It’s time for my 2022 Personal Review – what a year it has been!
First and foremost, Happy New Year to you all! Hopefully 2023 brings you health, happiness and prosperity.
My 2021 review promised that the blog would become a priority for us again. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened yet, due to the chaos of setting up our new lives in the Caribbean! Fingers crossed 2023 sees us finally find the time.
Leaving It All Behind
The start of 2022 saw us unravelling the lives we had built in the UK. I had lived in the same place for nearly 14 years. We owned our home and had lots of commitments, both personal and professional. We also had lots of belongings!
Selling our house was a huge undertaking, but a very interesting process to go through for the first time. Alongside selling the property itself, we also got rid of most of our belongings. As someone who had been wanting to live a more minimalist life, having to fit everything you own into suitcases is quite a strong motivation to get on with it!
We didn’t quite manage to achieve the goal, because we’ve left a lot of sentimental belongings at parents’ houses. Nevertheless, the process has been very freeing and is something we’ll try hard not to go back on without good reason.
As well as the physical ‘stuff’, we also had a lot of loose ends to tie up. I was the Chairman of my local tennis club, which was upsetting to leave behind. However, I hadn’t been able to play for a while due to a long-term injury, which made the decision easier in the end.
I was at the point where I really hated my old job so going into 2022, I was VERY happy to be leaving that aspect of my old life behind.
Starting From Scratch
Having been through everything mentioned above, we arrived in the Caribbean feeling pretty drained and shell-shocked.
The Directors of my company were fantastic in helping us settle in. They covered our rent in a nice apartment for the first month, took us out for lots of meals and generally showed us around and made us feel welcome.
Despite this, it was still a significant change for us, and took quite a lot of getting used to!
I was in the office the day after we landed, so didn’t have a great deal of time to help out. Thankfully Mrs Way managed to help Baby Way settle in with lots of beach trips and swimming pool time!
We’ve gradually made friends here and picked up some new hobbies (snorkelling, kayaking etc!). It’s all going quite well and we’re looking forward to seeing where 2023 takes us.
Rediscovering Work
The biggest change for me has been the work environment. Having come from a job in the UK, which was having a detrimental effect on my mental health, I didn’t know what to expect when moving to a different work environment on a different continent. I was also stepping back up to full-time hours, having been doing 3 days a week.
Thankfully, the new company is fantastic. I really like my direct boss and the work we’re doing is incredibly interesting and varied. I’ve been successful since starting in March, and I’ve been promoted to a management position already.
The financial compensation is also pretty good, helped by the tax-haven status!
One significant factor is the structure of the commission we’re paid. We each get a percentage of the amount we invoice each month (assuming it’s over a certain amount). To me, this is a very good way to motivate and reward employees. It helps to ensure everyone is pulling in the same direction and rewards those who bring in the most money.
Living costs here are absolutely insane, but there’s still plenty left over.
A Change of Outlook
Speaking of the ‘left over’ money, we’ve had somewhat of a change of strategy alongside our move.
In the UK, we were totally focussed on building those FIRE funds and charging towards Financial Independence at the earliest possible date.
While this is still a significant goal for us, priorities have changed for the time being. This is a key focus for my 2022 personal review.
We don’t intend to live in the Caribbean forever, and we’re determined to make the most of it while we’re here. This has seen us spend more on accommodation, as well as some extravagant (for us) holidays.
This is a change which has been hard to settle into – when you’re naturally frugal like us, spending thousands on a holiday is VERY uncomfortable! But we’ve had some incredible experiences so far, which really helps to keep the focus on enjoyment!
Ultimately, we’d love to keep adding to our FIRE funds, but if we end up spending most of our Caribbean income on experiences while we’re here, I won’t have any regrets.
Positivity and Adventure
The over-riding theme of our new Caribbean lifestyle, from my perspective, is positivity and adventure.
Back in the UK, I was in somewhat of a negative spiral. My job/boss was really getting me down and I’d had to give up tennis because of a long-term injury.
The year-round sunshine has certainly had a significant impact on my mental health. It gets VERY hot here, but at least we can be outdoors pretty much every day of the year! I’ve stuck to my strength training and managed to do quite a lot of swimming before work. I also cycle to and from work most days.
As well as the exercise, it’s a really refreshing feeling to look forward to work. I used to dread Monday mornings, but now I look forward to going into the office.
The Future?
This is a 2022 personal review. But what does 2023 look like for us? To be honest, we don’t really know! Living as an expat feels quite uncertain. We’re just aiming to make the most of being here while we are.
Our work permits are renewed annually, so every 12 months we’ll have a decision to make.
We’ve just started the process of renewing, so we’ll be here until February 2024 at least.
During that time, we have a few things we want to achieve. We just booked a trip to Antigua which was one of the main goals! We’re also keen to go to the Dominican Republic and possibly explore some other islands nearby. We’ll see where we end up going, and what we can afford!!
2023
That’s it for my 2022 Personal Review! There are so many reasons to be excited looking ahead at 2023. I hope you all feel the same!
In the coming days, we’re intending to post a few other updates, including:
- 2022 Financial Review (tracking progress towards our FIRE goals, current savings amounts etc)
- Annual spending review – a summary of all our spending in 2022
Let us know how your 2022 went and what you’re excited about for 2023 in the comments!
Hope you have a great Christmas period and all the best for 2023.
Mr Way
What a year! Your life in the Caribbean sounds awesome, I’m more than a little envious. We’ve looked at going to the Caribbean a few times for a summer break, it’s much cheaper to travel there from Boston than it was from the UK, do you have any recommendations?
Similar to you, when I joined my current company it felt like a pressure being lifted off my back and my FIRE ambition waned. The immediate need to retire wasn’t there any longer and a lot more possibilities opened up, especially with the option to work remotely (or from an awesome location like your gig), I even thought to myself that if I was FI, I’d still do the job! We’re very lucky for that. I guess people with a big skill set usually chase the money but they don’t realise that those same skills could afford them the choice of a really exciting job?
Happy new year; here’s to a good 2023!
There are definitely downsides, but so far it’s an incredible experience!
We’re heading to Antigua in April so can report back on what that’s like! Heard lots of good things about St Lucia and Dominica. And lots of colleagues have said not to bother with Bahamas! I can also let you know about the island we’re on privately if you’re interested! Generally, I’d recommend looking up accommodation early on because it can cost a fortune!
We definitely need to catch back up with your blog, we’ve been struggling to keep up with the FI world since the move but starting to find the time and headspace now!
Agree on people chasing the money and not always seeing the other opportunities out there. We get lots of comments about how lucky we are from people with similar skill sets, our response is usually that they should do the same! It’s not luck, it’s all about priorities and taking the risk.
Hope 2023 goes well for you and keep in touch.
Great write up and I’m so pleased you are all settled.
I’d be keen to understand how your partner is getting on and whether she’s working or planning to work? I know you said you have all settled well but would be keen to hear more from her perspective.
You talk as if you are planning to come back to the UK within the next few years. What’s the rationale behind this? Is it schooling purposes or just the lure of family close by? Would you consider staying even longer or was the plan always to do this as a 2/3 year move.
Thanks for writing.
Hi Ryan, good to hear from you.
I’ve been trying to persuade Mrs Way to do a review from her perspective, so hopefully this might the the final straw to persuade her!
She has been working roughly 4 half days per week, plus lots of private lessons. Good to keep busy!
We don’t really know when we’re planning to come back. We’ve signed up to another year here so we’ll just reassess at that point. Family is definitely one of the biggest reasons to return, especially with a toddler.