A general presentation (the boring stuff):
Antigua & Barbuda is a young & small nation, which acquired its independence only back in 1981 from the United Kingdom. According to a recent census, local population numbers 82,000 citizens. The main industry is tourism, followed by banking services and online gambling. Agriculture lags far behind these and there is virtually no manufacturing industry. The local currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar, pinned to the US dollar at a rate of 2.6.
This artificial rate and a heavy fiscal policy on consumer goods and general imports makes the island one of the most expensive place to visit in the region.
Despite a large income from tourism, Antigua remains a developing nation, where a non negligeable percentage of the population lives some way below the poverty line.
Antigua & Barbuda is a young & small nation, which acquired its independence only back in 1981 from the United Kingdom. According to a recent census, local population numbers 82,000 citizens. The main industry is tourism, followed by banking services and online gambling. Agriculture lags far behind these and there is virtually no manufacturing industry. The local currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar, pinned to the US dollar at a rate of 2.6.
This artificial rate and a heavy fiscal policy on consumer goods and general imports makes the island one of the most expensive place to visit in the region.
Despite a large income from tourism, Antigua remains a developing nation, where a non negligeable percentage of the population lives some way below the poverty line.
Market Scenes
Culture
Hundreds of years of slavery rest heavily on Caribbean culture. More recently, influences from the USA have mingled with African traditions and habits inherited from the colonial powers (England in this case); however a few core elements remain at the base of the local identity.
Faith comes foremost, in a wide variety of forms. There is on the island a good dozens of creeds and churches of various denomination offering different tastes of Christian worship; the Rastafari movement is also very much present and noticeable, alongside more obscure beliefs.
The nation's prime mover and driving power is mostly feminine, with of course exceptions. Women are the ones that keep things running efficiently, that are the most productive, and are central to all aspects of professional life; they are also at the core of family life and communities. This does not make Antigua a matriarchy; decision makers are traditionally male, but men do not seem to take half as much part in the running of things as women do.
Antiguans value highly their individual time and their individual freedom, probably more so then westerners. Achievement often comes second to these values, a concept that many of those brought up in the 'rat race' environment find difficult - and sometimes impossible- to understand.
And last but not least, 'Attitude' is an essential part of local life. It is cultivated as an art form and a strong attitude is very much sought after. Dullness might not be a fully fledged sin, but is certainly shameful, frowned upon and generally best avoided.
The Antiguan Puzzle (or the non PC overview)
Antigua is a beautiful island, gifted with an exuberant nature and a dented coast line with hundreds of beaches and coves. While there are no natural resources, favourable government policies have allowed tourism to flourish, and tempted a large amount of foreigners to retiring under the island's sun.
In fact, these policies have been so succesful that high end tourism has boomed, leaving one to wonder why the local standards have not been uplifted by the two hundred thousand or so yearly visitors to the island spending often over two hundred dollars a head per day, and by the numerous cruise ships visiting with their load of wealthy passengers.
One of the possible reason for this is that most profits derived from tourism are, rightfully or not, absorbed by the institutions that have invested in the field and by those in control over these. In parallel, there is a lack of investment in public infrastructure, and it appears that common good might be more often then not sacrificed on the altar of personal success.
Inequality is certainly made more blatant by the contrasts of high end tourism against local poverty, but it is hard to ignore that this same inequality rests all too frequently along racial lines. Nearly two hundred year after the abolition of slavery, most lucrative businesses are run by persons from minorities of non African origin. I find mind boggling that, to this date, most important stores in St John's are run and owned by a mixture of Indian, Chinese, European and Arab traders. Down in Falmouth, the vast majority of yachting orientated businesses are owned by westerners. This includes restaurants, bars, yacht services and many more..... even the salvage rustbucket is white British owned. There are a few flourishing niche exceptions: taxis, car rental companies, diving services and varnishers are all successfully run by African Antiguans.
Pinpointing the reasons for this state of things is not easy. It is obviously a lot harder for African Antiguan to set up business in their own country then for those from an other ethnic background; I can only suspect this to be linked to the difficulty of obtaining investment capital, to under confidence, to community pressures and jealousies, and to cultural values or education poorly suited to the running of western styled businesses. Talking to local workers, an average salary is around 600 USD a month, often paid irregularly; a good incentive to set up independently!
But the real blessing is that this inequality does not boil up to hatred and that various comunities can live beside each other in relative tolerance, peace and harmony. Antiguans are happy people, and this might just be the greatest piece of the puzzle; may it last.
Antigua is a beautiful island, gifted with an exuberant nature and a dented coast line with hundreds of beaches and coves. While there are no natural resources, favourable government policies have allowed tourism to flourish, and tempted a large amount of foreigners to retiring under the island's sun.
In fact, these policies have been so succesful that high end tourism has boomed, leaving one to wonder why the local standards have not been uplifted by the two hundred thousand or so yearly visitors to the island spending often over two hundred dollars a head per day, and by the numerous cruise ships visiting with their load of wealthy passengers.
One of the possible reason for this is that most profits derived from tourism are, rightfully or not, absorbed by the institutions that have invested in the field and by those in control over these. In parallel, there is a lack of investment in public infrastructure, and it appears that common good might be more often then not sacrificed on the altar of personal success.
Inequality is certainly made more blatant by the contrasts of high end tourism against local poverty, but it is hard to ignore that this same inequality rests all too frequently along racial lines. Nearly two hundred year after the abolition of slavery, most lucrative businesses are run by persons from minorities of non African origin. I find mind boggling that, to this date, most important stores in St John's are run and owned by a mixture of Indian, Chinese, European and Arab traders. Down in Falmouth, the vast majority of yachting orientated businesses are owned by westerners. This includes restaurants, bars, yacht services and many more..... even the salvage rustbucket is white British owned. There are a few flourishing niche exceptions: taxis, car rental companies, diving services and varnishers are all successfully run by African Antiguans.
Pinpointing the reasons for this state of things is not easy. It is obviously a lot harder for African Antiguan to set up business in their own country then for those from an other ethnic background; I can only suspect this to be linked to the difficulty of obtaining investment capital, to under confidence, to community pressures and jealousies, and to cultural values or education poorly suited to the running of western styled businesses. Talking to local workers, an average salary is around 600 USD a month, often paid irregularly; a good incentive to set up independently!
But the real blessing is that this inequality does not boil up to hatred and that various comunities can live beside each other in relative tolerance, peace and harmony. Antiguans are happy people, and this might just be the greatest piece of the puzzle; may it last.
A small practical add on
Aside from the high cost of the East Caribbean Dollar and therefore of living in general, you will find that withdrawing money on credit or debit cards is not as straight forward as one would think. Credit card fraud is rife, and ATM are few and far between. The one in Falmouth's Nelson Dockyard does not accept Mastercard (or rather the fraud was so bad that Mastercard decided to withdraw its services from the bank operating the machine!). You may have to go all the way to St John's to withdraw cash. The Scotia Bank seems ok and I never had any problem with their machines. However the ATM in the new Epicurian supermarket went through a spate of double charging at the end of last season.... Easily refunded but who wants the hassle?
Taxis are failrly expensive; busses are considerably cheaper to get around; just look at the number plates to see which is which. For the rest, common sense applies!