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Several publications available online frequently mention Curacao as being one of the safest places in the Caribbean. Any comments about this place? I might be interested in a long-term rental. Thanks in advance!
It has a long history with Santo Domingo. In fact, many of the Sephardic Jews passed through Curacao before settling in Santo Domingo.
It is super tiny, but prosperous. It is dry and desert like, so not much of tropical exhuberance except where it is built up. No major mountain chain either, so no picturesque views as in Saint Lucia or Saint Thomas. Tourism is very important there, particularly cruise ship tourism as it is a major port of call. I'm not sure it is big in traditional beach tourism, unlike Aruba with the well known Palm Beach area. It has a free trade zone that must do good business, because among business circles in Santo Domingo it is promoted a lot as a wholesale place, perhaps do a very good competition to the free trade zones in Panamá. Curacao is also present quite prominently in business fairs held yearly in Santo Domingo, but that could be due to the city having the highest concentration if millionaires in the Caribbean at the moment.
Long term rental in Curacao is an interesting idea, but it depends. I, for example, can't live in such a tiny place where the main city is basically a small town. Limitations of choices on many things is a given in such a place, but it could be livable for stints of a month, two consecutive months is pushing it. It is very close to Venezuela (yikes) and Colombia (much better). As a touristic rental place, say airnb, it could work but the natural charms of islands like Saint Lucia or Saint Thomas is simply not there. That could limit the potential. As a business place, particularly as a transhipment point to many areas of the Americas, it is well situated and has a good government bent on supporting that industry.
It has a long history with Santo Domingo. In fact, many of the Sephardic Jews passed through Curacao before settling in Santo Domingo.
It is super tiny, but prosperous. It is dry and desert like, so not much of tropical exhuberance except where it is built up. No major mountain chain either, so no picturesque views as in Saint Lucia or Saint Thomas. Tourism is very important there, particularly cruise ship tourism as it is a major port of call. I'm not sure it is big in traditional beach tourism, unlike Aruba with the well known Palm Beach area. It has a free trade zone that must do good business, because among business circles in Santo Domingo it is promoted a lot as a wholesale place, perhaps do a very good competition to the free trade zones in Panamá. Curacao is also present quite prominently in business fairs held yearly in Santo Domingo, but that could be due to the city having the highest concentration if millionaires in the Caribbean at the moment.
Long term rental in Curacao is an interesting idea, but it depends. I, for example, can't live in such a tiny place where the main city is basically a small town. Limitations of choices on many things is a given in such a place, but it could be livable for stints of a month, two consecutive months is pushing it. It is very close to Venezuela (yikes) and Colombia (much better). As a touristic rental place, say airnb, it could work but the natural charms of islands like Saint Lucia or Saint Thomas is simply not there. That could limit the potential. As a business place, particularly as a transhipment point to many areas of the Americas, it is well situated and has a good government bent on supporting that industry.
Been there seven times as a tourist, but with an eye towards retirement, so we met and visited with locals and investigated real estate, standard of living, healthcare, etc. Ultimately, my wife decided she needed to be in a place with theaters and malls and whatnot, but it was a close decision.
Rich Jewish tradition and a beautiful historic synagogue in downtown Willemstad.
Crime free? No place is, but we never felt unsafe anywhere on the island, even late at night. Standard of living is higher than most other places in the Caribbean. Low unemployment. No creepy locals selling stuff on the beaches. Well educated people. Education through high school is mandatory, with fluency in 5 languages (Dutch, Spanish, English, the native Papiamentu, plus one elective.
Big brand new hospital. U.S. and European-trained doctors. Anything super complicated requires a trip to Miami or Amsterdam.
Outside the hurricane belt. Reliable electric grid with both 110V and 220V. State-of-the-art desalinization plants with some of the best public water in the world.
Last numbers I saw had tourism as only 18% of the economy. They have a lot of finance, and a large deep-water harbor with an oil refinery, freight terminals, and Dutch and U.S. military bases. They are very actively trying to grow tourism, however.
Most tourists are European - very few Americans. Formerly a possession of The Netherlands and still maintains strong ties. Proximity to Venezuela and Columbia is not an issue.
