Downsides of the Cayman Islands - Cars, Groceries, Bills and Banks

This is is a tropical paradise but every country in the world has it's downsides. Most of the ones in Cayman can be overcome with a bit of a change in attitude.

Cars
I have been told this is one of main issues people have when they come to Cayman. Buying a car here is like playing the lottery. Because of the hot, humid climate and salt in the air cars have more issues here then most other places. Also, there are quite a few cars on the island that have been through Ivan and can have electrical issues.

You realize fairly quickly that not having a car here is very hard. Grocery shops and moving are quite difficult. Cabs are way too expensive here. Always ask how much you will be charged before you get in the cab. I was with a bunch of expats taking a 4 mile trip. All of them have been on the island longer then me and so I figured one of them asked how much it was. The woman charged us $10 a person. That means it was a $80 4 mile cab ride!

So if you have decided to get a car you can find most of them listed here. Things to be aware of

1. Try to get one where the person is saying they are leaving the island. They have a good reason to sell the car and are quite eager.
2. Check whether it is licensed and for how long it is licensed for. In Cayman you need to have your vehicle licensed every year and that mean it is inspected (quite thoroughly unless you find a shady mechanic). If a car is not licensed you will have to pay for all the years it was not licensed which is about $100 a year. If the cars license expires soon it will need to go through inspection so if they find anything you will have to pay to fix it.
3. If go for buying an older car check the license plate. I recently found out that if the license plate starts with anything under 110 then it was most likely through Ivan. If the plate is less then 100 then it was through Ivan for sure.
4. Island paint-job : this means the paint has been worn out by the sun and salt. It is matted. 

This car has an island paint-job and you can tell from the license plate it has been through Ivan

Groceries
Groceries go bad very very quickly. It is amazing. Milk is the worst culprit. I only bought milk once and it had an expiry date of two weeks after I bought it. I took it home and it went bad 2 days after I opened it. I have heard this from many people.

Fruits and veggies go bad very fast too. I buy English cucumbers and these start rotting pretty much  the day that I buy them.

Always check the expiry dates on everything you buy but especially anything on sale. This might go without saying.

The availability of many things is not reliable. Sometimes some fruits and veggies run out before the next shipment comes in.


Utility Bills
I am moving next month and will have to pay this for the first time since I have gotten to the island. I have heard it is very  high. My roommate and I will pay 150-200 each for a two bedroom condo. Meaning if you had a family living in a two bedroom condo you would pay 300-400 a month. Guaranteed a house is much more!

Banks
I sometimes feel like I have stepped back in time at the RBC here. I had to wait two weeks to get my debit card (they do not have temp ones). When I asked the guy if I can just deposit my check into the atm he asked "you don't want to stand in line[for a teller]". I said no so he said he would have to get someone with more experience to show me how - it works the same as back home.

RBC here does not have proper interact cards. I can take money out with my debit card but I cannot make purchases at stores. They told me they hope to have them by the end of the year but I hear they have been saying that for at least 2 years now.


All in all these are pretty small downsides. I will reserve the biggest downside for another post once I have experienced a full hurricane season.