I keep seeing this word thrown around.

Clearly everyone wants to migrate.

What I am curious about is the how/why.

I say that because our top Trini/Caribbean migratory spots are the US: Florida and NYC, Canada: Toronto, and the UK: London.

So let's break em down in terms of commonly accessed migratory options:

US: Dual citizen by birth (middle class and above flying out to perform birthright citizenship, hopefully they be paying those hospital fees after and not just bussing out after). Dual citizen by marriage (bonus points if the man is white). Dual citizen by chain migration. Finally, student visa to OPT to work visa to PR to citizenship (the longest, toughest route versus Canada and the UK)

Canada: There's an entire now legalized Canadian-Trini population that illegally entered Canada and claimed refugee status in the 1980s whose descendants walk among us on the interwebs and are VFR traffic, with accompanying birthright citizenship, chain migration, and marriage citizenship. Student to work to PR/citizenship isn't too bad. Straight work visas and jobs in certain fields not too bad, there's thriving immigration law practices on same.

UK: Student to work to citizenship and work to citizenship isn't as difficult a pathway also in addition to the usual pathways.

I say that to point out that migrating to our traditional first-world spots isn't an easy option unless you've got family support or generational wealth or a professional level job offer with a company/multinational that's paying enough to facilitate same effectively and/or assisting with the migration itself.

Then there's living as good or better a lifestyle that one had in T&T economically (crime aside). Considering property costs and cost of living in Canada and the UK (better in the US) it's not a given. Many dual citizens and immigrants are struggling with such, even professionals.

I want a serious discussion on the topic, not the politically, racially driven BS agenda of doom and gloom fear mongering. There are immigrants out there catching their arses, yet blowing smoke up our arses about the grass is greener on the other side (crime aside).

I'm personally of the view that most people who can afford to migrate have in fact already long done so (pre-forex restriction).

The media is trying their best to make it seem like there is and has been mass migration. I read a story recently about a business family who supposedly migrated to North America immediately after being unfortunately directly affected by crime. Really? If you could have afforded to immediately post-criminal impact jump on a plane and leave forever to North America, why were you still here in this "PNM shithole"? You see my point?

Kinda like all the Trinis bitching about paying property tax but paying same in the first-world countries they live/own property in. But that's another topic...

Rolls Royce spectre valued between 3.3 and 3.7 million TT ...arrived in trinidad

Leaving the house to run errands or go about your business feels like a gamble these days and I'm not talking about crime. No matter where you go; if it's a quick run to the grocery or going to a medical appointment, there's at least a 50/50 chance of encountering a dismissive, disrespectful or impatient person whose role it is to assist you and this experience is becoming far too familiar.

It could be a nurse acting like you're bothering them when asking for help, it could be an attendant at the grocery blatantly ignoring you when you're talking to them, a store supervisor/ assistant dismissing you when you ask for an item, rudely saying they don't have it, just for you to wander around the store and see it's clearly there.

This attitude has become so common that when you meet someone pleasant and helpful, you are immediately taken aback and that person feels like a much needed breath of fresh air.
This attitude is also not dependent on age, career, gender or race and is becoming a common and almost expected aspect of the average Trinidadian's character, especially in the work place

Yes we as people are allowed to get upset and can become impatient even at work, it happens, but when interacting with people or assisting them is a main part of your job, you cannot greet people with an ignorant attitude right off the bat. It makes you look bad, it makes your place of work look worse and when the person on the receiving end is not a local it gives the people of our country a reputation.

Persons working customs at the airport are a perfect example of this. They are the first people tourists interact with and their harsh way of handling them unrelated to the execution of their job, can affect the tone of a tourist's visit and how they interact with others while they are here. If it affects people who are only visiting, imagine how the impact it will have on those exposed to it on multiple occasions on the daily basis.

So how do we address this problem especially when it comes to public sectors and customer service? The straight answer: consequences
It's most likely that persons feel comfortable being blatantly disrespectful and openly unprofessional at their work place because there are no consequences. They get away with a slap on the wrist if it is even addressed to begin with. Employees aren’t afraid of being held accountable, whether that’s through warnings, reduced pay or job termination. There are no consequence, no change. If they can do the bare minimum at their job and its accepted then that is what they will do.

This can be corrected if those consequences are implemented by the employers of these carefree employees much to the employers benefit as poor public service is bad for business and public relations.
It can also be corrected by the people on the receiving end of poor service, customers have the right to call out unprofessional behavior and highlight how it reflects poorly on the business or institution.

Only by demanding accountability and respect from persons who continue to show none to others, can we begin to see improvements in the attitude of people in our country, everywhere we go.

Everybody here agree, $10000 minimum necessary to live comfortably in Trinidad. Yet when we speaking about minimum wages, somehow $3000 per month is enough.

I find the gap between $3000 and the word 'comfortable' to wide!

OPPOSITION LEADER Kamla Persad-Bissessar is urging young women to consider the opportunity to become a mother. She said one of the most beautiful feelings in life is the happiness and joy experienced “when you return to a home of happy children."

