If you come to Curaçao to do an internship or to work, this question will probably pop into your head. Is Curaçao safe to do an internship or to work? The answer we give to this question is: ?Yes?. And that is not because we want to attract young people to Curaçao, but because people often make a wrong assessment.
We often hear: ?But we do hear dangerous stories about Curaçao?. Yes, that is certainly true, but have you ever read the newspaper of the Netherlands about the crime that is prevalent in the Netherlands? The reality is that crime has decreased considerably in recent years and that Curaçao is generally safer than most places in the world. Remember that thousands of interns come to Curaçao every year and of these thousands of interns, 98% goes home without having experienced anything bad.
There are certain things you should not do or should do to avoid any unsafe situations, such situations are often created by inattentive behavior and good faith. Don't forget that the Curaçao population knows that many Dutch interns are coming and they generally have more valuable stuff and are therefore a bigger target. Fortunately, the houses are generally very well protected against burglary. We also offer alone housing where something is being done about the safety of the students. The houses are walled and often have bars on the windows and doors.
To spend your internship or work period on Curaçao as safely as possible, we do have a number of tips!
1- Never go out alone at night.
Going out alone in the evening is actually asking for annoying attention. Moreover, we wonder why you would do this at all. The fact remains with a group you are less vulnerable and you are a lot less interesting.
2- Do not seek a fight.
Don't forget that you are ?guest? are on Curaçao and behave accordingly. Of course there may be a situation that you have a fight, but also remember that you really won't achieve anything with this. Just walk away from it and join nice people and have a nice evening again.
3- Do not browse around in certain neighborhoods.
Just like in Amsterdam or Rotterdam, you have a few neighborhoods that you shouldn't be in. Not that anything will happen here, but you can get annoying attention. The advantage is that you really have nothing to do in these neighborhoods, so you have no reason to go here. So don't do this either. You want to stay safe on Curaçao, so don't look for danger.
4- Do not enter the car with strangers.
It sounds obvious, but there are situations when you do get in with a stranger. Maybe you haven't been able to fix a taxi and someone offers you a cheap ride to your accommodation. Do not do it! New taxis will appear automatically or call your accommodation manager for a possible solution. In the Netherlands you don't just get in with a complete stranger, do you?
5- Do not just take people to your accommodation.
It can of course happen that you meet a nice group of people while you go out and want to give an afterparty at your accommodation. Think carefully who you take with you. Everyone knows that there are precious things in a house. You are busy hosting the party but you cannot keep an eye on everyone.
6- Keep valuables out of sight.
To ensure safety on Curaçao, it is useful not to leave any valuables in your car or in plain sight. Imagine running out of pennies but seeing something valuable in a car that could generate money. Entering a window is done in no time and the perpetrator really does not think about the costs you have for a new window or replacement of the precious good.
7- Think logically.
We always say that Curaçao can be compared to a large city in the Netherlands. Of course things happen here on Curaçao that we would rather not see, but you have this everywhere! So is Curaçao safe? Yes, we think so if you think logically. From an early age, you are taught what is and is not possible in your upbringing and that is certainly no different here.
Do you also want a great time on Curaçao? For example, are you going do an internship, working or volunteer work but have you not arranged everything yet? Then switch to CuraStage and we will get to work for you!
