Paradise Found.

I know it has once again been a long time between drinks or should I say Blogs, but these things take time.
We were very excited to finally hit solid ground in Vanuatu with a long to do list in hand. The lead item on that list without question was deciding if this really is the peaceful paradise, that quiet pristine utopia we were hoping for, followed quickly by the need to learn as much about local Real Estate & investment as possible.

Eratap Beach Resort~Beautiful.

Deciding to spend the first week of our stay at the Eratap Beach Resort was the perfect choice, located about a 15 minute drive from Port Vila & situated on a perfect white sand & crystal blue water beach our introduction to the natural beauty of this island was off to a magical start. Add beautifully prepared local organic meals, served by impeccable staff to this equation & we were quickly regretting our reality of having to leave sometime in the not too distant future, at this stage I've already decided I never want to leave.

Waking to magnificent views & dining on delicious food aside, we had work to do, which meant making our way into Port Vila to meet with a local Real Estate Agent. Setting off in our hired 4WD, a must in these parts to navigate the gaping pot holes & dirt tracks, nobody was more surprise than us to be greeted by a CBD traffic jam...this really was not what we were expecting from this "quite little pacific island" but traffic jam is indeed what we got, served up on a regular basis we quickly learnt. 

Typical Port Vila traffic jam.

I really believe the same rules of Real Estate apply, regardless of where in the world it happens to be, location is everything, followed very closely by ensuring correct "current" market value is the price you pay, both hard facts to establish in a market which you have very little knowledge about other than that which is being supplied to you via the real estate agents, not always in my opinion the best source for unbiased comment.  Many Many properties later, We were only just starting to get some sort of handle on the local market, left with more questions than answers We were quickly learning this was going to be more difficult than first expected, alerting us to the fact we needed to proceed with extreme caution, exhausting all avenues of information before laying down a dollar of our hard earned cash, our education so far has allowed us to be able to ear mark the area's in which we would most like to live magnificent views & ocean breezes at the tip of our list of must haves, in fact we have found a spectacular chunk of land, the perfect location for our dream island escape, with plenty of room left over for that banging organic veggie garden I cannot wait to get underway, but we know we need to be mindful of 'acting in haste' so there's just a little more due diligence required before that eventuates, fingers crossed it all works out.

Purchasing property & living in another country is not as simple a just turning up, there are several hoops of which you are required to jump through, this trip was also our opportunity to get the ball rolling in that department, establishing bank accounts the first to be ticked off the list...who knew you could decide what currency you wanted your accounts to be held in *AUD*US*VATU*EURO pretty much whatever you like apparently? A novelty given we have only ever had the AUD option before, banking in Australia suddenly looked so one dimensional & just a little bit boring...haha!  Like most other Countries, Vanuatu is not keen to welcome anyone with a shady past with open arms to it's pristine shores so there we were armed with what was essentially our documented life history providing all sorts of information to the accounting firm we had appointed as our representative, documents to prove we are who we claim to be, are free of a criminal history with the means to ensure we do not become a burden upon the Vanuatu society, not that the Vanuatu Government offers any assistance to those who may in fact become a burden anyway?  

The Friendly Ni-Vanuatu people.

Joyfully our trip of exploration bought with it more happy surprises & very little by way of negatives, we expected rubbish roads, they were in fact better than anticipated in most places, with significant improvement soon to begin, thanks to a $32 million grant from the Australian government. We couldn't help other than laugh at the thought of finally being in a position to enjoy some benefit from all those years of paying tax?  High temperatures were a given, though easy to tolerate given the constant gently swaying Trade Winds. We already knew nothing happens in a hurry, smelling the frangipani & greeting a cousin you saw less than an hour ago will always take precedence over anything else for the Ni-Vanuatu people, again no surprises there, so if fast, attentive, pushy service is your thing... this is not the place for you, nor is it the ideal for those in need of large lavish resorts & a bustling night life to be happy, avoid it like the plague if fast food is your thing, not a KFC, Macca's or Nando's in sight you will starve! If however like us, fresh, local & organic are music to your ears when talking food, Vanuatu could indeed be your culinary utopia.  Don't get me wrong we love ourselves some lavish holiday accommodation almost as much as we enjoy eating in amazing restaurants, experiences I have no doubt we will continue to enjoy, but the thought of waking up each day surrounded by natures gifts in a safe, peaceful & happy country less than 3 hours from our homeland is a temptations we have no intention of ignoring.
 

Amazing fresh organic produce available at the 24/6 markets.

Aptly named the Blue Lagoon.

While most of that we discovered in  Vanuatu was what we had anticipated the happiest surprise of all without a doubt was the people, not just the Ni-Vanuatu, we already knew they were a wonderful bunch, Vanuatu didn't get it's tag as the "happiest country on the planet" by accident, that I have no doubt is courtesy of the locals.  It was in fact the ex-pat community taking us by surprise, friendly, interesting, educated, well travelled & keen to enjoy themselves at every opportunity is how I would describe those we were lucky enough to meet, most of whom came to Vanuatu seeking exactly that which we hope to create...a life where being "busy" is not coveted, for the purpose of making yourself look important, they too have rebelled against the craziness of the rat race  more interested in truly experiencing each day instead of numbly rushing through life focused only on what's next. 

Any reservations we may have had about making Vanuatu our second home have fast dissolved, as the saying goes "it won't happen over night, but it will happen".  Downsizing our Australian lifestyle is the first step in achieving our end goal, we have the ball is rolling in that department how long those initial steps take is anyones guess, which is fine, We know it will unfold in good time, there is not immediate rush to, we plan to proceed with caution, do it once & do it right.  In the meantime I look forward to our next visit to this wonderful place we can't wait to eventually call our home.