American husband, South African wife. Could Mauritius be our solution?

sounds really a situation....
but i think love and marriage are beyond the nation....race...
hope you and your wife have a very nice and happy marriage

Vaquero67 wrote:

I really don't see us doing that in Johannesburg due to the overwhelming sense of being a prisoner within one's own home as a result of violent crimes in S.A.  I think our giving natures are suppressed within such an environment and that we feel stagnant and like we are merely existing rather than living.  I'm trying to find a place where our lives can have energy and vitality and where we can share that with others who will appreciate it.

I'm not much of an expert myself on Mauritius, but my experience (one month) with the country is that it is a very safe and warm place to live. The people are incredibly friendly, the locals as well as the expats, there's is almost no crime, etc. We, my son (5), my girlfriend an me, are planning to come over for 4 months in 2011 just to escape the ratrace in Europe. And we are sure we will have a warm welcome there by the people we met last time.
Mauritius is indeed the best of different worlds: Africa, India & Europe. I would say: give it a try. It's a beautiful country.

Good luck!
K.

cant write a lengthy reply at this stage : but we just moved here 4 months ago from Cape Town and this is everything & more than we expected. We feel so so safe, and the open=door lifestyle is exactly what we imagined for our children. (which i think is not available in SA). The landscapes & scenery & birds remind me so much of SA & I can truly say after living in SA my whole life - that i can DEFINATELY see this as my new home with no regret.

Hello Vaquero67,

check this website for questions regarding investing in mauritius (business and property) www.investmauritius.com.

I would suggest you both come here for a couple of months to have a feel of the place.Even though being on holidays and living in a country are two different things, you might meet expats here and have an idea of what it's like to live, work and the rest in Mauritius.

And mix with locals as well, that may help.

Hi,

I'm an American and my wife is South African. We met six years ago in USA. After two years we married. I wanted my wife to be close to her family we decided on Mauritius. We came to Mauritius without a job offer or any business. We starter our planning four years ago. We came to Mauritius twice before the BIG move. We had our first child born in Mauritius - the law changed and he does not get citizenship(Law of March 1968). The last two years have been great. Our church and church community is the top reason we have enjoyed Mauritius. Our church is a tight community of loving people.

Don't come to Mauritius with big plans of getting a job. If you don't get a job offer from abroad you will not survive. If you are lucky to get a job offer from a local company you will probably be paid locally which will be from $400 to $900 a month. Locals can survive on this because most locals don't have to pay for housing or a car. Next, 90% of all businesses need some type of permit. It took us 3 years to get our business permit. I hear tons of horror stories of people trying to live the dream. They move to Mauritius just to find out that they can't get the permit to start the business. Also, Mauritius's population is 1.3million. It breaks down like this; 65% Hindus, 15% Muslism, 10% Franco, 10% other. One person gave me a good suggestion, "Take what ever you think you are going to make in profits and divide it by 10".
So my suggestion is this, if your wife is happy and is making money be thankful and stay with it. Vacation in Mauritius.
Please send me a private email for more info.

Vaquero67

When I see your lengthy message, I say to myself that you are indeed in quite some confusion.

Sure, it is not always an easy task to just make a move and come to a new country, requiring adopting a new lifestyle, and starting afresh in practically every spheres of life.

Still, it's a pity to see some poor, very poor contributions from some bloggers.

The right way, would be to make, if possible, a move for one month or so in Mauritius, and see whether both of you can adapt yourselves to the mode of life in Mauritius.

In case, you feel you can make it then you can think on the proper status. I presume that you would be venturing to Mauritius either as investor or retired persons or you as a Consultant/self employed.

Should it be possible then your wife could transfer her business to Mauritius.

Still, I would say that some people are talking mere nonsense regarding the salary level. Through, for obvious reasons, same are not as high as in South Africa, still, it depends mostly on your level of expertise, and the market.

Besides, locals don't survive, but live with a minority facing the quite harsh side of life.

