Hanging Out in Honduras; From Secretary to Scuba Instructor

It’s never too late to become an expat and its certainly never too early. Sometimes a moment happens when you realize that the life you’re living isn’t what you want to do anymore. For Rika Purdey it was one lunch time sitting in the cubicle of her office in downtown Vancouver where she practiced as a para legal secretary. She took one look at the stressed out housewives sitting around her and made the decision that she didn’t want to be still sitting where they sat when she reached their age.

She had booked a holiday to the island of Roatan in Honduras not expecting it to be anything other than a break but four years on she has made it her home and is reveling in her new career as a dive instructor on the island.

In todays interview Rika shares the good and the bad of Roatan and the steps you will need to go through if you plan on getting residency like her – plus you’ll discover why she’s picked up the nickname of the Honey Badger!

You can get more information on Roatan from her website www.cubiclethrowdown.com 

What I learned from speaking with Rika:

1. Access to Honduras certainly isn’t as easy as other Central American countries, you can get a visitors visa but there is quite a bit involved to gaining residency if you want to pursue one of the various methods of getting it.
2. Be prepared to wait for most things (except strangely enough doctors visits!). Most things require queueing - if you’re going to the bank give yourself at least a couple of hours. Honduras is like much of Central America and you need to be willing to accept the slower pace of life that involves.
3. Roatan can be more expensive than the mainland and you need to consider the costs of getting anywhere which can add up. As a community though it offers most of what you need – sometimes at a price – and can cater to everyone from the young bar hopping set to older retirees and families in between.