Living and working in Mauritius

Hi Toki,

is the rent, car & health insurance included in the offer you received?

I pay 20,000 for my house; 12,000 for my car, around 5,000 rs for an international health insurance ...

Hi Julien,

Thanks for your reply.  It gives me a good idea of what to expect.  Is your house near the beach or closer inland?  The offer includes international health insurance and hotel/B&B accomodation for first 4 weeks to enable me to settle in.  With extra's thrown in including mobile phone and other usual perks.

Is a car vital in Mauritius?  I was thinking of buying/renting a motorbike when there though I read this can be slightly dangerous!

Lastly, its difficult to find out about social life, clubs and bars on the internet, is there a good nightlife?

Cheers

I am living in Grand Bay, it's not the cheapest area, but there is a lot of pubs, restaurants & discos here.

A car is not vital but it helps a LOT. Note that there is no  bus on evenings (I used to live in London and I really, really appreciated the bus on evenings. I could be anywhere in London, it would take me a while, but I would go back home without problems). Quite different here is Mauritius. The bus service is limited and not very convenient.

No problem with social life you'll meet a lot of people here

Cheers,

Julien

Julien wrote:

Hi Toki,

is the rent, car & health insurance included in the offer you received?

I pay 20,000 for my house; 12,000 for my car, around 5,000 rs for an international health insurance ...

Do you have to rent a car or do you have the option to buy one there or import your existing car?

Hi Toki,

Can I ask who you went through, in terms of employment?

Thanks mate.

CB

Capetonian - I think importing a car into Mauritius would be ridiculously expensive, I'm hoping it will be cheaper to buy one when you get there or you can always rent one, of course.

CB - I was lucky in that I was pointed in the right direction by some industry contacts I have here in London.  From what I have seen the job sites on the internet are not fully representative of what is out there and it helps if you know someone locally.

Good luck to you both!

Toki

Toki wrote:

Capetonian - I think importing a car into Mauritius would be ridiculously expensive, I'm hoping it will be cheaper to buy one when you get there or you can always rent one, of course.

CB - I was lucky in that I was pointed in the right direction by some industry contacts I have here in London.  From what I have seen the job sites on the internet are not fully representative of what is out there and it helps if you know someone locally.

Good luck to you both!

Toki

Hello all,

We moved to Mauritius less than 3 months ago so we are still very new here.

Firstly, thank you Julien, your advises before we came were great and you are so helpful to everyone.

We are loving Mauritius and it is very stable, we feel very safe and it's great for children in here however I agree with Julien, a car helps A LOT in Mauritius.
We had a car in the UK and to import it to Mauritius was approximately £1,200 (for a Vauxhall Astra) HOWEVER there is a law here that says that if the car is older than 4 years old, you cannot import it and therefore we had to sell it before coming.
I hope the above is helpful to anyone....
Cars here are expensive if you compare to the UK. A Nissan March (which you can see a lot in the island), could cost about £6,500!

Also, I have got a question myself.
We want to do some diving courses, does anyone know what's the best part in Mauritius for diving and an approximate price? Also, if you know any reliable diving school please pass it on!
Thank you in advance.

Maria.

Maria, where are you located? I am diving almost every week end, and I know great diving centers in the North and in Flic en Flac. BTW, if you show your occupation permit you'll pay a resident price.

Julien wrote:

Maria, where are you located? I am diving almost every week end, and I know great diving centers in the North and in Flic en Flac. BTW, if you show your occupation permit you'll pay a resident price.

Hello,

We live in Tamarin. My partner has got his residence permit but I am still waiting for mine. It seems that the main problem is that we are not married (we'll be in June) so we had to write a letter to the President explaining that my fiancee will be responsible for me!! (I don't expect to get a reply very soon.....)

[By the way, has anyone gone through the same and know how long this may take? I am looking forward to get it so that I can set up a business here and I am not 100% sure but I guess you cannot set it up until you have a residence permit.] Thank you for any info regarding this.

