Working in the
Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands has a thriving economy with a healthy construction sector that is set to grow for many years to come due to the expanding Tech and Healthcare sectors, along with the homes, commercial and infrastructure necessary to support them. It is also a wonderful place to live, with friendly people, a wonderful environment and abundant culinary, leisure and cultural activities of all levels.

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Great Location

The beautiful Cayman Islands are a modern yet Caribbean, business-friendly, sun-drenched destination less than 90 minutes from Miami, with an emphasis on work-life balance and a cultural and culinary scene that is second to none in the Caribbean.

Welcoming People

First Class Facilities

Exceptional Hotels

Convenient Accessibility

Vibrant Economy

Great Place to Live

Active culinary and cultural scene, abundant leisure options with an emphasis on the beautiful outdoor environment, and a healthy emphasis on work-life balance all serve to make Cayman a destination that is truly stimulating.

World Class Cuisine

Healthy Living

Abundant Leisure

Excellent Schools

Extensive Cultural Scene

Great Place to Be

Our environment is second to none, from incredible beaches with wonderful seas, to true biodiversity and a belief in well-being. It’s a place to be inspired. It is genuinely good for the soul.

Beautiful Outdoors

Wonderful Wildlife

Miles of Beach

Treasured Environment

Glorious Fauna

Indescribable Oceans

The Cayman Islands are one of the World’s great diving centres and for good reason. Our marine environment is second to none, with abundant wildlife at every turn. Swim with turtles (straight off the beach), snorkel, dive and interact. Inspiring.

Swim with Turtles from Spotts Beach

Unbelievable Snorkeling

Shore, Reef & Wreck Diving

World Class Fishing

Fabulous Boating

Important Information

We hope the practical information below is useful to you in assessing living and working in the Cayman Islands.

Access

We have a new International Airport, with direct flights from London (1-hour stopover in Nassau, Bahamas) on BA and very easy access through the US, with up to 5 flights per day to Miami, as well as flights to Charlotte, Houston, Fort Lauderdale, New York and more). There are 55 flights per week from the Island. We are not isolated!

Accommodation

Like anywhere, it does depend on where you choose to live. If you choose to live in ocean-side locations, this raises costs, obviously. Seven Mile Beach area is the most expensive. Rent is comparable to nicer areas of London and Miami but tax-free status has to be taken into account. If you adjust for that then rents compare very favourably.

There is medium-priced accommodation in established developments like King’s Court, Britannia. It’s a lovely development, well-built, with tennis and a great pool, lots of green and by one of the canals (which have direct access to North Sound). It’s right in the heart of the Seven Mile corridor, close to restaurants and walking distance of the beach.

A 4-bedroom, very spacious condo here will cost around $4,800 KYD per month, which might feel expensive until you consider it against tax-free earnings. You can rent ocean-side, facing west for sunsets, from around $3,500 KYD per month.

Once you come off the coast, rents range from about $1,500 KYD upwards for a fairly modern 1-bed condo or apartment. There is a wide variety of accommodation types and many people accommodation share too.

Cost of Living & Standard of Living

The cost of living in Cayman is high compared to many places because literally everything has to come by boat. However, the standard of living is excellent. As you might expect, seafood is everywhere and we have excellent produce, meats etc. Everybody in Cayman loves their food. By way of a comparison, the following may help, based on comparison with a major UK city:

Weekly grocery shopping +60% compared to UK
Good restaurants + 40% compared to UK (excluding wine)
Fuel – 15% compared to UK (yes, it’s cheaper!)
Beer, Coffee etc +20% compared to UK
Clothing +50% compared to UK (like for like quality)
Phones, Internet etc + 70% compared to UK

However, that has to be weighed against zero taxation, which would instantly more than double even a like-for-like take home pay compared to the UK, before our higher earnings package is even considered.

Safety & security, including financial security

This is where Cayman comes into its own. Not only do we have a wonderful climate alongside a beautiful outdoor environment, we are blessed with a very buoyant economy, UK-based legal structure (including UK protection as a British Overseas Territory) and one of the lowest crime rates in the whole of the Caribbean. Half the population doesn’t even lock its cars!

Schools

We have a number of good private schools (expat children cannot attend Government schools) and children are able to follow either a US or a UK curriculum. The school fees compare extremely favorably to the UK and US (i.e. are generally less), even more so when tax-free status is considered too. The standard of education in the three main private schools is excellent. If you wanted to explore schools, the three main ones are:

St Ignatius https://www.st-ignatius.com/ (UK Curriculum)
Cayman Prep & High https://www.cayprep.edu.ky/Pages/Splash.aspx (English Curriculum)
Cayman International School https://www.caymaninternationalschool.org/ (US Curriculum)

Some children in 6th Form go to boarding schools in the UK and US but certainly not for education standard reasons. It really comes down to personal choice.

We do not have a formal university here, and so most expat children return to the UK, US or elsewhere for university.

Final thoughts

For a 22-mile island, it is actually difficult to describe just how much there is going on. Because our expat population is significant, there is an abundance of cultural, sporting and entertainment opportunities that go far beyond the more holiday-orientated activity. What sets it apart though is having the work-life balance to enjoy these things too.

It’s Western enough that you won’t miss any creature comforts and yet completely Caribbean too, resulting in a really healthy attitude to life, well-being and each other. Whether it’s a drink after work over sunset or days out on a boat, it’s very relaxed and friendly – a very social place and also very gentle. If you like a sense of community, we don’t think there is anywhere quite like it.

Working in the Cayman Islands