Bermuda is a very pleasant place to live. The Island (or rather islands, of which there are many, the largest being connected by road bridges) is exceptionally pretty, with miles of often breathtaking coastline. The sun shines through exceptionally clean air—there is no heavy industry in Bermuda—on the rich vegetation, narrow roads and white or characteristically pastel-coloured houses.

Things To Do

If you seek physically active pursuits there is much to enjoy here. Water recreations (sailing, scuba-diving and so on) are of course well provided. There are several excellent golf courses, incorporating some spectacular, world-famous holes; these include municipal courses with moderate green fees. Road-racing, on foot or bicycle, is very popular, there are good tennis courts available, and the many cricket and soccer teams are always looking for keen new players. Less strenuously, the ‘Railway Trails’ where there once ran railway tracks offer many miles of enjoyable walking through the most beautiful parts of the island.

There are good cinemas showing the latest films, often before they reach the U.K. Concerts and other shows happen fairly frequently, particularly as part of various annual arts festivals. Bermuda has a well-deserved reputation for attracting talented artists; there are continuous art exhibitions, and original paintings can often be acquired at very reasonable prices.

Excellent restaurants abound, ranging from some fine restaurant/pubs to the best in haute cuisine; most offer mainly European/American cuisine with various local dishes, but there are also Chinese and Indian restaurants and others. There are numerous bars and a few night-clubs; ‘happy hours’ are popular.

Social life tends to depend upon the group of people one gets to know. The hectic social schedules of expatriate groups in some other parts of the world are not generally found here, but there are plenty of venues to meet, drink and eat, and people often throw parties for their friends.

The three local television channels are fairly limited, but cable television offers up to 50-odd channels—mainly U.S. and Canadian—for a moderate monthly outlay of $29 up to $75 for the full package (installation $30-$40). The range of programming is very wide.

Accommodation

The School will arrange accommodation for you to live in as soon as you arrive in Bermuda. Such accommodation is available to new staff for the first month of their contract. During this period, staff members are responsible for securing their own accommodation. Typical monthly rents on a one-bedroom flat are $1,000-$3,000; for a two-bedroom flat, $2000-$4,000. You should not try and look for accommodation before you arrive, as landlords prefer to meet their prospective tenants. Most accommodation advertised by Realtors on the Internet is in the highest price bracket and is not reflective of the lower end of the market.

Most lettings do not permit pets, so if you wish to bring a cat or dog with you, you should let the School know as soon as possible. By law, dogs must be confined to the house or enclosed garden, and kept on a lead in public places. The pet immigration procedure is less fraught and expensive than repatriating them to the U.K.

Income and Expenditure

Accommodation is likely to be your single largest item of monthly expenditure. The information given below is intended to enable you to work out roughly how you will stand financially.

Fortunately, there is no income tax in Bermuda. The deductions from your monthly salary at source are as follows:

• Pension: 6% of gross salary for the Saltus Pension Scheme (you can alternatively remain in the U.K. Teachers’ Pension Scheme for up to six years, at similar cost and with broadly equivalent benefits; this choice does not have to be made until the beginning of your first term). The school matches your contribution which vests after 2 years.
• Health insurance: about $212 for a single person, $685+ if you are married and your spouse is not employed. This is obligatory by law for you, your spouse and children. (There is no NHS equivalent in Bermuda.) The wide-ranging policy covers necessary medical and dental expenses.
• Social insurance: about $110 per month.

Salary is paid monthly (on the penultimate working day of each month, by credit transfer into your checking account or savings account at the Bank of Bermuda or the Bank of Butterfield in Bermuda dollars. The Bermuda dollar is held at par with the U.S. dollar.

Other regular costs include gas (most cookers are gas - $90 every 3 months, depending on use); electricity ($50-$150 a month) and telephone ($40 a month access charge; local calls are free up to a point, but calls to the U.K. are typically about $1.00 a minute, though there are other, cheaper long distance packages available). There are a number of ISPs on the island, and rates are expensive (by comparison to those in the UK) but continue to fall. Tap-water costs nothing as it is generally rain-water stored in an underground tank and pumped to your taps (and perfectly drinkable); most private dwellings do not have a mains water supply.

Food, drink, clothes, nights out and so on are all generally more expensive than the U.K.; food and clothes on average up to twice the cost, drink and entertainments perhaps 50% higher than in the U.K. Part of the reason for this is that virtually all goods have to be imported, and most goods attract import duty (in the absence of income tax, the main source of revenue for the Bermuda government). Nevertheless, unless you have a large family or other heavy financial commitments, you should find that you are comfortably off and able to enjoy a very pleasant lifestyle indeed. To give you some idea, Saltus Senior Department teachers often enjoy two or three holidays a year in distant parts of the globe. Wild statements about ‘baseline salary in Bermuda’ which appear elsewhere on the Net can safely be ignored.

