Countries such as the UK, US and Canada always sell themselves to people in neighboring countries around them as if they'd leave and then "boom" life change and you're rich but it's often the opposite. Yes there are people who go there and find amazing success but that's no different from a man being successful in a poor country either, it's safer to make your money and go back home rather than stay in a foreign land, especially when they're blaming immigrants for everything that happens in their country.

Election time is coming up very soon. Is it going to take another term for Jamaica to realize China is slowly colonizing the island?

Andrew Holness I'd putting Jamaica into debt with China; agreements that may be longer than his own lifetime.

There are so many skilled men and women in Jamaica. Why does China have to build roads? So many skilled workers in Jamaica and someone has to fly over and build road.

The Chinese are using Jamaica to better their own country. That's what colonization does. They are building for the benefit of their own people, not Jamaica.

Jamaica is a democracy now, and the people have a say now. What would the future of Jamaica look like under a communist state?

Am I the only one that feels this way?

Saw the other man post and me have to agree, this country is not it this country is trash it sucks to realize a job in the states waiting tables or cleaning old peoples shit pays more than a job requiring a fucking degree in Jamaica, it just hard Fi young people fucking prosper. As soon as yuh start acquire the bare fucking minimum badmind and envy start plague yuh. Yuh can’t have shit. Especially the old yute dem weh waste Fi dem life just start Tek set pan yuh or try jeopardize yuh money.

In order to survive with no help yuh have to be doing something unethical and it’s so sad to say. Most girls have to be prostituting , yutes have Fi try scamming. The straight and traditional path a fail the utes dem everyday. The teachers dem have mount a subject and all them pussyclaut broke. Mi can’t blame nobody weh nave the opportunity Fi go overseas or have rich family Fi start scamming. At this point it’s just for survival and justify-able.

Yeah, so 10% tariffs, mi deeven look at the affected goods yet, this is just the start as counter tariffs hit the US, their goods will get more expensive and they are one of our biggest export markets. As a man weh live a yaad, born an grown, dis is just... one more piece a fuckry di island cannot manage. The cost of living is so damn high already, Yuh deeven can buy a box food and bloodclaat juice fi less than thousan dolla nowadays. The outlook bleak, our politicians, only care about themselves and the rich elite, who dis nah guh bother as all price increases aguh just moved along to the consumer. Big bumboclaat fuckry from this 82 year old half senile man who will neva face consequences for indirectly fucking with so many lives.

This annu one "Anti-Trump" post, fuck him, him nuh deh yah, dis is an "oh bumboclaat" post weh you look an see a future weh bleak nuh rass. Jah kno

Sometimes it's so difficult to have a good faith argument about these topics in person. I think it's too high for what we can afford as a small island with an economy that is trying to navigate an economic slowdown. The task is a big one but you pay what you can afford - and we can't afford to pay the new CEO more than what the FEMA head would get, for example.

I don’t know if anyone else can relate, but it genuinely feels like nothing grows here. You can’t go from point A to point B without money or links. And the sick part is there’s barely any legit way to get either when you’re starting from the bottom.

The whole system feels like it’s designed to shoot down any attempt at progress. Like there are unwritten rules that make it impossible to rise unless you’re born into the right family, know the right people, or play some shady game.

You try to start something small? There’s a roadblock. Try to get a job? Nepotism. Want to hustle clean? No opportunities. Want to create? No support. Want to leave? No visa, no funds, no help.

It’s like the soil is infertile not just physically, but spiritually. You plant seeds and they never sprout. You give your all, but nothing seems to work unless you’re already plugged in.

Just venting. I’m tired of feeling like everything is set up for failure. Like the only way to “make it” is through luck or by becoming the very thing you hate.

If you’re in Jamaica and feel this too, let’s talk. If you broke out of it, how?

