Thx for the informative post. I was thinking along the same lines!

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FOTL, nice proactive stance.

but, there is a housing shortage in the sense that not everyone that wants a 1 person house close to campus can get one. u'd have to rent or buy a car.
there are places for rent everywhere, if u actually want to live in em.
i know ppl who had to get houses/apts in town n drive 25ish mins to school each way, but they have a car n not everyone will have a car upon arrival.
i found mr jones to be most helpful, but he couldn't hookup a 1 person house for me either. so i ended up findin my own.
ppl have different experiences, n different results. calling ahead does help, but once ur here ur on ur own basically.

btw, i saw many houses that were available - no AC, bad condition, overpriced, etc.
so let me rephrase for ppl - there is an upcoming shortage of NICE houses CLOSE to campus for a REASONABLE price. does that clarify??

n did u even notice that u had to basically jumpstart 'MUA housing' to do their job?? they should have done the research for u, as most ppl when they come here do not worry about housing as their # 1 issue.

aii

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Don't be afraid, bad dreams are only dreams! (from the Shogun Assassin, an AWESOME movie!)

Amen, halelujah, amen, halelujah, amen, amen, amen (that goes to a little tune that is running through my brian obsessively from my 2 year olds sunday school class, as I am doing last minute packing for tomorrow's departure...obsessively trying to remember everything...as you said...aiii)

THE AMEN IS ALSO for all your comments. It is brand new, 3 ac's, but about 10 minutes drive from MUA. Good enough though.

Blessings.

1. The "Property Managers" are not so trustworthey.

2. MUA "Housing" (Miss L.) is actually very helpful, kind, but probably overworked and understaffed.

She came out on her holiday to rescue us from a hole and delivered us a great house.

The original guy was not so truthful.

There is not a shortage of houseing once you are 10 minutes plus from the school, this is true. I have family here so we have to have a car, so it doesnt' matter.

NOW, CAN YOU TRUST SOMEONE AS IMPULSIVE AND NAIVE AS I WAS BEFORE DEPARTURE TO NEVIS? Hope so!!

AMAZING HOW YOU WILL LOOK AT YOUR POSTS AFTER YOU ARRIVE HERE FOLKS,,,, cough, cough,,,,,hmmmm editing????

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I start in September, so I will not have to move out of campus until December. Should I start calling the school/SGA from now?

Hi,
I'm trying to get a handle on the non-dorm housing in Nevis. If anyone is living in non-dorm housing, could you please describe it, AC or no AC, I assume all are furnished, safe?, appliances, washer & dryer, size of the place, etc. and, if you have any pictures, please post a few as sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words...

Thanks!
BC

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RDC

Call Nevis MUA admin. office. They'll help you. They have more staff now. Were very responsive and shot us 3-4 places within 1-2 days (by email). Most places have AC in bedrooms only, which is not enough for me. Many westerners are fine just using the "Island Breeze", but not me. I have to have AC whenever inside. Consider that. You can get free standing units down here for about 1000$ US. "Safe" is very relative to where you are coming from. The whole Island is probably safer than any major city in the US or Canada, and safer than almost anywhere, but crime can occur anywhere, and does here also.

As far as furnishings, always "furnished" to varying degrees but usually sufficient, usually a desk, kitchen table, sofa, basics, TV, often no VCR/DVD player, bring one if it matters to you. Washers common, dryers very rare. BRING A SCREW ON WATER FILTER, with lots of filter replacements, and consider a spare filter unit, because you use it so much they break. You go through a filter about 1/month with 3 people, water is heavily mineralized, which is why you need the filter, or you're basiclaly drinkin milk of magnesia, and using the toilet likewise. Blenders and coffee pots are uncommon. Microwaves are considered common. Toasters common.

1000$ for abotu 1000 sq feet is probably average, and that's if in good shape, newer, and not hodge podge. Very common situation is to be in the lower part of a Nevisian local's upper level home. You are in the basement, which is cooler anyway. Yards are very variable, often junky and unkempt by American standards. Utilities almost never included in above figure.

Remember, it's 20 months. DO NOT EXPECT IT TO BE HOME. Don't try to fool yourself that it's not a backward, foreign country, because it is. Wether it's 3rd world or not is up for semantics. I personally love the quiet and simplicity, and once you get used to the locals flattened affect, you're good.

Little more than you asked for, but I'm on break.

All the best.

The good news about the housing on the island is that it is increasing. There are new apartments going up across from the campus, and some new ones became available across from the airport (about a 6 min drive to school). I have lived in three different places since I've been here and only one of them was "fully furnished". Those coming down may want to consider bring things like silverware, dish towels, sheets, coffee pot etc with them. You can get them on the island but you'll pay more for them here.

As for 'safe', FOTL is correct, it is relative. I live in a nice area and have been robbed several times. The key is to not leave money laying around your house. This includes change, which you will collect a huge amount of here. I have heard of a few muggings, but I haven't had any problems.

The thing to remember with the locals is always be pleasent to them, no matter what you may really be thinking. Getting up set with them will close down communications quickly and then you can't get anything done. Good luck to all!!

can someone clarify the dorm situation...do 1st term students stay at potworks or rawlins? & how far are each from the main campus classes?