Why I Chose to Stay in Jamaica as a Developer

The Question I Keep Getting

"Why are you still in Jamaica?"

I've been asked this more times than I can count. By family. By friends. By clients who assume I must be based in the US or Canada. By developers who left years ago and can't imagine why anyone with skills would stay.

The assumption is always the same: if you can do tech work, you should be somewhere else. Somewhere with faster internet. Better infrastructure. More money. More opportunities.

And look — I get it. The brain drain is real. I've watched classmates, colleagues, and friends pack up and leave. Some to the US, some to Canada, some to the UK. Many are doing well. Some are making multiples of what they'd earn here.

But I stayed. And 14+ years into this career, I'd make the same choice again.

The Honest Trade-offs

Let me be real about what staying means:

The Money Question

Yes, I could make more money abroad. Let's be honest about that.

A senior developer in the US might earn $150,000-$200,000/year. In Jamaica, even charging international rates for freelance work, I'm not hitting those numbers. The math is clear.

But here's what people miss:

Cost of living changes the equation. A modest lifestyle that costs $8,000/month in a US city costs maybe $2,000 here. My mortgage is paid. My car is paid. I'm not competing in a rat race for housing, schools, or status symbols.

I'm not optimizing for maximum income. I'm optimizing for maximum life. The freedom to walk outside and see mountains. To be 20 minutes from my mother. To not spend 2 hours commuting. To not deal with winters.

The Work Reality

Remote work changed everything.

When I started, working remotely from Jamaica was unusual. Clients were skeptical. "You're WHERE?" was a common response. I had to prove myself twice as hard.

Today? Remote is normal. COVID accelerated a shift that was already happening. Clients don't care where I am. They care about results. If the work is good and communication is clear, geography is irrelevant.

I work with clients in:

• Kingston and across Jamaica (local businesses)
• US East Coast (same timezone — seamless)
• California (just 3 hours behind)
• UK and Europe (morning calls work fine)
• Other Caribbean islands

The internet connects us all. The work crosses borders even if I don't.

Building Something Here

There's another reason I stayed that's harder to articulate.

I'm not just doing work from Jamaica. I'm building FOR Jamaica. The Ezy plugins I've created — car rentals, tours, lending, courier — these solve specifically Jamaican problems. JMD currency. Local payment gateways. WhatsApp integration. Parish dropdowns.

If I moved abroad, I'd probably be working on some SaaS product for American consumers. Nothing wrong with that. But it wouldn't mean the same thing to me.

The Challenges Are Real

I don't want to romanticize this. Working from Jamaica has genuine friction:

Infrastructure

JPS power cuts happen. I've had calls interrupted by outages. The solution: UPS battery backup, generator, and mobile hotspot ready to go. You adapt or you fail.

Internet

It's better than it was 10 years ago — dramatically better. But still not as reliable as first-world standards. Dual ISPs (Flow + Digicel) solve most problems. Redundancy is non-negotiable.

Banking

Receiving international payments is more complicated than it should be. Payoneer, Wise, USD accounts — there are solutions, but it's not as simple as having a US bank account.

Professional Isolation

There's no tech scene in Mandeville. No co-working spaces. No meetups. No one to grab coffee with and talk about code. You have to be comfortable working alone. I am, but it's not for everyone.

Client Perception

Some clients still hesitate when they hear "Jamaica." Less than before, but it happens. You overcome this with track record, professionalism, and results. Once you deliver, geography stops mattering.

Who Should Stay vs. Go

I'm not here to tell anyone what to do. Every situation is different. But here's my honest take:

Consider staying if:

• Family ties matter deeply to you
• You're comfortable with self-direction (no boss, no office)
• You can handle infrastructure challenges
• You value quality of life over maximum income
• You see opportunity in building for the local market
• Remote work suits your personality

Consider leaving if:

• You want to work at a major tech company (FAANG, etc.)
• You need in-person collaboration to thrive
• Maximizing income is your primary goal
• Infrastructure frustrations would overwhelm you
• You want a built-in professional community

Neither choice is wrong. They're just different paths.

What I'd Tell My Younger Self

If I could go back to 2010 and talk to the me who was just starting out:

1. It's going to work. The skeptics are wrong. Remote work is real, and you can build a career from here.
2. Invest in infrastructure early. Backup power, backup internet, good equipment. These aren't luxuries — they're survival tools.
3. Don't apologize for where you are. Stop saying "I'm based in Jamaica, but..." Own it. It's a strength, not a weakness.
4. Build for the local market. The skills that work globally can also solve problems specifically for Jamaica. Do both.
5. The money will come. It takes longer when you stay. But patient, consistent work pays off eventually.

The Bottom Line

I stayed because this is home. Because family matters. Because I wanted to build something here, not just extract skills and leave. Because the trade-offs work for me.

It's not the path that maximizes income. But it's the path that maximizes my life.

14 years in, with a business I built from scratch, clients around the world, and the freedom to work from my home office overlooking the Mandeville hills — I'd make the same choice again.