C4C: Why we do what we do:

I’ve been coming to Curaçao since 1976. I love this place. My wife, Stephanie, has been coming with me for about 11-12 years. She loves this place. Many years ago, when friends would ask me what to do in Curaçao, I started a word document to share with them the things, places and activities that I loved. At some point, I shared it with some people on the Curaçao Visitor’s Forum. They would message me, to ask for it, and I would share it.

Some time later, my wife and I started the process of moving here. We found some of the processes quite difficult, and because the steps for Canadians were different than for folks from the Netherlands and the USA, we would often get incorrect information from people. When we would finally get the correct info, we would document it.

One day, Stephanie suggested that we should put all the info on a website so people could find the correct answers to these questions. I know as much about building websites as I do about building…well…anything. (construction is not my strong suit!!). Thankfully, our good friend C.C. is super gifted at this, so soon enough we had a website. I kind of thought that an entire website focused on permits, shipping, etc., sounded kind of boring, so we decided to incorporate the “vacation” section, and used my list of recommendations as a starting point.

It has evolved into what it is today. The “Moving” section is focused on the steps Canadians will need to go through to get here and the “Vacation” has info that may help anyone, not just Canadians, visiting Curaçao.

That’s what we did.
The following is 100% of why we do it:

1. We honestly hope that everyone that visits Curaçao loves it as much as we do.
2. We hope all Canadians moving here, wintering here, or buying property, has a bit of an easier time than we did because of the info compiled on our website and the great advice given by so many awesome Canadians on our Facebook page.
3. We love making new friends, and seeing our amazing C4C community grow, online, and on the island.

To be clear, our website is not monetized, there are no third-party ads, we make zero money for any of this, and we do not charge any of the businesses that we support even one single penny (yes, I know pennies don’t exist anymore). We do this because we love it…period (sometimes, someone might buy us a beer…lol). We want to help, we want to make new friends, and we want people to love this amazing island.

That’s all.

I will add one thing: now that our Facebook page is nearing 3000 members, and the website is doing so well, we are getting contacted by local Curaçao businesses who would like to be promoted by us. We only promote businesses that we ourselves have used or experienced, and we don’t post anything negative (unless it poses a danger, etc). Our community is about building. Our hope is that by growing this great community of people, more local businesses will offer C4C specials or discounts that you can all benefit from.

People often ask, “what can I do to help?” Well, that’s easy. Refer people to the website and to the page. If you have a friend coming for vacation, or see a question asked on the Curacao Visitor’s forum like “what are the best snorkel beaches”, or “what are some kid’s activities”, send them to our page or website. The more traffic we get, the more we can build for you all. We just want all of you to benefit from all of this.

We are Canadian. When a friend needs help, we help. We try to set the tone. We hope you will all support us in helping others and building our amazing community.

In closing…beers…soon!!