A Business Permit is obtained within weeks, if not days, when all the conditions are met. In your case, a different set of conditions, will apply as foreigners investing in Mauritius, in terms of minimum investment, and nothing else. I know quite some foreigners who are doing pretty well in different areas of activities.

Though racking hard my brain, I do not see the pertinence of giving you the composition of the population of Mauritius in terms of ethnics group, religious belief, or other labels.

This could be useful if you live or want to live with this type of close thinking, labelling people not as human beings, but in terms of Hindus, Muslims, Franco, and other. Anyway, the figures are mere rubbish, far from the real statistics.

The good suggestion, which that intelligent person proposed "Take whatever you think you are going to make in profits and divide it by 10" is simply ridiculous.

It is indeed dirty and dangerous to bring on the forum such writings, which instead of upgrading the relation between foreigners and locals trend to aim otherwise.

Surely Julien will give a closer look to such writings.

Cheers

Vayid

"Take what ever you think you are going to make in profits and divide it by 10".

Hello Vayid, no need to get mad I guess this is just a way to speak and I have to say that I got pbroughŽs point provided he refers to setting up a local business (retail or B2B, it doesnŽt matter). The market is small and saturated, unless you come up with an innovative business model or with a huge investment it is hard to compete with existing businesses.

Offshore and export is a different story Žcause your potential client base is global and Mauritius offers huge advantages (skilled labor, etc.).

Over the years I have met hundreds of investors, the most successful ones being systematically on the offshore services and exports.ThatŽs my own observation...

With regards to obtention of Business Permits I guess pbrough refers to specific business licenses which are very hard to get (tourism activities, bars, etc.).

Speaking from an American point of view myself, here are some of the biggest differences you will have to get accustomed to, some of which may or may not be applicable depending on whether you are coming from a large city or a small town in the US:

1. lack of choice/options in a lot of areas whether that is in terms of things to do, places to eat out, bars, etc.  There is also a lack of shopping options and a small choice of items at retail stores and supermarkets (except rice, you'll have more variety of Basmati rice than you ever knew existed compared to what's on offer in the majority of grocery stores in the US.

that being said, there are a number of shopping centers / malls that are being built at the moment so this may change, but I personally think most of them will ultimately fail due to the fact there is little disposable income for the vast majority of the population and tourists will more than likely be able to find the same items back home at better prices anyhow so i do not see tourists being able to support them all.

there are no English speaking movie theaters on the island at the moment either.  supposedly, this will change with some of the new shopping centers that will be opening, but it remains to be seen.

2. lack of urgency or a commitment to get things done quickly by many people and businesses.  For instance, it will take weeks if not months to get a phone turned on and internet service provided to your home.  Customer service as you know it in the US, for the most part, is non existent here as well. 

a common phrase you will hear in Mauritius is: "i will do the necessary" or "i will do the needful" which can loosely be translated to: "i will do f@ck all until you ring another 5 times or my manager makes me and even then don't hold your breath" 

i am exaggerating somewhat, but you will hear those two phrases quite often and mostly when you are pissed about something that hasn't been done that would of normally taken no time at all to get done back in the US.

3. lack of discipline when it comes to driving as well as driving on the opposite side of the road.  driving in Mauritius will be an adventure for you and will take quite some time to get use to in terms of just the practical difference in the car set up (driving wheel on the right side, shifting gears with your left hand, etc) as well as which side of the road you drive on.  there are also very few traffic lights on the island and instead there a lot of roundabouts which you may or may not of used before.

additionally, the biggest difference is the way people drive in Mauritius.  There are "road rules" but they are mainly there as suggestions as most people do not follow them as the police do not enforce them.  the police are prone to abusing the rules just as badly as everyone else as well.  there are very high numbers of traffic accidents and road fatalities because of this as well as the fact that there is little to no shoulder or emergency lanes as most roads are quite narrow when compared to what you will be accustomed to in the US.

4. assuming you are caucasian, you will be a minority on the island.  if you are not caucasian, you will still be a minority at least in terms of nationality. this is not to say that you will experience racism as is common for most minorities in the western world, but if you are a caucasian (as well as for most expats) you will very likely automatically be charged higher prices for items that do not have a fixed price attached to them ahead of time such as taxis, items being sold in the markets or street stalls selling various goods, food etc.  once you have been on the island for a little while you will figure out pretty quickly what the appropriate price is for items and learn how to haggle with the best of them.

