Hi there!

I am a Swede that is thinking of going to Curacao.

I have some questions about Curacao that I hope someone could help me with?

About how much do I have to pay in rent if I sign a longtime contract for a nice one bedroom or studio apartment?

Is the internet good and is it possible for me as a foreigner to sign a contract?

Are customs strict about a tourist having to leave Curacao for 6 months before entry when already been there 6 months?

I have been to Aruba, how would you compare C to Aruba?

Is it possible to find live poker games there on a daily basis? If so what stakes, rake and skill of players?

Is it more expensive in Curacao than in Aruba if you live a family life without partying and eating at restaurants?

Would you recommend living in Curacao?

Hope you can help me!

Thanks!

I'd be curious to see responses.

I've been to both Curacao & Aruba, but only on vacation for short periods of time (maybe 3-4 days in each place) so I'm not a good source of info. & won't be able to really answer any of your questions. However, IMO (and again, just based upon a cursory experience on both islands):

Significantly more development in Aruba than Curacao. Just guessing that internet might be faster there, don't know if that's true or not.

More of a "touristy" feel to Aruba.

When I was in Curacao (2-3 years ago) I only found one casino w/ poker (don't remember the name) & it was low stakes. I assume that more casinos + more tourists in Aruba = more poker?

I thought Curacao was physically a more attractive island, not so heavily developed (yet!), & better diving.

You might want to check out wikitravel.org for more info., plus post your questions on the tripadvisor forums for both islands.

Another way to get inside info. from locals & ex-pats living in a particular place is to join couchsurfing.org & then do a search for groups or people living there, most people on this site are very helpful.

Wherever you end up--good luck!

Thanks!

I have lived in Curacao for over 3 years now, I can help you out (if it's not too late).

Let me know if theres anything else.

Chopped the Marriott Super Bowl Tourney last night for 2k!

Thanks jhammond10!

I got some follow ups if you dont mind?

I am surprised about the low cost for rent in Curacao, are this apartments nice?

The best internet you mentioned, how fast and stable is it? If I sign a 1 year contract on an apartment, what do you think my chances are to get this internet installed if I dont work on the island. Maybe I could get the apartment owner to sign the internet contract?

The NL 2-5 poker game. What is the quality of the players, rake and the average buyin in this game. Is it running on a daily basis the hole year?

Finaly the visa issue. Another guy here at 2plus2 said in a PM that the customs are a pain in the ass and very strict about the visa. Can you please tell me how to best solve it? I do not plan on getting an investment visa or working visa. I do not mind tho to leave the island every 2-3 months on a visa run.

I know Curacao is more of a snorkellin island than white beaches island. Is there any white sand beach there?

Thanks!

thanks

- Thats the mid range. There are cheaper (and much less livable) and more expensive. Also depends on which area on the island you are talking about. The nicer areas, are more spendy, but overall you'll be able to find affordable houses or apartments that are in whatever range you are looking to spend.

- The UTS is a 2 mb ADSL. It's pretty reliable. Occasionally it will go out, but they are pretty good at getting it right back up. The outages with UTS are few and far between compared to the alternatives. You'll be able to get it hooked up no problem, and the landlord signing it up in their name is probably your best bet and is common for non-residents.

- The 2/5 game is great! Station heaven. Nobody folds pre and they are so afraid that they are getting bluffed that they will call all the way down very light constantly. Bluffing is out, just make a hand and work to get it all in.
Not sure about the rake, never paid attention. It runs daily so long as there are people. The poker room opens usually at 7 and runs until around 2ish. The max is 500$ buyin, but usually people buy in well short. 200 is pretty common (sometimes less). Very common to see the regs in this game get 120in between pre and the flop, then fold on the turn when they don't pair up. The play is atrocious to say the least. There is a group of about 5 or 6 dutch guys that play there all the time, and they soft play each other regularly, but they are so bad that it doesn't affect the game that much. They get money in pre then just check it down with each other. If it's someone not in their crew they don't mind going busto, but they never lose to each other.

- I'll find out more on this for ya. I haven't known it to be very strict here, but I'll find out.

- It is def more of a snorkeling island, but there are some postcardesque beaches here too. They aren't very big, but they are here.

