Hello folks,
I see a lot of people asking questions here that are repetitive, and although I admire some of the forum members for still replying to those, I am going to attempt a different kind of thread/post and share my experience relocating to Mauritius (to add a bit of spice to this forum )
Firstly, this has been a long-time dream of mine, to live on an exotic island, to visit the beach(es) frequently, to surf (or learn how), play football on the beach-sand and wear 3-quarter pants and t-shirts 12 months of the year.
Anyways, my experience so far has been quite "interesting", mostly because I have given myself a final deadline to sort everything out and finally just "move".
Taking that final step is quite hard, especially if its your first-time going to a new country.
What has made my planning absolutely (1000 times) harder is that finding nice accommodation has been one totally crap/sh1t/unfathomable experience so far.
From rental agencies ignoring emails, to spotting dodgy/strange/possible-scam listings of apartments on some sites, it has been quite distressing so far.
Another really painful discovery I have made is that rental-agency companies justify including a "1 month agency fee" as part of their commission. They are more than welcome to make money anyhow they choose, but it definitely feels like daylight-robbery.
Why would it feel like daylight-robbery?
Well, mostly because decent accommodation goes for at least Rs.20,000. Anything lower and you will be transporting yourself back to 1995 (with places that have old furniture, ollllldddddd TVs and decor that uses "bright" colours). NOTE. Forgive me for seeming artificial, but this is just what I saw from the ads and there is no other way to describe it.
I do seem to have found a place though, but as I understand, I need to put down 1 month deposit (in many cases) before renting (and I still need to reach out to the agency, who probably only open their email inbox once a month).
Concerning renting from an individual as an ex-pat? I would advise you not to take that chance, unless you've physically been here and spoken to honest people renting out decent accommodation.
Apart from the rental nightmare, I think everything else would be simple, except opening a bank account, which looks like another mission assigned straight from MI6 (James Bond reference ).
The Internet is pleasantly cheap, with fibre of speed 10/20MB being affordable (Rs. 10,000), especially for an internet-worker/digital-nomad (can I even call myself a nomad yet??? ).
I will keep updating this post to share my experiences with you all, so that it will provide some valuable info to you all (you can blank-out any rants you see me making).
All questions welcome (just don't get too weird with them).
Journey continues!