Can I afford to live in Trinidad?

April 3, 2008

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Good to see you again. Glad you enjoy the Limes.


“Dude, you hear how much Curepe doubles is cost these days? Is all kinda $4, $5 people paying for one doubles.”

I don’t know if I can afford to live in Trinidad – and by that I mean, I don’t know if I will be able to afford the same standard of living to which I have grown accustomed after six years overseas.

The extent of the food price inflation is shocking, and I’m not just talking about the fact that $1 will only get you two pholourie these days.

Every time I go home I marvel at the rising cost of staples like bread, milk, chicken, vegetables.

How do people live? How is it that we, as a nation, seem to be able to absorb these price shocks without so much as batting an eyelid or giving up our weekly forays to Zen, Space, insert-name-of-trendy-club-here?

How do we afford all those cars on the road? How do we afford to pay rents that are increasingly being quoted in US dollars?

I don’t understand it. Explanations welcome.


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sinistra

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  • subbarao
    I lived in Trinidad between 1973 and 1978 as a Ph.D. student at UWI. I lived on Jackson street and paid $120/month for boarding (3 meals and a room) at Mr.Lakhan's house. Later lived on McEnroy st. and Watt st. etc., Doubles were 50 cents each. I revisited in 1990 to so lots of changes. With so much oil revenue, this tiny nation should be prosperous but income distribution and other factors may explain the current situation. I love Trinidad, it is only place on the world where people of all colors and shapes are considered equal. You can read my experiences as short stories I publish on booksie.com/juggernaut.

    Take Care

    Subba Rao, Ph.D.
    Sioux City, IA
  • TriniFever
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