What to buy to make expat life in Seychelles easier

Okay so you’re thinking about moving to Seychelles?  Or, even better you are definitely moving to Seychelles wohooo!!

You’ve seen the pictures, the beaches are beautiful there is tropical greenery every where. It’s always warm……

But then you start thinking about what you will take with you…..You realise that you’ll actually be living there and you have to do normal life stuff that you did wherever you’re living now, it’s not all beaches and boat trips (although they happen a lot too!!).  What are you going to pack?  How are you going to sleep in that heat?   You get the idea!

I’ve put together a list of things that help to make our life here easier on a daily basis.  I’m not saying that *I couldn’t live without* these items, but sometimes island life is a little more rugged than you might expect so these things help make your new home a bit more home like!  Some of these things you can buy here and some you’ll want to bring out with you!

So here it is my list of what to buy to make expat life in Seychelles easier!

what to buy to make expat life in seychelles easier

Water Cooler

As much as I’ve just said this list is things I couldn’t live without……I really would miss my water cooler most of all if it went!!

I must stress that water here IS safe to drink here. It just doesn’t really taste all that nice.  Also, you really do have to drink lots of water here and tepid tap water is just not very appealing.

Most people drink bottled water.  When we moved here we just bought 5l bottles and kept them in our fridge all the time.  Honestly that is very impractical since it takes up so much space.

We bought our water cooler in our second year of living here. It was seriously the best thing we have ever bought.  We get through around 10 5 gallon bottles a month.  Each bottle is 50scr and we get them delivered to the house for free.  You can buy the water coolers here in a few different shops.  The guy who delivers the water bottles on Praslin also sells them, and will try and fix them if there is a problem with them too!

Fans

Your house may have ceiling fans, it may not.  Either way you will probably still want to invest in a few stand up fans.  They are great to have next to your bed at night, one to keep you cooler but also it helps keep any mosquitos away!  I’ve become a little addicted to the sound of fans though and struggle to sleep without them now!

Transport

Everyone (including us) thinks that they won’t need transport, particularly if moving to Praslin as its small.    But don’t be fooled by the size of the islands.  I can’t tell you how much easier it makes life.

What to buy to make expat life in Seychelles easier

The bus service here is great, don’t get me wrong (and very cheap at only 7scr for any journey).  But, they stop running at 6pm leaving you stuck in the evenings.  Buses can also be REALLY busy, and like bus services anywhere the world, you can be left waiting a good while for your bus.  You’ll also quickly discover that for food shopping you can’t just go to one shop, you have to go to a variety of different places to get products you need or like better.  Many are not walking distance apart and doing multiple busses is just going to make it take ALL DAY! (I’ll cover shopping in a future post)

Taxis are expensive.  There are a bunch of ‘pirate taxis’ who are just guys who run unlicensed cabs, even they are expensive….but useful from time to time!

Many people also think that a push bike would be sufficient, and depending where you live and how close your work will be it could work.  But keep in mind that cycling after about 8am is very hot, and on really rainy days – which we get our fair amount of, it’s not very practical.  Also, people’s driving here can be pretty crazy here sometimes so you might not feel all that safe cycling, especially if you’re thinking about doing it with kids on the back.  There’s also just so many hills on all of the islands, so unless you’re super fit it’s going to be a big struggle!

I feel there is probably a whole post just talking about the realities of transport here, so i’ll leave it there for now and come back to it at another time!  In short I would highly recommend a scooter or a car!

Entertainment

TV, games, whatever!

When moving somewhere like the Seychelles, you’ll probably convince yourself you won’t want a TV….after all you’ll be outdoors all the time right!?

We lasted a year, which is longer than a lot of people! The evenings are when it makes the most difference.  It’s dark here year round by around 7pm and evening entertainment can be quite hard up.  We are now using Cable and Wireless TV package, i’ve linked to their site with a bit more information if you want to take a look!  Our little community has been a huge help with this and we find ourselves either with people at our house or us being at others for dinner at least once a week, usually twice.

We’ve also totally fallen in love with board games, I know, we are the coolest!

Internet

The internet in Seychelles is unimaginably better than when we moved here 6 years ago.  It’s still not all that cheap though.  We use cable and wireless for ours.  Here is the link to their home internet packages so you can get an idea of costs and packages available.  **SIDE NOTE I’M NOT BEING PAID BY CABLE AND WIRELESS FOR THIS POST 🙂 **

Foreign Credit Card/Bank Account

Your standard ATM card here does not work outside of Seychelles.  So, you’ll want a credit card or bank card that you can use for purchases outside of Seychelles.  It also helps to keep your credit rating up in your ‘home’ country incase you ever decide to move back!

A good camera

This doesn’t really need explaining!  Get yourself a decent camera, doesn’t need to be a big one.  You want to be able to share the amazing place you live with your friends and families….or at least make your instagram friends jealous!

Good quality Sunglasses

I was once told by an optician that cheap sunglasses do more damage to your eyes than if you wore none at all…..Something to do with the fact that putting dark lenses causes your pupils to dilate letting more light into your eyes and therefore causing more damage.

Anyway, that has stuck with me big time and I only ever wear decent sunglasses now.  I probably paid about £150 for my most recent pair (You probably don’t even have to spend as much as that).  I literally wear mine every day, even cloudy days are bright, and they will probably do me 2 years before I need to replace them.  So i reckon that works out at like 20p a day…..bargain!

 

What to buy to make expat life in Seychelles easier

 

 

Writing this post has given me loads more ideas for different posts about living here and moving here so I’m super excited to get going on those including a bit of a packing list!  Is there anything obvious you think is missing!  Or anything you don’t think should be on there?  Let me know, I always love to hear!



6 thoughts on “What to buy to make expat life in Seychelles easier”

  • I love this!
    I’ve also been compiling a list of tips for families visiting and was thinking of doing a short video..wanna team up on it? 🙂

  • Thanks so much for writing this list!! It certainly has made me think on what to bring if I manage to be so lucky as to get a job on the islands. Which I am very hopeful I will! I also am very grateful for your posting about security and you talking about your terrible situation when you were robbed. So sorry that happened to you. I think personally the dog is by far the best option. Locks on doors wont prevent someone if they know there are valuables inside but a snarly set of teeth munching thieving fingers is an excellent deterrent!
    Keep posting! Much thanks. Sam

    • Hi Sam. I’m so pleased you found it useful! Best of luck in getting the job you are after 🙂 If there is anything particular you’d like to see covered on my blog please do let me know!! Chantelle

  • Can you please tell me what side of Praslin you are living now?
    I have a job opportunity to teach there – Baie Ste Anne side

    How is the sport lifestyle for swimming, cycling and running?

    I heard that you can rent a car? is it better to buy?

    I have vacationed on Eden Island (Mahe) before and I know the tourist spots are quite expensive regarding food and drinks.

    • Hi. We live near Cote D’or now. But really in terms of working at the school there are staff living all over the island, it’s no more than a 20 minute drive anywhere from the school.

      There is a municipal 25m pool (i think its 25m) and of course there is the ocean for swim training.

      Plenty of opportunity for running. Cycling too.

      Renting a car, even at resident rate is unaffordable long term you would definitely be better off buying one, or buying a scooter which is cheaper again and lots of staff at school have one.

      Eating out doesn’t have to be super expensive, we have always managed to do it since we’ve lived here. Obviously if you eat at the top end hotels its going to cost more but there are plenty of other options around!
      I hope this is helpful for you. Please do drop me an email if you have any more questions.
      Chantelle

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