In short
Barbados launched the Welcome Stamp in 2020, the first Caribbean permit aimed at remote workers. The island has since been widely imitated, and its infrastructure keeps up: reliable network, English everywhere, a decent health system.
Bridgetown and its garrison are a World Heritage site. The west coast is calm and sheltered, the Atlantic east coast is pounded by swell and surfed.
What it really costs
This is one of the more expensive Caribbean islands. The Barbadian dollar is pegged to the US dollar, and everything is imported.
Public buses and ZR vans cross the island for a single very low fare. That is the real way around taxi prices, and the network is dense.
What nobody tells you
Rum has been distilled here since the seventeenth century, and Mount Gay claims the oldest working distillery in the world. It is a visit, not just a shop.
The Friday night fish fry at Oistins is the social event of the week: grilled fish, local prices, and nothing staged for visitors.
The east coast is not for swimming. Bathsheba is superb and dangerous: currents are strong and swimming is advised against outside the rock pools.