How can I explain? Well it is almost exactly like the States but with more freedom and a little bit slower paced lifestyle. There are tons of things to do as it is not a small island. There is hiking, biking, boating, and swimming in one of the many great beaches to choose from. There are all types of beaches from huge waves to no waves. There is great windsurfing, surfing, and kitesurfing. The island is big enough for road trips. There are plenty all inclusive resorts that offer day passes for very reasonable prices.
There are no drinking and driving laws here, there really are barely any traffic laws, no radar, no speeding tickets, no getting pulled over for a light out, no dwi checkpoints, and you can run the red light if no one is coming. It's a lot more laid back then the States, and I actually feel safer on the streets here then back in the States.
If you like going out to eat this is a great place to do it, there are tons of different restaurants and they are very well priced and very clean and nice. In Sambil Mall they have some great restaurants, like Hard Rock Cafe, and many many more.
Life here is very cheap; gas 4 cents a gallon, 30 cents for a beer, 1 dollar for a bottle of cheap rum, 3 dollars for a good bottle of wine, everything in the grocery store that is good for you is cheap. It is the opposite of the States where so much for sale is processed and bad for you. Here food that is good for you is affordable. But if you buy the processed US food you will spend an arm and a leg. Fish, meat, cheeses, eggs, and produce are all very cheap, and organic by law!!! Now to get to some other cost of living, we own a 3 bedroom home and our electric bill is average 35 dollars a month. Auto insurance is costing us 150 dollars for 6 months. My whole family uses the free health care system, so far it has worked great, as it is modern and best of all it is free. Dental is free too. So you figure per month what you save on family health care $600-700 a month, gas maybe $300 a month, electricity 300-400 a month, and for every $100 dollars you spend at the grocery store you will spend here $30-50.
I know you're thinking that I am exaggerating. Well I'm not and if you live in the States you know I'm not exaggerating that end. I did not even get to rent or mortgage yet. A million dollar home in the states will sell for about 200,000 to 400,000 here with ocean view, and if you build one even cheaper. 
What would I do for work? If you do not get residency you can not have a regular job here unless it is under the table, but you would not want one unless you know someone. The best thing to do here is start your own business as you do not need residency for that. There are just tons of business ideas that would do very well here, basically any business you start that is run to US standards will profit a lot. The island is lacking customer service bigtime. I have many business ideas for here just ask me and I will tell you a list of them that will work. Importing things that are expensive here or exporting things that are cheap here is a good way to make money. I have also met a lot of people from around the world that are just so happy not to have to work at all here. For instance I just met a couple from Paris and I asked them what they do and they said, to my surprise, we do not do anything. That's just a good example of how cheap it is to live here, and they are not rich either.
If you are the type of person that likes to travel, then a flight bought here in bolivares is probably about the cheapest in the world so you can visit the family or friends without too much expense.
There is plenty of shopping on the island. In Sambil Mall they have over 250 stores and the mall will rival any mall in the states. There are pics of the mall on this page. There are 3 new shopping malls going up too.