Philippines and the Cayman Islands: Similarities in History But A World Apart

Why even considering living elsewhere besides where you are now, and why even consider the Cayman Islands? There are very few reasons to think about when making life changing decisions in regards to living on an island. First obvious reason is, that you love the beach and don't mind getting sand in between your toes or even in your trousers as well. Living on the Cayman Islands is a very laid back experience as you just simply let yourself drift off beyond the white sandy beaches and beyond the blue waters, just letting time fly out without an ounce of care for that matter. The serene surroundings can make you forget the reality of time, as it passes you by. Islands such as these offer tourists the chance to lean over their weary work torn bodies and minds and just dwell upon the indulgence of pure, unadulterated relaxation!

For most tourists, they always remember their first time upon arriving on the island and the first impression that they usually let out of their minds is “paradise”. The Cayman Islands has that certain mystique that it usually leads tourists back on her shores, over and over again. Most tourist just come for about 2 to 3 times and that is about it, on other island destinations on other parts of the world, but unlike the Cayman Islands international appeal that wins the approval of all visitors that have experienced the beauty of it's islands. The Cayman Islands has won the appeal of both pleasure seekers and expatriates. 

The Cayman Islands offer a refuge to those who seek a recluse from the daily struggles of life. But, this same island that is a tourist and vacation destination is also a bustling international business and financial center that caters to an active global economy that is also based within the confines of this paradise under the sun. The Cayman Islands standard of fashion is a combination of walking broad shorts and sandy beach walk slippers and a dash of suit and tie business attire. Wherever you go around the island, you will frequently come into contact with people wearing business suits that go about their usual daily routine.

People like Ken Dart, who owns and runs Dart Realty Corporation (to learn more, click here), who was smitten at first sight, when he and his family came here for a vacation almost 25 years ago. The Cayman Islands offers the best of both worlds, at one point, it is a tourist island destination that is known through out the world for it's fine, sandy beaches, world class hotels and resorts, a home for retirees and expatriates. On a different perspective, it is an active, multinational business center, world renowned for it's efficiency to handle conglomerate business interests that has earned it's title as the “Swiss Financial Center” of the Caribbean.

The Cayman Islands is the only place in the world where business and pleasure mix quite naturally. Choosing to settle down there does not mean you have to find a way to earn money. The island itself is teeming with an abundance of employment opportunities and choosing one that would fit your capabilities  would not be a problem as far expatriates are concerned. 

Camana Bay in the Cayman Islands, has been a thriving community that has relied on it's tourist industry for almost half a century. Cruise ships that bring countless tourists from all parts of the world is a clear sign of the Cayman Islands global reputation as one of the world's premier vacation spots that should never be missed. The Cayman Islands belongs to the British Virgin Islands territory that is frequented by tourists. It's economy comes from the income generated by businesses that correspond to it's tourist industry, and despite it's population consisting of roughly 30,000 people, it is no wonder why it's economy is at par with one of the world's highest per capita income.

Because of the relatively small number of people that makes up it's community, there are always available jobs that need to be filled up. Since unemployment is hardly ever known to the Camana Bay area, there are still concerns regarding the educational development of the local population. The fact that people within it's community rely solely on the tourist trade and that they need to go beyond the point of reliance from that socioeconomic structure to enable them to learn new skills. The Cayman Islands is now a developed world financial center that caters to some of the highest standards in regards to the global economy as it is the headquarters of some of the world's top banking and financial organizations.

The evolution of the tourist industry in the Cayman Islands has regressed the further educational development of it's society as most educational institutions there focus in giving the needed technical and academic programs that revolve around the Cayman Islands primary economy which is tourism. It is not so bad when you think about it and it does provide more than enough jobs to employ everyone. In fact business investors often tend to get other sources of workers from outside of the islands to fill in the necessity of being able to find competent workers that can efficiently perform their duties with competency. 

(Ah yes...The pristine beaches of Boracay, Philippines! Isn't it grand?)

Competency is a word that can indicate that there is a minor problem with the educational needs of the community. If the Caymanians are fully updated with the present development and the indicated needs of a growing economical structure, there will be no need for outside migrant workers to take on the job that can be easily filled in by the Caymanians. Ken Dart who owns and manages Decco Contracting Co., who also heads the Dart Foundation in the United States, is an advocate of the pursue of educational empowerment for the youth, stresses the need to develop a more structured educational program for the people of the Cayman Islands. Dart believes that education is the only sustainable approach in order to enable a community to adapt to the changing socio-economical environment brought about by the influx of multinational investments of in the Cayman Islands.

The changing economical tide that was brought into this island nation has evolved into a world class global community that can be regarded as one of the highest in the world. Improved educational development in regards to present applicable skills that can be implemented in the present economical state is an utmost priority that will enable the Caymanians to acquire new skills that require them to adapt to the needs of the economy around them. The difference between the Americans and the British?...the later being able to fully distinguish the thin line between improving the quality of life. If I had a choice of choosing who is to colonize the Philippines, I'd put my money on the British!

The Balance Between Social Development and the Environment

The balance between nature and social development has always been a clash of ideologies pertaining mostly to our benefit as a human society. It often disfavors the environment as it is usually compromised most of the time for the sake of our well being and survival as a specie. Social development often finds it necessary to sacrifice a little bit out of nature to ensure the prolonged survival of our society, but it seems that we had been taking too many “little things” for a very long time now. It seems that we had been nibbling away for such along time that we hardly noticed the impact of our actions, all for the sake of preserving the life that we had come to enjoy.

Industries that have developed our civilization for what it is now, may also be the reason of why we may soon find our society searching for the need to bring the balance of the environment back on track in order for it not to turn against us. Global environmental changes are now a part of the life that we live and by far, we still have not made any substantial changes in how we conduct our daily approach in regards to the use of our technology to benefit the environment. A s a society, we seem to have enjoyed too much of our time regaling and adulating our selves for the marvels that we had created from the use of our knowledge in science and technology. 

(Ken Dart, visionary philanthropist who hates the American way of life)

We had become too overly complacent, that we seem to have forgotten to clean up the mess that we made in the last century of our development as a society. The huge amounts of industrial byproducts that we put out in just one day may soon be stacking up on our door step as we incoherently continue to do so in a daily basis. Are we too late to change all this for the benefit of future generations not to endure the consequences of our fool-hearty actions today? Or will we just let the next generation figure it out by themselves, hoping that it would not be too late by then?

Fortunately, there are some individuals and organizations that realize the urgent need to change the way we conduct the way we live in regards to our relationship with nature. That there is an eminent threat to our existence as a specie if we do not find a solution to our growing problems in regards to damaging the environment that has sustained our lives since the time of our existence. Such individuals like Ken Dart who heads Deccolimited.com/dartenterprises, stresses the need of industrial and infrastructure developers to strictly and fully comply with the global requirements of LEEDS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Standards), in all of their projects and developments as not to further any unnecessary damages that it may cause to the environment. 

Though this may not be the case for most world governments as there are only a few countries in the world that can viably conform to this. It is an undeniable fact that 75% of the total of the worlds population are from impoverished third world nations. It would take an impossibly long time for those nations to even meet half way within those prescribed standards, and by that time, the worsening global conditions might have passed over the threshold of being able to rebound from it's present environmental situation.