Why the Jamaican Diaspora is Looking Homeward?

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]There's a conversation happening in Sunday dinners from Brixton to Brooklyn.

[00:00:06]Soon come. For decades, the Jamaican story was one of departure. Seeking better lives in the UK, in Canada, and the USA. But lately, the narrative has shifted. The diaspora is talking about coming home in record numbers. It's as though The Rock is calling them home.

[00:00:25]But is this a pursuit of a genuine lifestyle change or a flight from the pressures of foreign? Today we are diving into a reality of the Jamaican return. The push factors, the pull of nostalgia, and the cool hard facts of making it work in 2026. So let's dive in.

[00:00:50]The Jam Fan family [singing] jam.

[00:00:59]Come hang with me.

[00:01:05]>> Hello. Hello. Hello. Wan. Big up yourself. Wheard or your day abroad.

[00:01:09]Welcome back to another episode of Life with the Jam Fams. So, why then are the Jamaican diaspora looking homeward? Hm.

[00:01:17]Interesting question. Let's start off with the push. Why foreign is losing its luster? Let's be honest. Survival in the diaspora is becoming an Olympic sports.

[00:01:27]In the UK and North America, the high cost of living means that for many, life is a relentless cycle of working to pay bills. Without the monthly paycheck, survival is nigh on impossible. Nothing is free. Beyond the finances, there is a psychological toll. Many Jamaicans report a wearing battle that they are facing within. So first you experience the microaggressions and the ethnophobia, the subtle systemic weight of being the other. Then there is the mental health, the isolation of individualistic cultures versus the communal spirit of the Caribbean. And don't forget the weather. Decades of gray skies eventually take a toll on the soul. They aren't just moving to Jamaica. They are escaping a system where they feel they are perpetually running on a treadmill that is simply speeding up. To every push, there is a pull. And in this case, the pull is a a combination of nostalgia and reality.

[00:02:32]There are the memory traps that some people are yearning for. They are yearning for a childhood Jamaica. The one they had, the ones of mangoes falling in the yard and unlocked doors.

[00:02:43]But is this escapism? Returning residents often envision a past that isn't currently achievable. Jamaica has changed. Whilst the lifestyle parallel is refreshing, it's important to ask, are you moving back to the Jamaica of 1996 or the Jamaica of 2026? Then we need to think about the infrastructure gap. Jamaica is digitizing rapidly.

[00:03:06]Jamaicans are seeing the eradication of paper with online transactions, electronic certificates and government apps. However, challenges remain. So, for example, for some people, one of the challenges health care provide being the fact that they have private care which is excellent and there is also a public system. So, the NHF and it's rapidly improving. However, some can find it difficult to navigate, especially if they are used to the NHS in the UK and Canada or the premium US insurance that they would have navigated over the last decades. An international healthcare insurance might address some of these concerns that people have. Then, of course, we need to think about the education. For children born abroad, the Jamaican school system is rigorous but culturally very different. Then there is the need to consider how it will matriculate to where they'd return to.

[00:04:02]It's worth checking if moving with children. Now we also need to talk about the infrastructure. The roads and the utilities are scaling up but island time still exists in the bureaucracy. It also exists deeply in the minds of people who often are content with doing the bare minimum as they watch time passing by which is one of our most valuable resources. And for some people, especially those coming from the global north, this can be triggering. So prepare your mind for it before you even land because time can drift here when you are doing processes that you believe should just happen in a quick time turnaround. Now the question on many people's mind, especially those who've already decided that homeward bound is their trajectory, is can the dream be realized? Can you achieve the escapism without destroying the very joy that you are looking for? It's too many people returning and demanding that Jamaica becomes exactly like London but with sun that is causing um many of the people to have these questions in the first place.

