Ashley Abroad Travel Blog. Without further ado! I live in Suva, the capital of Fiji, with my partner and cat named Pizzakat. Before moving to Fiji, I lived as an expat in Western Australia for five years.
We ended up moving to Fiji when my partner got a job opportunity to work as an oceanographer for an organization based in Fiji. As surfers, scuba divers, and freedivers, the idea of being able to be in the ocean regularly also helped us decide to move here. On finding work in Fiji: Most expats in Fiji work for embassies, the United Nations, or development organizations. Some also work as scuba diving instructors at resorts on the outer islands.
Moving to Fiji and living indefinitely without a job will be a challenge unless you have a massive savings account and can fund frequent visa runs every four months. On meeting locals: Fijians are really open to outsiders.
On making friends: Compared to Australia, where it took me nearly a year to find a solid group of friends, making friends in Fiji took just a few weeks. In Suva, there are so many expats on short term contracts that you almost always will meet others who are keen to be friends.
Everyone is in a pretty similar position. On the tight-knit community of expats in Fiji: The Fiji expat community is extremely welcoming. Many expats find local partners and end up marrying, having kids, and settling in Fiji. The only downside on the island is that there are no secrets. If you do something in public, everyone will know about it within a few hours.
