Passage to paradise

It would seem strange to write anything this week without referencing the great big Eyjafjallajökull disaster. According to wikipedia it's pronounced ˈɛɪjaˌfjatlaˌjœːkʏtl̥ - is it just me or is that not particularly useful information?! Yep, people were stranded in this little corner of the world too. We have two extra bodies under our roof this week; the parents of one of my housemates en-route (eventually) to bonny wee Scotland. But, there are worse places to be stranded right. Now... I am going to bring in one of the most overused quotes about Bermuda ever but hey it's the 100th anniversary of his death today, so it's ok I have a news hook:

“You can go to heaven if you want. I'd rather stay in Bermuda.”

Mark Twain

It may as well be heaven as passage to paradise doesn't come easy. Ash cloud refugees aside, immigration rules and regs for this little island are watertight. You get granted a maximum three weeks in heaven on earth on a tourist visa and if you want to work here as an expat you need to be granted a work permit before you land. You can't just rock up and seek casual bar work here, no siree!

Last week, they reluctantly upped the maximum term for work permits to ten years and then had a secret squirrels, Bermudians-only meeting (entry controlled by wristbands!) to talk about it. Ever get the feeling you're not welcome somewhere? Most expats seem to get a three year pass though and attempt to renew. There are tons of us expats here... we hold one in three jobs on the island. Bermuda is the third largest insurance hub in the world, after New York and London, and just can't home grow enough insurance experts to support itself. Anyone else spotted the curious contradiction in terms... heaven-like insurance hub. Hmmm I know I hadn't imagined being surrounded by insurance brokers when I go through the pearly gates.


Bermudians who are shacked up or married to expats are now being made to pay for their lifestyle choice as the Government announced recently they must get a $1375 license for the privilege or face prison or up to a $1million fine (no joke!).


Once you're in, life as a guest worker in Bermuda is far from a walk in (the very pretty) par-la-ville park. No, I don't spend my lunch hour at the pool bar, contrary to what one of my reader's overactive imaginations (Big Jen that's you!) would have them believe. I've never worked as many hours in one week as I have clocked up here and I've worked in the big smoke. There is this mentality that so long as you're not 'off-island' then you're on call to work weekends as on a 24-mile long island, you are never more than an hour away from the office. Boo.


Is it worth all the hassle to spend every weekend for six months of the year on Bermuda's pink beaches as the turquoise waves tickle your toes? Call me shallow, but hell yeah, heaven's worth it!