Finally, it’s October, and we’ve never been happier to see stores roll out Christmas decorations before Halloween. And although 2020 might go down as the biggest dumpster fire since the second World War, every cloud has a silver lining.
At least, that’s what the Caribbean island communities of Antigua, Barbuda, Aruba, and Barbados want us to think.
Several countries have announced new extended stay programs catered toward Digital Nomads and other professionals who can work remotely from anywhere in the world. The news comes at a welcome time, as many SMBs and big tech companies like Twitter are encouraging employees to work from home through 2021.
New ‘Remote Work’ visa programs announced for Antigua, Barbuda, Aruba, and Barbados
Feet in the sand, computer on lap, and a turquoise water view—that’s every remote workers’ dream. Now, that dream comes closer to reality as several Caribbean countries encourage Digital Nomads to embrace the positive side of post-COVID life.
“Although the COVID 19 pandemic has been a tremendous challenge to people around the world, we believe it has also opened up opportunities,” says Mia Amor Mottley, Q.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Barbados.
“We recognise more people are working remotely, sometimes in very stressful conditions, with little option for vacation. Our new 12-month Barbados Welcome Stamp, a visa that allows you to relocate and work from one of the world’s most beloved tourism destinations.”
Other countries are following suit. Antigua and Barbuda, for example, offers an NDR (Nomad Digital Residence) Visa that lasts twice as long.
Is it safe to work remotely in the Caribbean?
Setting aside the inherit risks of airline travel, you might be wondering how safe it is to work from the Caribbean. Personally, we’ve never been ones to let fear dictate our travel plans (unless, of course, we’re talking about spiders).
Nevertheless, here’s a list of totally reasonable initial concerns:
- Airline travel safety (as it pertains to COVID)
- Island safety
- Wifi reliability
- Abundance of vegan desserts
- Spiders
Regarding travel, we recommend brushing up on the CDC’s COVID travel guidelines, last updated September 7th, 2020 (at the time of this writing).
TL;DR – Airline travel seems to be okay because air is circulated and filtered, but social distancing and disinfecting are critical.
For island safety, Wifi strength, and overall desirability, we defer to our friends over at Nomad List. They use an algorithm to rank the world’s most popular remote work destinations, and we dig it. This is how the countries stack up:
Aruba (Oranjestad)
Overall ranking: 3.29 (#661 in the world)
Wifi strength: Fast – 22Mbps (avg)
Air quality: Great
Traffic safety: Okay
Places to work from: Great
Friendliness to foreigners: Good
Female friendly: Bad
Startup score: Okay
Quality of life: Good
Safety: Great
Barbados (Bridgetown)
Overall ranking: 2.78 (#1,244 in the world)
Wifi strength: Fast – 27Mbps (avg)
Air quality: Great
Traffic safety: Okay
Places to work from: Great
Friendliness to foreigners: Good
Female friendly: Bad
Startup score: Bad
Quality of life: Okay
Safety: Bad
Antigua/ Barbuda (St. John’s)
Overall ranking: 3.09 (#993 in the world)
Wifi strength: Good – 7 Mbps (avg)
Air quality: Great
Traffic safety: Okay
Places to work from: Good
Friendliness to foreigners: Okay
Female friendly: Bad
Startup score: Okay
Quality of life: Okay
Safety: Bad
Remember: This is just according to Nomad List. If your wanderlusty soul is warming into a frenzy, we recommend hitting Google for a more in-depth look at each destination.
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