Hey, this thread has been dead for awhile. But I am considering moving to Curacao at the beginning of next year. I am really interested in checking out the poker scene. Wanted to see if it's still the same at the casinos. Hope to hear a reply.

i moved to Curacao last week to play poker and chill, the internet is pretty good here 15mbps and very stable! im loving it but there is no live poker scene as far as i know so thats sucks.. if u want to play alot of live poker at the casino's than Aruba would be an better choice as far as i know they have 2 casino's that offer poker every night

i really dont understand why there arent more online grinders on this beautiful island.. there is so much to do nice parties nice beatches nice girls hookers 20 dollars
Good thing is that its very close to other nice countrys too, aruba,venezuala,costa rice, colombia, miami and go on

Yeah, I actually have family there. I have been several times. Love the island.

So are you saying that the casinos don't have poker tables going anymore?

well as far as i know there are never enough players the only place that offer it is the casino that is close to Denny's

i want to come back to my earlier statement about live poker the marriot hotel runs daily 5/5 cashgames, Anyone interested in grindin there a few days a week with me? very soft field ofc

Hey guys, can somebody tell me how the legislation in Curacao is when it comes to online poker? Is online poker completely legal in Curacao? And what about texas for online poker?

"I've lived on Curacao, it's probably the best with respect to internet, night life, variety of things to do, cost of living and such but I know basically the entire islands of aruba, st. maarten, st. baarths, bahamas... from curacao you can fly to miami for like $169 round trip and fly to south america for very cheap and any nearby island for like $75 round trip..."

"plus the live games there are just horrendously bad... they run a 5-5 plo in cur every now and again where ppl lose 10k in a night... at a 5-10 game in sxm a guy lost 100k in one night.. i made 45k"

What my friend said when I asked him whats the best island to live on in the carribean.

bump

I dont think this is a problem in curacao. They will hardly have the people to enforce such laws as well.

The only thing I recall from aruba is when I wanted to exchange a couple of grand they asked me a lot of questions(Where you got that money from etc?).

Its one of the worlds drugs routes(cocaine comes from over columbia from there to europe) thats why they might cause problems but when it comes to gambling I would assume that they are very tolerant. Since it is very accepted in the antilles to gamble and work in the gambling industry.

I'm about to fly to Curacao tomorrow. I'm not one to do pre-holiday searching for dangers and stuff, but I accidentally came across some Dengue Fever warnings in Curacao yesterday. Could someone enlighten me of how big a problem this actually is? We are just going for a 4-day resort diving/snorkeling holiday, the resort is relatively close to Willemstad (not in the bushy areas) and aren't planning to go there. Do we still have to bathe ourselves in repellent every time before going out?

In which Casino is most Poker in Aruba and Curacao?

Is there enough Aktion every day?
And which are the main casinos?

@ Chuck Bass, dont worry about the Dengue mosquito, i went there for 3 months and didnt knew anyone that got sick of it or anything. even if your bitten there is only a small chance u get sick.

@Virtuall, Esmerald Casino is the only casino that offers poker on curacao and there runs an game everyday from around 9:30 in the night

Thanks!

I've been living in curacao playing live poker the past 5 months after the wsop. If anybody wants to ask me any questions feel free to ask.

Very cheap rent, great night life, lots of hot dutch girls, nice beaches, great live PLO cash game action that runs every night from 5/5 to 5/10 with sick action. The poker action now is only at veneto casino (as of 2 months of ago the game moved) at the holiday beach resort. Here is the face book link. http://www.facebook.com/AllinPokerRoomCuracao


Can fly to miami for like $300 roundtrip 3 hour direct flight.

Any americans living here? Curious what it takes to open a bank account? Guessing residency permit. If so how hard to acquire one?

Confirmed poker action
20k USD per year, all expenses included is very comfortable living.
30k USD per year, all expenses included is living like a king.

Confirmed

I am not an American (Dutch) but have just set this up for clients of mine.

• A residency permit is what you need to be allowed on the island for more than 3 months per year. (I strongly advise against trying to re-enter after you've used your first 3 months) The two ways to get it are through an employer on the island or as a pensionado (/rentier) with a minimum of 36k$ stashed away over a recent 3 month period. After that it is a cakewalk and just takes 4-6-12 months: 4 being lucky, 6 normal period and 12 hasn't happened in the last few years but you never know for sure.
• Opening a bank account for foreign currency on Curacao is generally a bad idea. Local banks are "forced" by the central bank to collect a conversion fee on transactions in any foreign currency. Most banks have a 1.5% conversion rate on ANY transaction (including pokerstars etc.) What you really want is an expat-specific bank account at a friendly european bank.

Hit me up if you have any more questions. Unfortunately can't go into more detail here without promoting my business.

Best regards,

~Jax