There are many people who want to live in Fiji. Sometimes it is a tourist who just doesn’t want to go home. Sometimes it is a move to Fiji to live and work. Whatever the reason, Find Your Feet Fiji is here to help.
We’re here to help, ensuring a safe and quality lifestyle is established as soon as possible. Schools, accommodation, and safety are the key features for anyone who wants to live in Fiji.
Expectations vs Reality of living in Fiji
Living in Fiji certainly isn’t sitting under a palm tree drinking coconut flavored cocktails. Whether living in Nadi, Suva, or an outer island, there are challenges and benefits to where to live in Fiji. With over 300 islands to choose from it can seem overwhelming. Having an insight into the pros and cons of living in different areas can really define any “Where to Live” decisions.
Suva vs Nadi: Where should I live in Fiji?
The largest island in Fiji is Viti Levu (Viti=Fiji, Levu=Big) hosts the largest two cities of Fiji. Suva is the capital on the Eastern side while Nadi is the main Tourist centre, larger airport and is situated on the west of Viti Levu. People who live in each city cannot imagine living in the other. There are definite pros and cons of each. One person described it well in a Facebook post.
This is from a post on Facebook when asked whether to live in Suva or the Nadi, Lautoka side of Viti Levu:
It’s such a tough question to answer on limited info, is your employer paying your rent? Do you have kids? Do you enjoy outdoor activities? What’s your budget? I love Lautoka (it has nostalgic value) but it’s about as interesting as watching paint dry. It’s safer than Suva, has nice-ish surroundings for exercising but is hotter than hell, has like 2 naff nightclubs and about 3 decent restaurants (and the term “restaurant” is really pushing it), the Northern Club (frequented by bar flies), one decent supermarket/mall and limited expat community/activities and a pretty crap hospital (according to feedback). If you choose to work in the west (and that decision is predicated on who you are working for and what you’ll be doing), go for Nadi (but long commute) or Vuda (closer to Lautoka 12km and nice, 3 mainland resorts, decent man-made beaches and an awesome marina/restaurant/bar, no supermarkets) but not heaving with excitement). Or Sabeto, near Nadi Airport, has beautiful mountain views and fresh water rivers to swim in, a spanking new supermarket and a quiet rural-ish lifestyle, close to the airport and all of Nadi for the expat/social life. Denarau is waaaaay expensive and super overrated, has 7 resorts in a row (good bar and food choices if a little pricey), a grey beach but pretty surroundings, a golf course. Wailoaloa is Nadi party central so pretty good location to hang out. There are some nice houses and flats along the back road etc to rent. Suva is on the other side of the island, and is the capital, bigger city with way more options of everything – restaurants, sports, expats, activities but less access to resorts. It rains more, yes, and humidity is 88% with a temperature feel of 34C today but in Nadi and Lautoka, the heat can be far more overwhelming and in cane cutting season, you can look forward to terrible driving conditions and soot everywhere.
My advice
Before moving to live in Fiji I would recommend understanding a bit more about what is happening here currently. There is a good newspaper The Fiji Times that is accessible on the internet. Or watching some nightly news programs will also give you a good flavour of Fiji. Fijian Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) has a good website with daily news as well.
Find Your Feet Fiji has had a number of consultations at an hourly rate to answer many individual questions so you can make the right decision. Sometimes the work decides for you, sometimes you can choose. There are many living in Fiji aspects that will remain the same no matter where you land.
Just remember, we’re here to help. Contact us to alleviate some of the questions.