Nerves...

Um...why nervous? Bermuda is paradise!

Adjustment issues, really. A friend pointed out this sounds a bit like Wilmington, or Florida. Those locales are just as foreign to me, in some ways.

Of course, to visit and to live in a place are two different things. Sure, I probably have more experience with this than a lot of folks - a fair amount of travel; graduate work in Ljubljana, Slovenia; volunteer work in St. Petersburg, Russia; my 'creative break' going to school and working in a restoration studio in Florence, Italy (and, frankly, I'd count living and working in the Carmel area as being 'away'.) There is always something a bit challenging in doing this in a new setting. At least the 'home' language is English!

Bermuda is really a chain of lots of islands (9 main ones, 100+ smaller ones), about 21 miles long, 1-2 miles wide, 600 miles due east of North Carolina . As I noted, that would be little bits of land surround by lots of water, far as the eye can see. I find that unnerving, sort of a form of claustrophobia. (It is a recognized issue - referred to as 'rock fever'. People - Bermudians too, not just ex-pats - seem to get off the Island about 3 times a year. A lot of shopping gets done on those visits 'off'!)

It is a small country, perhaps 65,000 people. That in itself is not a bad thing – I prefer smaller towns and cities to big cities. My experience during my visit underscored how interconnected the business relationships and friendships can be. That can also be a wonderful thing. I’m just wondering about the claustrophobia thing…

I have no water skills…shipwreck diving? Sailing? Snorkeling? Even swimming is on the foreign side for me. (I never actually put foot in water while in California, despite living perhaps 150' away from the coastline.) Yikes! (But doesn't it all sound fun?!)

I am warned of the constant high humidity and the toll it takes on everything – food, clothing, paper goods, electronics and metals…and that the humidity means the higher temperatures become really hot and the moderate seeming lower temperatures become really cold. I’m not processing that well – the temperatures appear to stay in the upper 50s and 60s to mid-80s, but 85 degrees and 85% humidity will feel like over 100 degrees. Pacific Grove (CA) was like that, and the damp would roll in like the fog, but it was never really cold as a result, and also never really hot. (The remedy: keeping air moving, keeping things clean and well aired, keeping foods etal stored and refridgerated, keeping kitchens spotless. And - o joy! - hose in the summer are just not worn, unless you are trying for a chance to use some of those 5 weeks of sick leave.)

Of course, I will be working in an office, so I may not be as impacted by the outside temperatures as a non-career spouse might be. And air-conditioning is more common now - tho it seems as if furnace-heat is not.

I’m warned of a recent jump in residential thefts, and sure enough the police statistics show a nearly 50% jump this past year, a 20% jump the year before that and a 25% one the year prior to that one. Living alone, a mid-years female – hmmm. I'm told the warning - from the aging couple I stayed with when I visited - was rather over-stated, but the economic climate and growing drug use are making break-ins more likely - a quick snatch thru a cut window screen or unsecured door is the usual deal. Even with someone sleeping in the room - but personal harm is quite rare. Property crime yes; personal crime no. So - second story units, good window and door locks, lights and awareness, a dog (or at least a recording of a barking dog, triggered by fiddling efforts) - the usual sorts of things that discourage the 'easy pickings' sort of crime are very useful.

Housing prices are steep, everything is expensive because nearly everything has to be brought in…Reference books cite a 335 to 360% higher cost of living. Of course, higher than where is a valid question - certainly higher than in North Carolina, but maybe not than in NYC.

And then there are the things like the British-style right-hand drive business, which I figure I can acclimate to reliably after maybe 6 years, but which likely means I am a menace for the foreseeable future. (You are warned - driving to sites is a part of the job. I am to get a Bermuda driving license early on!)

All this notwithstanding, I am excited about walking into this new situation. Life won't be dull!