Getting Around

The roads of Bermuda are mostly narrow and windy; for this reason the general speed limit is 20 m.p.h. all over the island. Scooters (or motorbikes) are a very popular way of getting around. They can be hired for $200-$220 a week. Most people buy their own (the used-bike market is very active - $500-$1500, or new $2500-$3500), but to ride an owned scooter you have to pass road and theory tests; these are not difficult. The wearing of crash-helmets is compulsory—scooter accidents do occur quite frequently. Driving is on the left. An alternative on two wheels is a bicycle, for the fit or those who wish to be. The Bermuda landscape is gently undulating with few really challenging hills, but the narrow roads are not ideal for cyclists except at quiet times such as the very early morning.

Cars are not available for hire in Bermuda. If you wish to drive, you must first pass a driving test (one or two lessons getting used to local conditions might be a good idea) - an international driving license is not accepted - and then buy your own car; used car prices start at around $5,000 (but there are "deals" to be had if you catch people leaving the island at the right time), to which must be added insurance and the annual license fee. Petrol is not a huge expense since most journeys on this small island are quite short (about $50 per week).

Public transport is reliable and relatively inexpensive. Most parts of the island are well served by buses, the more modern of which are air-conditioned; they run on time. The western part of the island is connected to Hamilton by a passenger ferry service. Individual journeys can be paid for, but a monthly season ticket covering all buses and ferries is good value at $45. The school is about ten minutes’ walk from the central bus terminus in Hamilton, and lies very close to a busy bus route.

Immigration

There are stringent rules about residence in Bermuda and the issue of work permits. As non-Bermudians, you—and your dependents if any—may reside in Bermuda only as long as you are in possession of a current work permit. Any offer of employment is subject to a work permit being issued by the Immigration Department, which applies only to that specific position; however, there is little risk of the permit not being issued, since before making the job offer the School has taken all the necessary steps to meet the legal requirements. Currently, there is a limitation on the length of time a person may reside on the island - six years. An employer may ask for special consideration to allow individuals to remain on the island for a longer period where a special case can be shown, though this is at the discretion of the Immigration Board. One should not assume they will be able to stay on the island for longer than six years.

It should be noted that your work permit does not entitle your spouse (or children) to work. It is often difficult for spouses to find jobs for which they can qualify for a work permit, unless they have professional qualifications and experience which are in demand locally. This can be a highly significant factor for married couples: a long enforced holiday, even in delightful surroundings, can begin to lose its attraction quite quickly. Equally, expatriate children cannot be employed or remunerated for work in Bermuda.

Children born in Bermuda to non-Bermudian couples do not qualify for Bermudian status.

All offers of appointment are subject to the ability of the appointee to pass a medical examination, obtain X-ray clearance from the Ministry of Health in Bermuda, and receive immigration permission from the Bermuda Government. (This will require the prompt return to the Headmaster of the relevant forms which will be provided). Initial contracts are of three years’ duration. Applicants should be aware that, according to Bermuda Immigration law, posts must be re-advertised locally before contractual renewal, to satisfy the authorities that there is no suitably qualified Bermudian candidate. These current posts are advertised precisely because no such candidate has been found.

Some Points to Note

You will be in Bermuda for at least a month before your first payday. Since the cost of living is much more expensive than in the U.K., and your expenditure will be out of income on which you have probably paid U.K. tax, make sure you have enough funds to see you through to the end of the month.

The climate is pleasant (even if uncomfortably hot in the middle of summer) but often humid. Care must be taken to prevent damage to personal goods by mould. Non-essential goods especially subject to damp damage, such as rare book or record collections, are probably best left at home.

Personal goods imported by you, either brought on the flight or shipped by sea or air, are subject to import duty. This does not apply to books or clothes, and minor articles brought with you are usually ignored, but sets of golf clubs or major electronic equipment such as computers or stereo equipment will certainly be taxed, at 22½% or more of their deemed value. This can add up if you bring a lot with you.

Electronic or electrical equipment from the U.K. is mostly not usable anyway, as the power supply here is 120 volts, and the wall socket resembles that used in North America. Equally, there is no point in taking televisions bought here back to the U.K.: for this reason there are often private sales of goods by leaving expatriates, at which many bargains can be found. The same can be said of your DVD collection - the UK is Region 2 using PAL, while Bermuda is Region 1 using NTSC. If you must bring your DVD collection with you, it would be best to also bring a region-free (or at least switchable), NTSC DVD player.

Pension/Medical Care

All staff are required (by law) to be a member of either their home country pension plan or the Saltus Pension Plan, along with a full medical and dental care plan offered through the school (to which both the school’s Trustees and the staff member contribute).

Relocation

The school will provide air tickets from the UK to Bermuda for appointees and their families at the start and end of employment. Current staff will ensure a warm and helpful welcome during the early days in Bermuda. A full induction programme for new colleagues is professionally led by our Director of Admissions - including induction in the use of the laptop computer and our school network.

USEFUL WEB SITES
This page gives you a number of web sites that provide good general information about the
island. The links include the local daily paper, a website providing information on rentals and
secondhand items for sale on the island and the local telephone directory.

http://www.bermuda-online.org/
http://www.bermuda.com/
http://www.weather.bm/
http://www.bankofbutterfield.bm/
http://www.theroyalgazette.com/
http://www.bermuda.e-moo.com/
http://www.bermudayp.com/