Anyway, sorry, going back to the diving subject. We can do only weekends but we'd like to do it every week. Do the courses take very long?

Thank you.
Maria.

The best diving monitor I know around Tamarin is actually in Flic en Flac, try to call Christophe Pelicier

ABYSS DIVING CENTER
FLIC en FLAC
Tel :453 96000

Is importing your own car an option. My car is only 18 months old. Can I import it, If yes, whether there would be any taxes levied by the Mauritian Govt. Also how much will it cost to import from India.
If someone can help me, it would be really great.
Thanks
SD

SD > I can't give you a price, but I know that it is generally not interesting to import a car in Mauritius

I thought so Julien. May be you can help me get a car on lease. Thanks anyways

Julien,

What is the motorcycling community like in Mauritius?

What are the regs for importing a 1996 model motorcycle?

Where can I find out about the position with regards to my wife working in Mauritius. I will be working on an Occupation Visa.

Regards,

Kuhn.

Hi Guys,

How are you all finding Mauritius during this global recession?

I was working and living in Mauritius for 3 years and coming from the UK I found it difficult to adjust to the island at first.

Everything is cheap on the island compared to Europe, and when you know how to control your money then you can really have a good lifestyle in Mauritius.

A car is essential if you really want to be mobile along with a mobile phone.  Buying a car in Mauritius you will find that the Asian manufacturers are the best ones to go for in terms of parts and value for money along with re-sale value.  The most popular manufacturers are Nissan and Toyota.  You will see the  most popular car is the Nissan March aka Micra yes the VW beetle style.  In terms of price you wil find that buying a re-conditioned car can cost anything from £4000 - 8000 for something that is on a 04/05 plate but would cost half that amount in the UK.

I found that Mauritius is trying to move forward but being an island you have to get used to the aspect that in many sectors there is a lack of customer service and professionalism, which can become irritating but you do get used to this.

You will find that people are friendly and will chat to you and also welcome you into their groups in general.  There is still aspect of groups and being part of the "group" as you will notice expats tend to stick together and socialise, the Franco-Mauritians tend to stick to their own circle of friends but the younger generation are now much more open compared to the past generations! 

Going out in Mauritius is well, an experience!  Entertainment in general in Mauritius is pretty much non-existent apart from the bars, restaurants and nightclubs.  There are no sports facilities apart from the private members clubs and you tend to be judged on skin colour and bank balance for the membership of such clubs and organisations. Bars are pretty much open to everyone as long as you are spending your money on drinks thats really all that counts.  The nightclubs are mainly situated in the North and are tiny.  They operate on Friday and Saturday which is the main party time for the young and also the young professionals.  You tend to see the clubs busy around 11.30 and they go into the early hours of the morning sometimes till 6am.  clubs are classed as Private Clubs and you dont pay entry fees!  You do sometimes get caught out because the doormen tend to charge you but that is anything from Rs 100 per person which is around £2.  The locals dont pay as they prefer to spend that Rs 100 on a drink inside the club!  You will find that clubs can be populated mainly by kids, yes the 15+ tend to hit the clubs as its a safe environment in general and you dont have much trouble like you do in the UK clubs etc.

Leaving the clubs and bar scene now you move on to general lifestyle, if you are used to the 24 hour supermarkets then forget that in Mauritius, they are open at best until 8pm  during the week but are full with many familiar brands.  Petrol stations are another thing you should really get to know as they close early also and there is only now 1 24/7 petrol station open which is Indian Oil in Grande Riveiere.  With a few new shopping malls open you tend to think why bother as they close again early and most people are stuck in traffic and have at most 45mins to shop in the malls during the week.  With so much emphasis on a 24/7 economy for the island they really are not implementing it right.

For those of you that like your water sports, there are diving centres around and many kite surfing shops also.  For the average Mauritian this is not cheap but for anyone earning anything from Rs 25+k per month then you can induldge. 

