By José E. Latour, Esq.
In the United States, when high school students graduate and go off to college, their college or university most often fits into one of two categories: “Big City” or “College Town”. Some of America’s best universities are in rural locations, others are in New York, Chicago, etc. Attending college in a Big City or College Town has no bearing on the academic quality of education, but it DOES profoundly define the personal college EXPERIENCE of the student.
Having grown up in bustling Miami, moving to tiny Gainesville, Florida, at the ripe old age of 17 was definitely an eye opening experience. At the beginning, living in a small college town was confusing, but soon I grew to love it. My undergraduate experience as a “College Town” student was so positive that when I decided to attend law school, I returned to Gainesville. While the Big City college experience offers many great opportunities, for me the intimacy of building friendships and learning life’s lessons made my education in Gainesville, a true “College Town” an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything.
As our Grenada CBI/ E-2/ Franchise client base grows in Vietnam, Monica and I are increasingly asked an interesting question:
“What about living in Grenada...St. George’s University looks like a great school?”
As our readers probably know, the vast majority of foreign investors seeking Grenada CBI nationality do so in order to access the E-2 Treaty Investor visa and the ability to move their family to the U.S. Some, however, are more open-minded about relocation options. While the majority of CBI Passport nations – especially those in the Caribbean – are places offering little in terms of education, investment opportunity, and lifestyle, Grenada offers all that and more to investors seriously exploring relocation options.
St. Georges University (SGU), a private international university based in Grenada, is EXACTLY what makes Grenada perhaps the ULTIMATE “College Town”, offering great lifestyle opportunities for Vietnamese investor families. SGU is renowned as an international medical school and has educated close to 8000 physicians over the years, many of them working in the U.S. With a total enrollment of 7,486 (in 2018), SGU is vibrant, bustling campus with an international faculty, challenging undergraduate options, and the benefits which ALWAYS come with living in a small college community including excellent primary and secondary schools (because all those professors and administrators have families, too), entertainment options, clubs, etc.
For our Vietnamese investors, two additional elements make Grenada a particularly attractive relocation option – even if your kids are not close to college age: first of all, as a tax haven with reputable adherence to international standards, it’s the perfect place to plan your US pre-immigration tax objectives and save money long term. Second, our Vietnamese investors are seriously entrepreneurial folks. As dynamic and vibrant as SGU is, there are numerous investment opportunities for those looking at the “College Town” angle of Grenada: students and faculty are hungry for restaurants and new cuisines (no Vietnamese food yet!), campus hotel lodging, private student housing opportunities abound, as does the demand for private medical care, clinics, etc...with a world-class medical school right on island.
We are planning Grenada group visits for vetted Grenada CBI investors who see Grenada as more than just a new passport and want to see what other opportunities are open. Call us today for more information!