5. if you haven't travelled overseas very much previously, you may be in for a very rude awakening in terms of how the US is viewed in many circles by non-Americans.  the US is not viewed in the greatest light by a lot of people around the world and depending on your own personal political views and desire to express or defend them, you could find yourself in various forms of heated debate.  this is not to say Mauritians or other nationalities do not like Americans, but to let you know that the US is not viewed by all people to be as great as much of the American population is led to believe and to keep an open mind on why that may be.

6. depending on your interest in sports, you will find it very difficult to follow games, matches, events, etc back in the US given the big time difference as well as regular television programming (though there are ways around it).

7. further to the time difference issue, you may also find it difficult to keep in touch, other than by email, with friends and family back home in trying to speak with them.

8. internet speeds in Mauritius are vastly inferior to what's offered in the US.

9. you will be in a developing / third world country, so while the country's infrastructure is very good in many areas, it is lacking behind in others, water quality and availability of water is a big issue on the island.

10. cost of medical care is drastically lower in Mauritius compared to the US.  there is also going to be a difference in the quality of medical care in terms of specialist or complex medical procedures given the small population and the few cases of that sort that the local doctors may come across.  for most common medical issues, the care is pretty good and the price great, but if you or your wife have any pre-existing medical conditions you should investigate the ability to continue your course of treatment in Mauritius ahead of time.  Many people, who have the funds, go to either South Africa, Australia, Dubai, etc to have more serious procedures done.

11. in terms of jobs, salaries, etc. there are fewer opportunities here than in the US and at much lower salaries, but the cost of living here is also much lower as well.  if you want to start your own business, depending on what it is, you may be very successful or have a very tough time. 

i started my own business almost three years ago with a partner and we got our license, permits etc in less than two weeks and did all of the legwork on our own.  our company is doing very well, but our business is focused outside of Mauritius and have no dependency on the local economy, but from what i can tell, you should be very cautious about looking to start a business that would depend on the local economy to support it as you may very well find it tough going.

12. crime here for the most part is non-existent in day to day life.  there has been an increase in the amount of petty theft and homes being broken in to, but for the most part they are crimes of opportunity that can be avoided if you take precautions such as not leaving valuables unattended in plain sight or your windows or doors left open.  i doubt you would ever fear for your own personal safety, other than while driving....



if you come to Mauritius with an open mind and a willingness to adapt to the local way of life you can have a great life here for you and your family.  if you come here and expect everything to be the same as it is back in the US and are constantly comparing everything to the way it was back home and saying "but this is how it was done back home" or similar sort of comments, you will have a tough time of it.

The Mauritian people are some of the friendliest and most genuinely caring people I have met in my entire life after having worked on four continents and travelling to pretty much every corner of the world.  The quality of life is great here, but it is not for everyone.  As others have suggested, come here for a month or two and see how you like it.  You should know after that whether you could see yourself making it a permanent home.

feel free to ask me any questions you may have in particular as I am glad to assist as is pretty much everyone on this message board. good luck with your decision....

I'm incredulous when I read people saying that there's no crime,etc. I wonder if this is the same island that I know? To survive in Mauritius, you need to be prepared to rip off people or accept being ripped off. It's nearly a way of life!
Try get your kid into a decent school, get your car through its test, buy anything, as a foreigner, catch a taxi, walk through Port Louis without your hand on your valuables!
If you're aware of all this, it's OK, but if you believe none of this goes on, you're living in cloud-cuckoo land!

"Though racking hard my brain, I do not see the pertinence of giving you the composition of the population of Mauritius in terms of ethnics group, religious belief, or other labels. "

These statics are published on the government's website. A successful business person will look at all details. From the infrastructure, culture, religions and many,many other variables. Why is there no movie theater in English? If your going to invest millions of rupees to buy land and construct a movie theater, you will need to know who is your customer base. This is basic marketing analysis. I posted this to help the blogger get a feel of Mauritius.

