THE SALESMAN SMILED AS THE SMART BUT CASUALLY DRESSED COUPLE STEPPED INTO THE DEALERSHIP, GLANCING ADMIRINGLY AT THE FLAME RED SPORTS CAR IN THE CENTRE OF A SHOWROOM FILLED WITH GLEAMING VEHICLES . . .

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“Good morning, can I be of assistance?” The couple turned their attention towards the salesman “Good morning I’m Tom and this is my wife Sarah, you have some beautiful and interesting motors, and we think it might time for a change.” ‍
The salesman noticed the shape of a top end saloon outside the showroom “Is that your Britmobile, it looks fairly recent and well looked after?”

“Yes up until now we have always had Britmobiles, they’ve got us where we need to go safely and in comfort whether it was for pleasure or business but since the change of ownership last year, there has been a drop off in quality and with reduced support we don’t feel that they appreciate us as customers anymore. An increase in charges to run the vehicle means it is less and less economic to run and to be frank we are concerned that in these straightened times the value will plummet if we decided to sell the vehicle and leave the country.”.

“I noticed you and your wife admiring the Jersey GTO as you came in, she’s a real beauty isn’t she, a hand built lightweight aluminium chassis with a 2.9 litre twin turbo charged V8 0-60 in just 4.1 seconds.” The salesman’s hand hovered over the undulating aerodynamic body.

The couple looked at each other and smiled. “We’ve heard a lot about Jersey GTO’s and indeed their sister cars made by the Channel Island Motor company. It certainly is striking but when we visited Jersey earlier this year we saw so many of them slowly crawling their way into St Helier in the morning and whilst we can admire the workmanship, we’ve heard they are over engineered and expensive to run and that they never reach their full potential of 200 mph given the Island has a maximum 40mph speed limit.”

We liked Jersey, and we easily meet the £10m personal wealth requirements, both Sarah and I feel we could have a good life there, enjoying trips to France and across Europe, something a Jersey GTO would be well suited for,  but in the end we feel that it’s not so easily accessible for our family and running our business from there would be too limiting given the costs and restrictions.

The salesman nodded “If you would like something safe and dependable but with a little European flair, we do have a Swissy C230” gesturing towards an imposing dark metallic grey saloon with tinted glass. “That’s German reliability, French comfort and Italian style or is it Italian reliability, French style, and German comfort? I can never remember” remarked the salesman.   “It has a clever built in satnav that abruptly switches from sultry directions in French to shouting orders in German at an exact halfway point between Zurich and Geneva and detours by all the good restaurants on the way to Lugano.”

Sarah sighed “I’ve heard that the warranty rules, service centres and running costs vary widely depending on which Canton you are in? Relocating to Switzerland needs a residence permit, which can vary across Cantons, and usually employment or proof of self-sufficiency and of special relations with Switzerland to retire there, either way is not straightforward – no I’m afraid that’s not for us.”

‍The salesman shuffled slightly, his smile stifling a growing frustration. “Well, there is the Dubai Dasher 4x4 GTI over there”. He pointed to a metallic gold 4x4 with bull bars and chrome wheel spinners. “Ideal for weekday shopping trips and weekly expat brunches and at the weekend you can take it out into the desert. It has excellent air conditioning well able to deal with the up to 50 degrees summer and the cooler 40 degrees winter temperatures also it can safely withstand the occasional Saturday night collision with a taxi or an Emirati supercar”.

“A friend recently rented a Dubai Dasher 4x4 during a recent visit” remarked Tom. Initially, he found it fun and enjoyed his daily trip to the business district which was so westernised it increasingly reminded him of London’s Canary Wharf. Unfortunately, on his way home one day he had an accident with a local and suddenly struggled to understand how the Islamic laws and system worked – but I understand he has learnt Arabic during his incarceration. Whilst I can see the attraction, a Dubai Dasher 4x4 is not for us'.

Looking around the showroom Tom’s gaze rested on a stylish yet solid luxury 4x4 in the corner. The salesman following his gaze remarked “Ah that is something a little special the Manx Optima TT, like the Isle of Man it has the best influences from the UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia. The Isle of Man is proudly independent though perhaps is less well known, given the difference in marketing budget with say the Jersey GTO, but nevertheless it is the discerning choice for anyone looking for accessibility, safety, and flexibility. It’s equally well suited when visiting family and business interests in the UK and beyond but also as a base to build an international business. The Island is excellent location for those needing to be close to UK family and businesses, its legal and social system is familiar, and welcoming compared to the other options.

Looking at well-crafted and comfortable interior Tom and Sarah settled into the luxurious seats “This feels like home already,” said Sarah.