What island life is really like?

[Canadiangirl24]

Hello all,
I am a prospective student and just wondering what living on Saba is really like. I myself grew up on an island but in a city with 30,000 people compared to 1400 people. Just wondering what the people are like, what's available and what do you do on your down time to destress? Saba is an excellent school but I want to make sure when I'm there for 20 months I enjoy it. Also what are prices like for living on the island outside of residence?
Thanks all!!

[oyoy]

I am wondering about the same things. All I can constructively say that on an island that small everyone knows everyone. I've spent summers in a town of 5 000 people and everyone still recognizes everyone. Its not necessarily a bad thing, just different from a city where everyone is anonymous.

[GuitarHero]

Well, you have most of the basic amenities: electricity (with some outages), warm water (most of the time!), cable TV, phone and internet. There are three small supermarkets that sell most of the stuff you can get back home. It's a little bit more expensive though. Milk is especially costly. Alcohol, however, is dirt cheap :p

As far as recreational activities go, there isn't a whole lot to do. There is some great scuba diving and there are some trails to hike. This is one of the few Caribbean islands without a proper beach. There is a small stretch of sand that comes and goes with the tide. Students host a lot of house parties.

There are many restaurants but they serve mostly the same stuff. Obviously there's no fast food and as far as "ethnic" cuisine goes, there's only Chinese. Most restaurants close between 9 and 10 pm at the latest. I guess that not having much to do in the way of fun can be a good thing. There will be times when you're so bored that you'll have nothing else to do but study.

Being stuck with 1500 people on a tiny island, there is a lot of drama that goes on. Everyone and their mother WILL know everything about you. Do something stupid and the whole island will know within a matter of hours.

Based on the sample of students that I interact with, most students very much look forward to getting off the island for breaks. And by 4th semester, most students are very much looking forward to "getting off the rock" because they see the finish line.