>>>>12. crime here for the most part is non-existent in day to day life.  there has been an increase in the amount of petty theft and homes being broken in to, but for the most part they are crimes of opportunity that can be avoided if you take precautions such as not leaving valuables unattended in plain sight or your windows or doors left open.  i doubt you would ever fear for your own personal safety, other than while driving....<<<<


I'm sure we cannot compare MRU to Joburg in terms of crime rate (yet!), but you hear or read about them pretty much everyday in the newspaper!

I, too, must take issue with bunkoma's assessment of the crime situation. In addition to rampant property crime, there has been a marked rise in more serious infractions, including rape and even murder. It seems like every other week we hear about a body being found in some ditch or sugar cane field. To walk alone late at night in Flic en Flac or Trou aux Biches is to ask for trouble.

That said, you learn to take precautions. For example, our house - like most on the island - is a bunker, with "fer forge" and heavy "xpandas" throughout. We also imported an extensive security system from the U.S. and blanketed the exterior with motion-sensing light fixtures. However, we still worry whenever we travel abroad, and we make sure that a family member checks-in on the property regularly. A series of infrared/night vision web cameras also help to give us peace of mind that our "stuff" is still there.

So while it's not as bad as some of the worst areas of the U.S. (inner-city Detroit, anyone?), it's still not idyllic. You need to keep your guard up at all times, especially if you're a white foreigner (ex-pat=$$$$=target).

RCK

I have not said there is no crime.  There is crime, but there will always be crime no matter where you go in the world unfortunately.  Compared to most countries, the crime rate in Mauritius is very low, especially in regards to violent crime.

If a person chooses to live their life in a perpetual state of fear and believing that the worst is going to happen that is their choice. I personally do not live my life that way and do not walk around as a "victim" waiting to happen.

I have previously lived in Michigan for a few years and have spent quite a bit of time in "inner-city" Detroit and not once have had any problems with crime.  I have also lived in NYC for a number of years and never once felt worried about my safety.  The same goes for the many years I spent in London as well.  Maybe I am lucky, but then again, the vast majority of my friends and former colleagues report basically the same thing.

This is not to say there is no crime in those cities.  All of them have far higher crime rates than Mauritius, but even so, most people in those cities do not live in "bunkers" as rck01 feels the need to do in Mauritius.  The vast majority of people living in those cities also do not have the fear in their day to day lives that rck01 and Brucey seem to have living in Mauritius either.

People who walk around and live their life in fear also quite often tend to give off the vibe that they are a good/easy target for a criminal.  It is amazing what walking around with a little confidence and/or have a certain body language will do to deter theft and attacks.  If you look like a victim, chances are you will eventually be a victim.

Taking precautions and being "street" smart about what is going on around you will often be enough to keep you and your belongings safe.  Mauritius is by no means exempt from crime or criminal activity, but crime is one of the last things I personally worry about living here.

If you need to live in a fortress and behind razor wire and have advanced alarm systems to "feel" safe then by all means do so.  You can have all the security in place in the world, but at the end of the day it will never guarantee your own personal safety.  Just ask the many people in Joburg who have taken even more advanced precautions than people take in Mauritius and still have had their homes invaded and cleaned out regardless of the so-called security in place.

Sometimes, taking too much precaution can have the opposite effect a person has intended and may increase the chances of an attack or theft as it raises curiosity levels in a would be thief and can make them wonder what is so valuable behind those walls or why a person is clutching their bag so tightly and what it is a person is trying to protect so dearly.

bunkoma,

Update: They just found the body of a teenage student in the ravine near Balfour Garden - only blocks from my front door. And you think I'm paranoid? I have two children of a similar age (11 and 14) and I *never* let them out of my sight here.

It's the "soft targets" like you that keep the crooks lazy (and the rest of us safe).

So by all means, keep up the good work!

RCK

P.S. - Calodyne, eh? Just a stone's throw from that killing field they call "Legends Resort"...interesting.