Following on from Tiff’s blog last week, comparing Cayman to Bermuda, I thought I would blog on Bermuda in particular as we are recruiting for a number of opportunities there at the moment. Often it just takes a few simple questions to help you to decide if you could actually live and work there.

So here are some further basic facts and figures on the beautiful islands of Bermuda:

Bermuda is 21 miles long, consisting of 9 “parishes” as detailed below:

*Sourced from bermuda-attractions.com.

Where would you live?
The most popular places to live are Pembroke, Warwick, Southampton and Hamilton. A typical commute from Southampton to Hamilton by road would be 25 minutes but you could jump on the Ferry and cut the commute to 15 minutes. Bermuda only allows one car per household, so a scooter is a popular option to skip through the traffic and public transport is great – pink buses travelling in to the city and blue buses travelling out.

Money, money, money…
Consult our specialist CML consultants to find out what salary you could command according to your individual skill set, and whether your skill set is in demand at the moment. Alternatively, look at our list of jobs in Bermuda for an idea of salaries available.

The payroll tax from your salary is only 5.25%(maximum) so there are definite tax benefits to working in Bermuda. Typical deductions are payroll tax, social insurance and health insurance.

Spend, spend, spend:
An average 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house (fully furnished) can cost anything from $2,500 to $4,000 a month to rent. For some up to date costs of rental properties, a really good website is www.bermudarealty.com where you can contact agents there and inquire directly. An average electricity bill is $300 a month for a 2 bed, 2 bath property. There is no gas, so no gas bills! Water is inexpensive as rain water is collected in tanks for households to use. Apparently it is cleaner than your typical tap water in London!

Buying and selling your things is easy as you can consult www.emoo.com – grab yourself a bargain! Shopping in the supermarkets is easy as Lindo’s is one of the biggest supermarket chains there plus you can hit the clothes shops of Marks & Spencer and French Connection.

Something for the weekend:
The best beach in Bermuda is Horseshoe Bay (in Southampton). If you love the outdoors and outdoor pursuits, you will love Bermuda!

Water Sports: The clear, warm water around Bermuda makes it an excellent place for snorkelling. For those who are interested in diving, Bermuda offers the beautiful coral reefs that are typical of warmer waters and arguably the best wreck diving in the world. With approximately 400 wrecks scattered around the islands, there is always something new to discover. Shore fishing, reef fishing and deep sea fishing are also popular pastimes. Other water sports include sailing and kayaking around the many islands.

Sports Clubs: Bermuda offers golf enthusiasts 9 different courses to choose from. They range from par 3, nine hole courses to full size, eighteen hole courses. For those who prefer racquet sports, there are a number of different clubs and facilities available. For squash, there is The Bermuda Squash Racquet Club and the Moresby Squash Club. For tennis, there is the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association as well as courts at a number of different resorts, some of which are open to the public. Bermuda also has an outdoor, commercial climbing wall and lots of cliff tops and hills for mountain biking.

And finally, a few more interesting Bermuda Facts:
The name of the traditional Bermudian dancers are called Gombeys.
The name of the national paper is the Royal Gazette.
It’s true that the common business attire for men is Bermuda Shorts and knee length socks. (Photo courtesy of bermuda-attractions.com )

What more do you really need to know??
Speak to our CML Consultants in IT, Financial Services, Legal, and Trust/Admin and Support who can advise you on whether you can really make that move. We would love to find you your next opportunity and explore Bermuda as an offshore option for you.