Not nearly as large as Jamaica or Puerto Rico, but bigger than the Virgin Islands and twice the size of Aruba. No major mountain chain, but a few mountains in the national park at the west end of the island, which is a popular destination for hiking, etc. Plenty of picturesque views. Lots of beaches, and many public beaches have restaurants and shower facilities.
Stores have everything you need for day-to-day, but a lot of people shoot up to Miami to hit the malls once or twice a year.
To get a better sense of what's going on down there read the local paper:
The hurricane belt issue could be chainging soon. A few years ago a hurricane reached the northern coast of Colombia, which supposedly was the first time that happened. Also, hurricans are now beginning to form at an earlier time, perhaps a sign of warming oceans due to climate change.
Lastly, to call those things "mountains" is a stretch. Ok, maybe for Curacao people those are "mountains," but compared to actual mountains seen even in various islands of the Caribbean wouldn't call them in Curacao as "mountains." More like hills than mountains, imo.
There is a mall now in Curacao. It was opened a few years ago by Sambil, a mall chain from Venezuela. I think they only have two malls in the Caribbean at the moment, the first one outside Venezuela being the one in Santo Domingo (which ironically is the largesg mall in the DR at the moment). I'm not sure if they built already the Sambil planned for the San Juan area in Puerto Rico. From my understanding, they had some issues created by a would be mall rival that put stumbling nlocks to prevent them from building and opening.
Thank you for the map overlays. Excellent way to compare. The New York one is tough to judge because of the orientation of the overlay, but Curacao is about 7x the size of Manhattan.
I agree that hurricanes could be an issue in the future. They haven't been hit yet, but in the past few years a couple came close enough that there was storm surge and beach erosion.
I've been to Sambil Mall several times (there is a steak house there that I like). Nice building (as far as malls go), small by American mall standards, and only about two-thirds of the retail space occupied (and less every time I went), and I've never seen people seriously shopping. Mostly just people going to the movie theater there and wandering around before or after the film. None of the stores are U.S. chains, so I don't recognize them, but I never saw anything I wanted to buy. Neither did my wife, and that has never happened anywhere else.
Sambil uses many chains from Venezuela (makes sense), local chains, and independent stores. They might have a handful international chains, mostly restaurant/fast food places. When it comes to retail, often enough a store will be in the red for much of the year and makes most of its sales during special events, particularly on Black Friday (or however is called if it's done with a different name in Curacao) and especially during the holiday season. Sales levels during those times, which is a very small time window, will dictate if a store ends the year in the red or actually makes a profit. I wouldn't go by whether enough people seem to buy during most of the year.
For you folks that have vacationed in Curacao, would you say that someone traveling solo for a one week vacation would be fine? I have been to St. Kitt on my own. Is it hard to drive around?
For you folks that have vacationed in Curacao, would you say that someone traveling solo for a one week vacation would be fine? I have been to St. Kitt on my own. Is it hard to drive around?
I wouldn't hesitate to go alone. Nor would I worry about my wife doing so. Crime-safety-wise, there's nowhere on the island I wouldn't go in daytime, and very few places I'd avoid even late at night. Travel-safety-wise, almost anywhere you'd want to go there will be at least a couple other people around, so you won't be swimming entirely alone at some secluded beach. Of course common sense always rules.
Driving isn't difficult. There are no highways - just a main road along the south side that goes out past Westpunt (the last village at the west end of the island) then loops around and runs back along the north side. Roads in Willemstad (the main city) can be narrow and confusing, but no more so than any very old city.
Actually, I usually don't get a car. Depending on where you want to stay and what kinds of things you want to do, you can usually just hop on the bus or call a cab. Cabs are flat-rate between and within zones so you won't get ripped off. Most drivers will give you their card so you can arrange rides with them later. I've found them all to be professional, friendly and prompt. Buses go almost everywhere, only cost like $1.50, and the frequency is good.
There are also different tours where a bus will pick you up and take you around for the day. They have museum tours, city tours, beach tours, whole-island-overview tours... The guides are knowledgeable, all admissions are included, and they stop for lunch at a decent place.
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