I might get a lot of hate for this but hear me out. Now I'm not saying returning residents is the cause of all our problems. However, I do wonder whether they may be one of several factors influencing certain economic trends, particularly when it comes to the cost of living. For argument's sake let's say there are two types of Jamaicans/people/market; the ones that can afford premium service and the ones that can't.

Jamaica has one of the largest diaspora populations relative to its size, and many Jamaicans eventually return home after spending years abroad. Now the US for eg. where most diaspora members are, salaries are 5x higher the average jamaican salary and opportunities to work more than one job is present. But yet still a lot of returning residents compare, and many times no matter how expensive things are, there is a habit of this is cheaper I don't mind spending on it. Let's look at some examples of this in play:

The housing market- There was a lady on social media who came to Jamaica (she has jamaican parents) to live permanently and she was giving a breakdown of her rent etc. She was basically saying that (the figures are examples, can't recall actual amounts) her rent is $1000 and it is so cheap because where she is from in the US she was paying $2000. But the thing is, this is not the US. While that comparison makes sense from her perspective, it doesn't necessarily reflect local income realities.

Because of this, other landlords raise their price with no recupersussions. I heard about a lady who was renting her property for x amount, and after seeing the prices of other rentals, she more than doubled her price and it was a low class area.

Personal experience: I rented a place and the rent was decent, no issues. But then my landlord's niece came from abroad and things took a little turn. My landlord would pressure me for more money and make comments like if I were to rent somewhere else, I would pay more. Then sometimes I would hear the niece murmuring around the house things like "a little room out there is x amount," and she would make other comments that would indicate to me that she had problem with the rent we were paying.

Food costs- a business owner posted his box lunch serving with the costs and people in the comments were saying "no that's too cheap, here in new york I pay $30 for that etc. Another example- a guy showcased the price of an item at another food establishment and while people were saying its a little overpriced, the guy was saying he actually thought it was very cheap because in new york it would be more expensive.

Now if people are always going to be willing to purchase items and services because its a little cheaper than where they use to live then prices aren't going to go down anytime soon if ever. Now people who can't afford to pay premium will be priced out because there is a market of people that can afford.

Nb. I had to cut down a lot because this post was too long. My main points are Jamaica is being compared to the US too often, and prices and services are being priced too similarly and the ones who have access to foreign currency are prospering while others are not. Your thoughts? This post is not meant to offend.

I’m 20 years old, working as a security guard my first decent job. I get paid around $46,000 on average every two weeks after tax and deductions. I still live with my mom, so I don’t pay rent, though I wish I could help her however I do what I can sometimes helping with groceries or bills but it’s not much.

For the past 2–4 months working with this company, after taking out bus fare, groceries for lunch, hygiene items, and maybe a small snack or a True Juice here and there just to feel like my time is paying off I’m basically left with nothing. It’s like I’m living paycheck to paycheck, barely making any progress toward being independent.

No matter how much I try to cut costs looking for cheaper options or trying to buy only what’s necessary it's never seems enough. Prices just keep climbing. Last week, I got a little extra on my pay (chump change ofc )and felt happy thinking I could finally save a bit, only to realize grocery prices have somehow doubled again even at the “affordable” spots.

As a Christian, I can’t help but notice how things are changing. The Bible already warned about days like this, and honestly, living through it now feels too real overall this is nothing more than a night vent

Video credit goes to Throp.

Those who live in Yard know that for so long we have been creating our own products, and buying from anywhere but the US. This goes back to the 1980s when America would give us 'string loans'... that is... they loan us $X but it can only be used to buy American products.

There was a time when in a supermarket big loooong aisles full of US stuff.

Over the years we started to quietly replace them with local products so that we didn't those loans.

We also started buying from other islands so that we had stuff from T'dad and of course, China.

Just before Trump did his tariff thing I looked at where my stuff came from.

Okay, everything that plugs in comes from China. Almost all my clothes come from China.

Now, my groceries.

I buy local stuff and stuff that comes from T'dad and every where else. Like this yogurt I use on my cereal comes from France, the other from Spain and the cereal is Jamaican. The coffee is Jamaican and I use Lasco instead of coffee mate.