[00:05:06]We risk losing the island soul. If this is something that we are aiming or driving towards achieving now to realize the dream one must move with cultural humility. It's about integrating not just installing or insulating yourself in a gated community. The goal is to scale up the infrastructure without eroding the communal warmth that makes Jamaica Jamaica. Now, let's just think about some practicalities and ways in which to fund the move, which is the major concern for many people who've already decided that they are seeing that crime rate is going down. They're seeing that healthcare is improving and they're seeing that things are progressing significantly in Jamaica, especially so over the last 10 to 15 years. So, let's look at it together. If you aren't retired with a pension, then how do you fund a move and [clears throat] live comfortably? Here are the top three ways that people are making it work for them today. Now, method one is the remote pivot. Now, there are people who are retaining a foreign salary whilst living in Jamaica with high-speed internet now common place. The digital nomad route is the gold standard for comfort. So many people are still able to make the transition because they don't need to have as many anchor days as some companies require. So some companies require an anchor day a week or an anchor day per month while some people don't require anchor days. They're monitoring your work away from work and training can be done remotely. So therefore those people are able to make this move and do quite well at doing so as well. So method two is the niche entrepreneur. So there are people who are bringing back their skills that are in high demand such as renewable energy, tech, logistics or specialized healthcare and they're coming to fill gaps that are available in the local market. So now when they come and them set up them business them have a steady stream of income and once they set up their business and everything is functioning efficiently. They can take back more time to be able to enjoy the island at the rate and the pace that they so desire to do. And then there is method three which is real estate or passive income. And there are people who are leveraging their equity from a property that they sold abroad and they're investing that into multi-unit dwellings in Jamaica so that they're ensuring a local currency flow. And this might be that they're using them as just um short-term rental where they're renting it and and having tenants occupy it or they're using it in um even holiday lets for people to be able to utilize in that way as well equally returning them uh some currency flow so that they are able to survive. There are other people who are investing their money into means or streams that pay dividends that will give them a comfortable life that they want to live here in Jamaica. There are people who are doing a blend of some of these just to ensure that they have streams of income that can fund their life that they are trying to curate here on the island. Now, for those people who have decided that they've chosen Jamaica and they're homebound, they need to remember that coming home isn't just a flight.

[00:08:02]It's a transition of the mind. And we cannot stress this enough. It's about trading in the hustle of the diaspora for a different kind of work, one that rewards you with peace of mind and a sense of belonging. The great return is possible provided that you bring your resources. But leave your expectation of the past at the gate. Jamaica is ready.

[00:08:26]Are you? Tell us in the comment section below what's your take on this return.

[00:08:31]And have you decided or set your date of return? Let us know in the comment section below. We'd like to hear if you're already here on the island, tell tell some of the things that you find that helps to make this return much more of a comfortable situation for people.

[00:08:46]We hear all the time I tell how long on the back and when plan to return some of you. So just share up the information so other people can feel a sense of comfort and belonging in knowing that when they come on the island they won't become isolated and feel alone because there are lots of others who are repackats here on the island waiting to welcome them. And this is what Elelliana is craving. So she's deciphering what to get. And we're just at our midmon um stock up of some of the simp the things that she will want to eat. So she's deciphering and then we're going to head out and go with merry way on she decide she get.

[00:09:27]>> So she over here read to make sure nothing but we're not allowed to eat. So that's that and we're going to go to the check out. It's a very very short list.

[00:09:36]We just getting a few stuff that we didn't get at the end of the month that we need to get now and somebody need to pass and pick up stuff make them pass.

[00:09:45]Thank you sir.

[00:09:47]What do I want?

[00:09:49]>> Two more sitting and then we done the aisle over there. Okay. Um we don't need anything else on here. Okay. You want us to go? Is it the top of the aisle or Okay. So just already cuz me want the list.

[00:10:07][laughter] >> Yes, I did. And you pick up your smelly tuna. Mhm.

[00:10:15]>> Yes, it was. Yes, I do it and I actually like it.

[00:10:21]So, we go get the final little bits and head out back home.

[00:10:27]So, we don't always do midmon shop, but our last shop I think was before the end of April. So, therefore, I think we've had a week, 3 weeks or so now. So, I decided I'll just do a top up because we've got we're just halfway through the month at this moment when we're recording. So, we did that top up.

[00:10:54]It was under 20,000 for the top up and that's all. Okay. Um, [clears throat] so we got some stuff for Elelliana to have um in her morning to take with her um so she can have at school and some stuff like that cuz she doesn't want to buy lunch at school. She don't eat their food. So as a result, we picked up some of that. So that's that. It is what it is.

[00:11:24]And we keep moving. Me say patient man right donkey because look this is my breakfast this morning decide buy no overpric mango see people with them same mango out of town and sell them for so much money [clears throat] and look one nice and rosy wait and mango we go with it it's all Oh my gosh.

[00:12:00]That bite took me back to my childhood when we used to go apple bush and you just sit down and eat apple.

[00:12:09]Mhm. So eat it. When the last time you had apple and have you had any mango yet in this mango season? So now may have some more to go eat. So take my little time do it and then go get myself together.

[00:12:29]I'm here getting the AC checked out cuz it's not pushing as it should.

