hey all, im moving to aruba for 2 years to go to school there. I have never been to aruba before. Im moving Jan 2006. was wondering if anyone had any good tips or suggestions. I am moving from nyc. What should i bring, how cell phones work there, cars and rent or buy? local laws, weather etc. Any help would be great. Im gonna be living in orangestad. how is the job market there? i want to get a bartending job somewhere in aruba to make a few extra $$. i am a 25 year old male. Where a good places to meet women my age, as from what i hear, aruba is mainly a couples island. Thanks in advance for all your help, see you all in 36 days!!

What are you going for school there for?

GSM technology cell phones work there, you'll want to get a local plan there though once you are down there rather then whatever you use in the U.S. as a provider.

No offense man but for someone who is going down there in 36 days and is going to live there for 2 years you know very little about Aruba, didn't you look up any of this info before you committed to something like this?

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Well, Jmack, you sure know how to make a native born Aruban now exiled to Alabama jealous!

The weather in Aruba is highly predictable. The climate is semi-arid which means it gets less than 20 inches of rain a year. That makes for desert-like landscapes (that is probably not what you were expecting but the scenery is unique). It rarely rains with the rainest time of the year occurring during the last three months of each year. Even when it does rain, it usually comes in the form of brief but intense squalls that blow across the island. After about half an hour of rain, the sun usually comes back out. Daytime high temperatures occasionally get into the 90's and nighttime lows are generally in the 70's with very little (if any) seasonal variation. Temperatures are moderated by the almost-constant tradewinds which blow across the island from the East at about a 20 knot clip.

Cars can be bought or rented and all the main roads are paved and well maintained. Car rental rates are probably based on the typical one or two weeks that tourists are on the island. I have no idea what kind of long term rentals would be available.

By law, jobs go to available Aruban candidates first. If there are no available Arubans to fill a job, non-natives will be hired. Something like bartender is transient enough that you can probably find some work. How are your language skills? It would be a great asset to your job-hunting prospects if you can speak languages other than English.

The legal system and, if fact, all governmental institutions are Dutch. You will find that Aruba is a stable democracy with a relatively high standard of living and some of the friendliest people anywhere in creation.

Find time to study!

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I have to agree with zero here, j! Only thirty something days to go and you need some info here. Try this link from this website for some "facts":
http://www.visitaruba.com/facts/index.html

Someone else will have to help you regarding meeting women, though!

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well i just got into medical school there, so i kinda have no choice. I found out i got in last week. so there is my decision. Im a kind of person who could get up and go, so im not to worried about adapting. just want to get a kind of idea of how it is there, for what it seems, it seems similar to the other islands. I been to puerto rico, dominican republic cancun etc. Nice and peaceful places. People are always dissapearing or getting killed in ny, so im not to worried about aruba. thanks again for the help btw dont mind my spelling errors, im to lazy to spell check

Ok, now I AM jealous! What are you going to be studying?

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Congratulations with getting into medical school - that's neat!! As to "not too worried about aruba," i.e. disappearing or getting killed, once on island you'll "get it." It's a safe, comfortable, peaceful place whose people are the kindest and nicest you'll ever meet. Believe not what you read... Good luck Jmack!

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The countdown's begun!
January 30th to February 27th!

Thanks, im looking forward to it. Cant wait really, im gonna be studying emergency medicine. Thanks again for all your help. Viva Aruba

J - If you have time, I would love for you to check in on the board periodically and let us know how it is going. It would be so interesting to hear how your transition went!

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I wanna go!!

Wow! Why didn't I think of doing that, darn. I have always praised the Aruban medical system. They seem to care about the patient so much more than here in the states where a lot of times it's about the insurance and money. Good luck, and please, do check in.

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Jmack.....Emergency Medicine in Aruba. The whole medical system is in Dutch and not English, all forms, procedures, training, charts, documents, I mean everything is in Dutch. Who is sponsering this training an Aruban School or someone else......? Just Curious....

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It is a american based school housed in aruba. I would only be going to medical school there for 2-3 years, then i come back to the states to finish up. When i get back to ny, i will be practicing emergency medicine. Long island jewish hospital located in ny, is one of the hospitals affiliated with the medical school in aruba. I would also hopefully like to set something up in aruba, like a clinic or something, but thats in the long run. I need to get my M.D. licence first. I think the transition should be good. I was looking at other countries as well, but nothing beats aruba. A big plus was that a good majority of the population speaks english, so that should help me adapt well.
Where can i find out more about local laws in aruba? for example, legal drinking and driving limit? is it zero tolerence, etc.? My only concerns are knowing the laws, so i dont get my self in trouble for something stupid. I dont want to be like "well its ok to do this in ny, so it must be ok to do it in aruba" lol Thanks again for all your help, i'll keep you all posted.

unless you are a boy genius you are old enough to drink or drive. it is a zero tolerance country though and the jail isn't air conditioned, lol.

remember that you will never make good money setting up a clinic in aruba because it is socialized medicine. also, the chances of getting the opportunity to do anything medical there besides learn are slim to none because all jobs are offered to arubans and dutch citizens well before being offered to americans or any other future ex pats. we have many medical professional friends and they have learned that the medical field is always taken by citizens.

you are right though, nothing beats aruba and after you spend a little time there you will learn that it is a place you do want to return to when your studies are done. just be prepared for difficulties getting a job.

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Jmack- so I guess your reply to seashelldiver is that you already read, write, speak and can translate Dutch into English for the classes you will be taking. Wow! I am impressed!!!!!

I think I've heard of this medical school that J is talking about and, if it's the one I'm thinking of, the entire curriculum is in English. It's an American school with a center on Aruba.

Back in the late 1960's, a school located in NY (Hunter College) opened a research center on Aruba. They housed the students in vacant houses in Seroe Colorado and they used the old High School for their classes (plus they did a lot of work in the field). I think the program was geared towards marine biology majors but I'm really not sure. This is not the school where J would be going; I just brought it up because I like to tell stories about the old days.

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Jmack....you must be talking about All Saints University of Medicine pre med school......now I know, it took me a minute. I lived in Aruba from 92-99 and all I can say is good luck talking yourself into coming back to the USA after graduation !!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVED living there.....lost my Aruban husband to cancer in 97 and then my Dad in Michigan got sick AND THAT IS the only reason why I moved back.......you'll love it, you'll have a ball and you'll go kicking & screamin back to the airport once your done !!!!
I saw open an EMT Center the island doesn't have a true EMT center and could probably use one.
All the best of luck and while enjoying Aruba try and do a lil studying !!!!!!

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JMACK.....hey I just called a friend of mine on the island and she directed me to this website...it has a public forum and you can ask your questions there....I see alot of the current students of ASUM post there and answer perspective students questions about Aruba and the school.....hope this is helpful.......

http://www.asumaruba.org/scentre/ind...owcat&catid=26

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wow you guys are great, thanks for all the help. I am actually attending xavier university. It used to be only All Saints, now xavier has opened up there as well. All the classes are tought in english, all US based. Im looking forward to leaving this 30F weather. Ill keep you guys updated. Keep the reply's coming.

In case you haven't noticed yet, one thing this bunch is good for is answering questions about Aruba. We will also give advice at the drop of a hat. After about 72 hours on the island, you'll begin to understand our passion.

And we do expect to hear from you from now on!

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