs will be geared towards finance and law.

[@phannieelizab4662]

Hello! Could you please talk about how is living in Cayman and the hurricane season? That's something to consider if you want to move overseas, like in my case.

[@jacobsweeney2330]

think your dog said "your video stinks" Lmao. Love your Energy.

[@ampamo911]

I love your videos. I was wondering if you can recommend who’s best realtor that you trust. Please and thank you from Canada.

[@wishmithaweerawansha]

How much is the cheap monthly rent cost for a single person in George Town ?

[@JasmineDreams]

There is no such thing as cheap monthly rent pretty much anywhere in Cayman. Especially not in George Town. You might find a rental for $850-$1000/month but it’s highly unlikely, and if you do find something at that price range it’s probably not legal or healthy to live in. You might be able to find something in that price range with multiple roommates though. Cheapest rent in George Town for a good quality apartment is going to be about $1200 /month and up. Utilities extra.

[@milicavelickovic1763]

Thanks Jasmine !

[@AmatriceBand]

Oh boy. And I have an interview for a job there and already changed my mind. My question is if it is so damn expensive and it’s hard to save for future or even have one beer a week, why go there ?? What are foreigners doing there. Surely with this rate the quality of life is much better in EU, North America or even some latinoamericas.

[@JasmineDreams]

Lol very valid questions and concerns. See out your interview. Depending on the industry & position, your employer may offer you a living stipend. This is common for high-level banking positions, lawyers, doctors, high-level consultants, architects, sous chefs for the super fancy restaurant, etc. There are still lots of high-paying jobs, and those are the types of ex-pats that you likely see and hear about that lead you to expect a certain lifestyle. The part that is not shown as often are the many ex-pats who come for lower-paying jobs (retail, bars, food service, tourism, nursing, child care, administration, middle management, etc) who have a much more stressful time dealing with the cost of living. Lots of people make sacrifices in some areas to afford the lifestyle they want. Eg. Use a bike as your transportation and have the “car money” go towards beers instead lol

[@AmatriceBand]

@@JasmineDreams My job won't be that high level but in Engineering though. In your opinion what would be a minimum comfortable salary considering a very normal lifestyle ( not going out that much for a couple and maybe travelling once a year or two years ) who plan to save money for retirement would be ? we definitely don't plan to retire there :)

[@JasmineDreams]

@@AmatriceBand haha you can scroll through like 2 or 3 of my Cayman-related videos and see for yourself that EVERYBODY asks me that question. But it's a loaded question - I don't know what a "very normal lifestyle" is for you... are you ok with living with no a/c? no car? with roommates? Would a duplex be fine for you or would you need a condo? Are your vacations $300 or $2000 vacations? What country are you from? what kind of currency you are transitioning from? what kind of savings would you be moving with? what is your diet like - do you mostly grocery shop or eat out? are they healthy groceries or junk food? do you have any medical needs? etc. etc. See what I mean? It's impossible for me to provide a salary estimate that would work for you if I have no idea what kind of salary would be required for your lifestyle. And, as I mentioned, just about everybody asks me this on all of my Cayman-related videos (they'll even find me on IG and ask me there too lol). Everyone wants me to do a case study that works for them, and I can't do it for everyone, so it's only fair that I do it for no-one. I know people in Cayman who are happy (though they know they are being paid unfairly) earning minimum wage and living with a bunch of roommates. I also know people in Cayman who are making big money in the finance world and hate their job and are struggling to live the kind of lifestyle they want to. It's all about the individual, what they want, and what they are willing to compromise.

[@JasmineDreams]

@@AmatriceBand My advice though is still to do the interview, even if only for networking purposes. The salary could surprise you, depending on the employer. And you can ask them lots of questions during the interview. Lots of people seem to forget that interviews are a 2-way street. It's just as much for you as it is for them :)

[@AmatriceBand]

@@JasmineDreams hey thanks for taking the time to me. you are right about many factors at play. I'll go through to the end and see what happens. I can do financial modelling and all and so far in our situation it might not be worth to make a move as we will be losing a couple of crucial stuff for us. Boy, those days of having roommates have been over. I'm not young anymore, can't go back to that. Talking about AC, I actually don't like them and happy with ceiling fans :) but that depends how hot it gets. At this stage my biggest worry is losing out on pension ( you see i'm already getting old :)

[@karenhunter8095]

I love Cayman but am not planning on moving there. Do want to visit again in the future. I've been wondering what specific businesses have closed down since the pandemic, like which hotels, which tourist attractions, etc... Do you have any idea? This was a good vlog. Thanks for the Cayman Compass info and the Facebook info.

[@JasmineDreams]

Great question! I’ll note that down so maybe I can put together a video going through which businesses closed, and if any of them have a shot at coming back when tourism returns.

[@VidCast364]

thank you for this video, love videos

[@Elmixtv]

Where are you ? I love your videos make more videos about Cayman Islands , museums stores streets please please

[@JasmineDreams]

I'm in Miami now lol. Cayman is my 2nd home lol, so I'll be back in Cayman & getting new videos filmed once the quarantine restrictions lift for incoming travellers :) Thanks for watching, and thanks for the suggestions! :)

[@lionness_simsima5941]

Hello there, excellent presentation

[@dimitrivancamp1013]

Respectfully, the $44k was a median, not an average. So how much the biggest earners make has zero influence on that number. You fail to understand how a median is calculated.

[@JasmineDreams]

Tfw someone starts a comment with “respectfully” or “no offense” & you know they’re about to insult you 🤣🤣 Pardon me for misreading and then missing the error in the editing process. Turns out I’m still only human after all 🤣 For the record though, the fact that it’s the median only illustrates my point further. When the median is lower than the average, it’s because of a group of people making exorbitantly more at the top. And with the average salary in Cayman usually hovering between $70-80k in recent years, that’s a pretty big wage gap. So, I suppose, thanks for pointing out the error that I missed (I don’t usually script my videos, just note down the main points & stats, so it happens sometimes), as it’s now a point that I can use to further illustrate the wage disparities in Cayman in a future video. 👍✌️

[@dimitrivancamp1013]

@@JasmineDreams Sure. As a mathematician I just felt like pointing out the obvious error. You said how the biggest earners drag up the median to $44k and this is not correct. Good video I enjoyed it.

[@jeffreybautista184]

Who farted?🤣

[@JasmineDreams]

My husband lol 🤦🏽‍♀️ and he tried to blame it on the dog! 🤣🤣

[@ruthannlaidlaw6415]

Omy gosh, how r ur family surviving? So so sad.... this really has to change for cayman who were born ther?

[@trenersstock8845]

Way way way overpriced and overrated.