A grandmother chucked in her 9-5 job working for a council in the UK and now works around six hours a day in the sun-soaked paradise of Barbados. Jacqueline Johnson, 60, previously lived in Northampton and worked for the local council. Now, she has a role with her son's scalp micropigmentation business after making the move that has made her "happier".
Jacqueline said she had no plans to return to the UK. She made the move to work for her son Justin, 40, as a social media and contract manager in 2022 through a Welcome Stamp Visa – a 12-month visa that allows people to relocate and work remotely. Despite the idyllic setting, the mother-of-one maintains that “it has become normal life” with work, bills, and chores – but she does enjoy the unique luxury of deciding whether to spend weekends by the beach or the pool and she loves the island’s community and sunshine.
Jacqueline has also embraced the “laid back” lifestyle of Barbados, mainly working 7am to 1pm with less stress and with views of the beach, and has noticed that locals often “don’t understand” when Britons get anxious about small things. Having renewed her visa twice, she plans to stay in Barbados for the long term, as “it works” for her, and she would encourage others to “take a leap of faith” and try living abroad. Jacqueline said: “It has become normal life for me now – although I might live in a country like this, I still have chores, I still have bills, and I still have to work.
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