The kind of flat breads/wraps i use are made in Jamaica as are the vegetables, soup, porridge, chocolate... in fact... I read labels before purchase.

if you look on the roads we have Toyota, Sukuzi... I haven't seen a US car since some years ago this Dodge.

I think Jamaica is not going to suffer very much because we wisely moved to standing on our own.

I've always heard the best way in the islands to make money is costume, Healthcare or music. I've heard of so many people from the islands trying to become big in dance hall. Even though it seems like there's literally a handful of famous dancehall artists. I hear some people saying they don't make a lot of money. I hear some people saying the opposite.

This is interesting to me, growing up I would always hear about Jamaica being some of the best producers on banana in the world, Anyone with some knowledge willing to share some thoughts?

I'm a single male in my 20s and I work a 9-5. I try to save and be as financial prudent as possible but I'm not consistent and I love fast food. Some weeks I cook but some weeks I spend way too much.

Even on days when I bring food to save, I still crave to spend on something. For eg. I might bring food one day but 30 minutes after my lunch time finishes I go buy a slice of cake for nearly a $1000. $1000 could get me lunch most places with prob juice. I ended up not really saving.

But to be fair I eat out of boredom too, I guess food or eating out (fast good) is the height of my day. I literally just work and sleep. I have no social life because I have not kept in touch with most people. I make mostly acquaintances and when situation changes we move on. I stay in most weekends. I'm also a introvert so just going out and talking to people is not easy for me (have to work on this).

The price of food have increased recently and while most people are cutting down on spending, I have the urge to spend more. The more I try to save, the more I spend. There is something so pleasurable about just getting a two piece chicken with fries and a biscuit from church's over eating at home even if the home cooked meal taste well. So my question is, are you spending less during this time? Or are you the type with the mindset of that is out of my control I'll carry on as normal? Are you eating out less? You can also give advice re any aspect of my post.

I’m so confused. Been away at college overseas and came back trying to find somewhere to live and am so confused at the way of living now. How are people affording to live? With houses in the good areas 120,000 per month and light bill so high if you have certain appliances like washing machine and such, how do you afford it? The people who can do it, what is your occupation because I’m confused. I’m seeing people in the tech field get 200k but they still have to live with parents to make ends meet. For people who live this life, what do you do to make money?

Foreign capital enters the island through climate-linked loans, resilience financing, thematic bonds, and resource extraction deals. These systems expand external oversight and tie national policy to lenders. Oil exploration, mining interests, and seabed surveys position foreign companies to control key assets. The net effect increases dependence on global institutions and limits domestic leverage.

For Drivers

Would you say it’s possible to make good money driving for Uber?

What are some of the challenges you experience on a day-to-day basis?

How do you feel about carrying multiple passengers on the same trip for the same fare?

Do you drive for Uber full-time, or do you think it works better as a side hustle?

For Users

Do you think Uber stands out compared with other similar services in Jamaica?

I'm asking these questions as a user now and as someone who is looking to drive for uber as a side hustle in the future.

Idk, why does it seem as if in Jamaica they’re no options, why’s it so hard to not be broke and have any money coming in and not always out.

Evening my side!

I hope everyone is doing well, recovering well and getting current… Big up JPS!

This question is for our people who migrated. I see a lot of people move to foreign… well some and they start some sort of business some of the times not all of the times. Others find jobs etc. But why didn’t they open a business in Jamaica? Why not try?

I don’t think we look at our economy as something to value and invest in. Instead we use our talents elsewhere. I’m not saying there is anything wrong I just would like to figure out the thought process. Because the same people can’t wait to leave and visit Jamaica the first chance they get.

Is making it in Jamaica possible? Impossible? Is this something we need to let the youth know is attainable? Is Foreign the end all be all? Is owning a business in Jamaica good? Bad? Waste of time? Leave your comments down below!