In short there is a lack of entertainment and leisure activities in Mauritius so if you are someone that tends to enjoy an active social life going out 3 or 4 times a week and your weekend then be prepared for a change when you hit Mauritius.

When it comes to radio and TV, there is another hurdle as most of the radio stations speak the native Creole, French or some hindi on radio and you get the odd radio show which is spoken only in English by an entertaining chap on radioplus on Friday and Saturday night from 10pm.  TV again is restricted to local languages and French so for those of you thinking you can watch SKy TV etc forget about it.  Its French cable or if you are lucky some South African satellite also.  If you are a savvy person then you can always watch Sky via the internet and have every channel you were used to in the UK broadcast via the internet to your TV's etc.  It costs you about £15 a month but is worth it.  You need to get yourself a good ADSL connection though and that at present in MAuritius is being worked on.  Dont expect the super fast broadband speeds of the UK or Europe, at best you will get a 1 meg connection and you will be paying approx £30 for this!  Yes £30 for a 1 meg broadband connection is ridiculous when you have an island claiming to be the Cyber Island!  Too many monopolies in Mauritius tend to charge what they want for bad service when they can open up to the private sector more and really offer the public a better service etc.

Same goes with your mobile phone networks you will find the main two are Orange which is formerly Cellplus owned by Mauritius Telecom and Emtel.  Again not like the European market where you pay a line rental and get a phone free or you pay a fee for the handset etc and get free calls or texts.  For these companies nothing is free and all is paid for no matter what, at the end of the day they are the main competitors and there isn't anyone else allowed to set up show and offer a better service for the customer!

At the end of the day, lets just say not many people can have the opportunity to live and work on a paradise island and Mauritius surely for its looks, beaches and coast is a paradise, and you do get enjoy the climate which basically beats the UK and Europe in general!

Sorry for the waffle but I hope it gives you a little insight on the island of Mauritius and what you can expect and you should be aware of.

Mr A

Quality of life in Mauritius is much better compared to other countries. I have moved to Mauritius after travelling to almost 30 countries. People usually judge countries by what they see on TV or seeing the lifestyle of thier relatives and friend who are well placed in those countries. Then when the move to those countries they are on their own. My suggestion to any one relocating , is to go for a long holiday first and do all your homework and then move. I am happy that I moved to Mauritius, you will never find such friendly and helpful people any where else in the world.
Any one who relocates to Mauritius should be patient for atleast 3 months as things are very slow to get done if you dont know any one locally.
Cheers!!!!

Terence

hello all,

i'm Mauritian but now live in the UK but hoping to go back. i don't understand why people would want the pace of live to get quicker. i think the beauty of Mauritius is the fact that it has a slower pace of life. I like the fact that the shops close early it means people can go back to their families and spend time with them. Mauritius is a very family orientated country and should remain that way. if people want a faster way of life, stress, family breakdowns they should stay in europe.

Hello jojo1974 -> Just to note that this thread is dated 2009.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Hi Toki,

Came last year in Mauritius. All will depend on your style of living whether your income to be enough or not.

Well best of lucks

There aint much to do here! 53 grand a month is more than livable, depending where you stay, if you want an expensive luxury high rise you could be looking at 20 grand a month, you can get a villa by a beach from 7 - 10 grand. Night life is picking up but if you are a night owl, you aint gonna like it cause you'll have to go to the same places. Island fever is more like every couple of months. But like I said 53 is a livable wage in Mauritius. Any way good luck with your life choices.

For goodness sake, that  OP is  4 years old

Read before you post instead of jumping in with your advices

A lot of things has been happening over that period.

hi ya
      well i am from friend i am from pakistan and wanna start my own business in mauritius what do u reccommond for me thanx waiting for ur reply

Hi! My name is Ivy Marie Bonete, i currently living here in the philippes, im planing to work in mauritius, please i need help.