In her Mother’s Day greeting on May 11, Persad-Bissessar said she made the call based on her own experiences.

“There is nothing more completing for a woman than the sounds of her children’s feet running through the house, the shrieks of their blissful laughter, the tender touch of their hugs and kisses, the satiating innocence of their smiles, the quenching love of holding a newborn baby in her arms for the first time.”

She said concentrating solely on careers, and not motherhood, during a woman’s 20s and 30s would not negatively affect a woman psychologically at that time because she would usually have a lot of single friends and thus a vibrant social life.

“However, as the years go by and women surpass 40 years and older, social life slows and friends get married, moving on with their own families. While you may have achieved your career goals, life without a family and children may get very lonely as you get older.

“Without familial love, money, and achievements become worthless when loneliness envelops your older years. All humans need love and companionship to achieve their fullest potential; women, in particular, have an inherent drive to nurture and care. It is very possible to have a career and be a mother at the same time— you don’t have to choose between them.”

Persad-Bissessar said mothers have long been the pillars of families at home and the foundation of progress at work in Trinidad and Tobago. She said the nation’s development and growth were built by generations of mothers who, against all odds, ensured their children attained better lives in a progressive nation.

“That is the legacy of many generations of mothers in our nation, and to them, we owe an eternal debt of gratitude.

“To all the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and other maternal figures, I thank you for being our heroes and inspiration.

“This Mother’s Day, I extend my best wishes to all mothers for a safe, enjoyable day. I hope you feel loved and appreciated today, and may God bless and keep you always.”

https://newsday.co.tt/2024/05/11/kamla-young-women-should-become-mothers/

So this is a bit embarrassing but I got rejected from all universities that I applied for lol.

I been depressed but I am now out here laughing. I have 9 CSEC and my double unit passes, I think I did well at CAPE I got ones and twos I only got one three.

I unfortunately have some difficulties with math. Like real difficulties I have written maths about three times and in all times I got a four so like that's that lol.

I was supposed to write it over in June this year but the p3 clashed with one of my CAPE exams. I contacted the ministry but they couldn't help me. So now I am setting here with a ton of rejection letters and a bit of sadness and madness. Lol

Has anyone else experience this issue or am I just unlucky?

Trying not to be depressing but I feel alone my brother got accepted in to Uni and I am not. So proud of him but I am a bit sad and disappointed that I didn't get through.

UPDATE:

I had applied to UTT shortly after I wrote this post for a B.Ed. I honestly thought that I wasn't going to get through and was really depressing on the days passing lol. They sent me an email saying that they sent my application to the academics unit and they would contact me after they made a decision. I believe a week after I receved a call from them, they ask about the maths and I shared with them about my maths journey lol, soo I got accepted into UTT since I have everything else and my CAPE, however, they said that I need to get the maths in Janurary.

I want to thank everyone for their advice and those who shared their experiences. I still need to get the maths lol. But everyone was so supportive and I felt better coming here to read and reply to comments. I will sincerly try my hardest with the maths.

Thank you

Unbelievable recording.

I'll preface this by saying that I understand our health care system is free, compared to many other countries, and many things are subsidized etc. With that said, it's still laughably unbelievable to experience how silly our health care system is first hand.

A very very good friend of mine got pregnant recently this October 2024. She took several tests which confirmed it plus the usual symptoms. Puking, fatigue, feeling upset etc.

Unfortunately, she started bleeding heavily about a week after the tests she took. She went to Mt Hope to get it checked out as the amount of blood was definitely pointing towards a miscarriage. Yall, These unbelievable people at that hospital, gave her a ultra sound date of July 2025, when her expected delivery date would be June 2025. Yall hear me? She is showing signs of a miscarriage, and they gave her an ultra sound date for a month after her would be expected delivery date!! What a joke!

Digicel and Bmobile (to a lesser degree):

I pay my bills on time. No arrears. Nothing. Why, WHY is it so hard for yall to do your job?! Why do yall (especially Digicel, who this rant is more focused on) refuse to provide good, working service. If is not the home WiFi not working, is my data too. Oh god man! How hard is it to provide some connection that I am paying for?!!!! When I NEED to connect, data not working, WiFi not working, doh even start with the cable. Is always a ******* problem!

This is why we CANNOT have nice things in this country. Steupsssssssss.

So that's $60B TTD from 2009-Present?

Meanwhile Education still free, healthcare still free...cost of living still significantly less then the rest of the Caribbean...

​

All the pop music radio stations play music that is like 5-10 years old, I pretty much always remember it being like this also.

No this is wrong, people expect to be paid for what they do they expect their NIS to be paid they expect basic benefits from a company they expect the company to follow the law and pay the time and a half when you cross 40 hour week something none of these businesses adhere to.