[00:12:36]So they're wiring it up and stuff.

[00:12:44]So we're going to see if it just need gas or if there's anything towards.

[00:12:50]Hopefully there isn't, but we'll keep you posted. You know, when you buy one second car, sometimes you need to get some. And this is part of the process.

[00:13:02]So, we'll see what the outcome is once they finish and then go from there.

[00:13:14]So, I'm sitting here at an auto service um because I brought the car to get the AC checked out. So, from the time when we bought it, we knew that it might need gas and so we're going to have to get the process checked out. And now the time is getting so hot we can't deal it no more. So, I'm here trying to get that um resolved and hopefully it's not going to be a lot of stuff. So the guy as I've showed you is checking the pressure. But we when we bought it um we knew that the AC wasn't pushing as it should. So now got to think about um so when we bought it we had to do some new brakes and also service get a full service because we wanted to make sure we do that. And then afterwards we had and we had to change some sparks plug as well. And then afterwards we had to um get some tires changed. And in the process of changing the tires because we needed new sets of tires. And in the process of doing that we realized that the um the clutch arm bushing needed changing one one of them one of the pairs of them. So we got that done and then um we knew that this AC was going to need doing and we thought we just put it off until whenever we need to get it done and now we need to get it done. So, we just have to direct the time and energy towards it to get it done. And so, it is what it is because when you buy um a vehicle and it's not new, you know, so you have to have stuff that need to fix. And um especially when you don't buy through a dealer who can then do some of the who might go through and do some of the stuff that you need to get done. But we as you know, we already had it checked by a mechanic.

[00:14:57]So, we know say um it's above board and everything is good. It's just that there are going to be things that we need to do as we're going through. But it it is all good. We'll see how we progress from here. I'm just waiting for him to do the test and see what the outcome is. And then we'll know what we've got to do and how much it's going to cost as well. And the AC is pushing now like how it's supposed to push. That's how it's supposed to feel in the air. So, it's doing good. So, we went to United Auto.

[00:15:29]It's 101B Manchester Road. So, it's just opposite the street. I'm actually in the street now. And I'm going to show you where.

[00:15:38]So, that's where um the water company is and it's right next to that street.

[00:15:46]So, when you come into it, you're next to Magnum and um 1X Wholesale something another Dragon Holding Dragon Wholesale.

[00:15:56]And so, it's there right around Hong Leen. So, that's where we're at. Um, getting it done, where I'm at getting it done. And the guy that is um there, he's quite quite good. Um, they were quite quick and it didn't cost me a lot of money. So, it's a good one. So, if you have your AC and them do all sorts, it's a it's an auto service, so it's United Auto service. So this is this is me just saying thank you to them because I went there. They were quick and I was in and out and they take good care. So um he said I need to now go for a month and see what happens and then he'll now be able to see if they need to go in and do more examination to see if it's leaking or anything. So if if nothing if it continue to function as it is over the next month then I'm all good. It just needed gas. So I'm looking forward to seeing how it all pan out. Yeah. So if you are in this local and you need auto service, that's where you get United Auto and um of Manchester Road.

[00:17:07]So that's where I was getting it all done.

[00:17:11]So I can check them out if you're not interested. It's now minutes to 1 and I have not had a breakfast other than my foods that I had this morning. And so I'm going to go and get myself something and get back home, sort out myself with some stuff for me to organize there. And then I'm going to head out to do my school run um later on. So, I have a little bit of time between now and then to go and get a few things sorted, but I'm glad I got this car AC out the way. So, we're just doing one thing at a time until we get it where we actually want it to be. Um, slowly but surely, we'll get there. And it's it was a necessary timing to get something so we can have it to do some of the stuff that we need to do. So, it's all good. And the things that we know need looking at, we'll look at them as we go along.

[00:18:12]So maybe some food have lunch yet or what meal you're going to have right now. Let me know in the comments below.

[00:18:20]The damn family I living a good life.

[00:18:34]We're royal cruising through the western [music] having fun enjoying the good life. [music] Done from family. The jam fam family jam fam come hang with me [music] the jam fam family jam come hang with me. [music] Thank you so much for staying with us here on this another episode of Life with the Jamfam. We appreciate you and we thank you for being a member of the Jamfam tribe and some of you but join the tribe yet.

[00:19:31]Okay. Well, we're going to make the decision we will know and we will welcome you then. And until then, we want to say bye for now. Do take care and we look forward to seeing you in the next one. And remember, walk good.

[00:19:42][music] >> [music] >> Ooh.

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