Jennie,
You'll find Alfred's site very informative especially the trials and tribulations on moving and getting "stuff" to the island from the states. I've been getting ready to move to Negril now for about 6 months. I'm finding there are a lot of little details and loose ends to deal with such as bank accounts, getting existing mail from the states to the island, paying ongoing bills back in the states, etc.
Even simple things like vaccines.
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationJamaica.aspxNot that you need all these, but I have to be particularly careful as a year ago I got real sick from going to the dentist and had to have open heart surgery. So things like flu shots are an absolute must for me.
From what I understand, as a US citizen you are allowed to visit Jamaica as a "tourist" for up to 180 days (6 mo) w/o a visa. So you must return to the states every 6 mo even if just for a day. I belive it takes roughly 3 years and several applications to get Jamaican citizenship.
You need a visa even for short visits if you are going there for business. i.e. your US company is sending you there for some job, etc.
I currently live in California and unlike Alfred, I have not been able to find a reasonable method to ship "stuff" to the island without breaking the bank. But lately Air Jamaica has round trip nonstop flights from LAX to MBJ for about $280 - quite the deal. All I have to do is convince 3 friends to come visit and I can get a couple hundred pounds of stuff deliviered.
I'm heading down in a couple of weeks to get my living quarters set up and a physical address, and of course to have some relaxing fun.
Good luck and share your stories.
-Mark