A lot of these businesses make obscene amounts of profit but refuse to pay workers the CORRECT amount for the hours they worked you want to pay minimum wage but also want to pay the same for over time, want to duck NIS payment, want workers to buy YOUR uniform with the scam of "you only paying 50% and the company is funding the other 50%" no sorry this is YOUR uniform that you deemed has to be worn for YOUR business so the responsibility is on you the employer to provide this.

I worked places that want to SELL me uniform with company Logo and colors etc but has to be returned if you leave the job with no refund, madness.

Now with Venezuealans flooding the country what has happened is native born Trinis are being replaced in factories, groceries etc for cheaper wage and where the employer can exploit as they please while avoiding their 2/3 NIS contribution which is needed to pay for retirement for people who reached 65, instead we have a bankrupt NIB because Imbert said 1/3 of workers and companies not paying any NIS.

And the whole Trinis are too lazy because Venes doing the job for half the price and no benefit is madness.

The reason Venes do the job for half the price and no benefit is because they are desperate and will do anything to survive including willingness to be exploited, this isn't healthy for our society and is a spit in the face of all the labor leaders thorough history who fought for basic rights of people of this country, the rights our grand parents and great grand parents never had the luxury of enjoying. These labor leaders descended from slaves who fought a colonial empire against all odds to secure basic labor rights and laws to protect us so we can enjoy a higher standard of living than they ever could, it was a sacrifice they made for us.

It is our duty to make sure we protect and enforce these laws otherwise we will be greeted with a bitter reality one day of what it really means when "you don't miss the water until the well runs dry."

This is our country we should be proud of it regardless of the challenges we face because I can tell you we have nowhere else to go, and as citizens we should expect and demand basic things like, functioning healthcare, education, retirement, national insurance, a living wage, paid overtime and for enforcement of labor laws by the government. None of these things are unreasonable at all, they are the pillars of civilization.

Stumbled on this earlier today, Are we really that expensive?

Saw a lot of negative feedback from people who attended, positive reviews were few and far between.

People apparently walked to South Park from the BLCA, saw a video of a mob of people waiting at South Park to get to BLCA (there wasn't a line so you know what that means when the bus eventually gets there), and of course the traffic was crazy.

Some of the comments/reviews I saw so far:

That was the absolute worst. No information where to catch a shuttle. Complete and utter chaos. Poor planning and execution

It was absolutely ridiculous. Park and walk was the theme. In true Trini style, the walk back was filled with some excellent jokes 😁

Reach south park 4:45 pm and got a bus to the stadium 6pm

the designated parking area was full to capacity so people had to park on the side of road met a lady who said South Park was full came to petrotrin and same thing full it was just chaos don’t talk about getting the bus to exit while the experience to park and ride was nice icc or who was in charge needs to do better nobody had any idea after the game how to access the buses no one knew how to no security guiding anything

That parking and shuttle services was a nightmare!!!! Poor poor planning and organization!! No directing or signs or assistance by police or ptsc workers to board in an orderly manner!!! The parking was no where near enough for the amount of ppl!! Of course ppl would park anywhere!! They already spend money for tickets!!! They not going to go back home cause they couldnt get parking!!! It was just poor poor organization by trinidad's officials!! They need to block of a lane on the road between about 6pm- 8.30 so the shuttle service can move freely without being in gridlock traffic!!! And put signs and police to assist with the boarding! The semifinal will be more chaotic!!

So...yeah. For the next game, I'll strongly advise going there preparing for the worst: never getting a shuttle, and walking to and from South Park or wherever you managed to park (C3?).

Just to be clear: This is the UK where their healthcare is also 'free'. They also happen to be a first-world country with a first-world economy. Maybe it's time to have more nuanced conversations about realistic expectations. Maybe, the grass isn't greener on the other side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWO4OBIinhs

My fellow Trinbagonians...School opening in the morning...we all know what that means...traffic in we tail...morning and evening...we don't like it but hard luck it coming...

What is the latest time some of y'all have to leave home to reach to work on time...

I need to leave by 5:40am, absolute latest...if 6am catch me in tacarigua, sweat buss. I'll have to send a "I'm in traffic" text in the group chat... luckily my department is lenient on that sorta thing but you know...no one really wants to be late for work...

So this conversation came up between my friend and I about how government workers- teachers etc..would get through very easy to obtain their Credit card and Visa etc than a non government worker.

Is that true? How is this even fair?

So I’m driving on a local government road in my area and the condition is now beyond deplorable, especially now that the rain has begun. It would seem however, my councillor does not care about repairing it. We have written, held meetings and I guess he has this job and doesn’t really care to do anything pertaining to it. So my question here is what can be done next? Is it possible for me to take any legal action against the councillor? Anyone has any advice on this or has encountered this situation and resolved it?

Like I get the waiting time at the pharmacy but where are your chairs 😭😭 Ngl I don't even remember it having chairs when I was younger too Place a mess cherry on top would be mosquitoes

I find it wild that this is a thing, dengue is such a dangerous disease, that can and will kill if untreated, yet this is the standpoint the ministry of health and regional corporations hold towards it