2 weeks in..

I haven't been on this site in a while and boy, does it still entertain. lol

For your entertainment purposes, see this thread below where I am inquiring about local and 24 hour pharmacies on STT for my Mother. I wanted to support a local business and also thought it would be a good idea to have a 24 hour pharmacy for emergencies. Somehow, that was a "slap in the face" to CruzanIron and janestx had some insulting remarks about comparing the 24 hr pharmacy to needing a blow job that has since been removed by the mod. Needless to say, my mother was impressed.

Even funnier, they both live on STX and I was looking for info on STT. Entertaining indeed.

Pharmacies on STT

Are you living in the VI yet?

Iraq…coming to a neighborhood near you. Here's another one from that same media outlet Huff Post that Ryan Reilly works for…that pastor's stomach looks like it might sting just a bit.

Ferguson Police Reportedly Shot Pastor Renita Lamkin With Rubber Bullet During Protest:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/14/ferguson-pastor-shot-police-rubber-bullet_n_5678973.html

This really belongs in Under a Coconut Tree so I started a thread there for the riots in Ferguson, lets move the discussion there, please:

https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?7,228709

Thank you!!!!

...Even funnier, they both live on STX and I was looking for info on STT. Entertaining indeed.

Are you living in the VI yet?

She wants to live there, so that is all that matters.

Hi. OP here.. tomorrow is 3 weeks and I want to know where I can meet some of you negative Nancy's.. my time thusfar has been filled with smiling kind people even at the bank and post office. I guess it's because I'm just a ray of golden sunshine and I attract other similar folks.

Yes and no

Stay out of the hoods around Austin & Englewood and your odds of getting murdered go way down

Petty crime is up even in the nicer areas like LP, Bucktown, RN, etc

Glad you are having a positive experience.
It's usually because one puts out a positive attitude.
It helps to have PATIENCE and be nice.You will get that in return.

Hi. OP here.. tomorrow is 3 weeks and I want to know where I can meet some of you negative Nancy's.. my time thusfar has been filled with smiling kind people even at the bank and post office. I guess it's because I'm just a ray of golden sunshine and I attract other similar folks.

As you're no doubt finding out, if you want to meet them you'll need to take a seaplane to St. Croix. Only $80 each way, it's not bad. Such is the nature of this board. There are lots of fun-loving positive Crucians too, but most of the "it is horrible and you'll never make it just like all the others" crowd do not live on the island that you moved to.

I don't think anyone is saying don't come, but are warning that it is not some cosy little seaside town.

We were asked what one word would describe the USVI to you? I picked "Enchanting".

It is enchanting, with its beautiful surroundings, great year round weather, and seedy underside of drug/alcohol/violence that permeates life there, no matter where you go - unlike "Stay out of the hoods around Austin & Englewood and your odds of getting murdered go way down".

It gives you a truly memorable experience, unlike most places I have lived in my life.

There really are two types of people who survive there, who moved there. Those who stick their heads in the sand and refuse to see anything other than the dazzling surroundings, and those who see what is going on and take advantage of it. Usually, those in-between leave. Rarely, but not entirely uncommon, is there an in-between that stays, IMO.

spartygrad95, I don't think we have negative Nancy's here on the board as you are saying.
I believe they are telling you of their experiences here, as you are telling us yours.

Here is my experience. Everything for me was fine until a year went by, except for some teeth sucking towards me, no big deal, I just ignored it.
We had 3 robbers come into my home while sleeping, their were 3 more outside. Yes, my doors and windows were locked. They pried one of our sliders open. Thank God for our dog who barked and woke us up. It was too late they had found our keys to our cars and stole them both. A truck filled with my husband tools. We confronted them in our driveway as they were speeding off with our cars. It was horrible, we really could of been hurt since we were fighting with them in the driveway. My husband was trying to pull the guy out of my car as he was backing out.
Now I always sleep with my keys. You need to have more then liability on your cars. We now have full coverage. Lesson learned.

I have had stuff stolen off my property. Example, lounge chairs, grills, pool floats, sodas at our outdoor bar, floor mats from our jeep. You can't leave anything out. They will take it.

My neighbors house was broken into several times, one time in broad daylight. I happen to see them, my husband gave chase.

We now have a gate at the beginning of our road which has been a blessing. Knock on wood we haven't had any crime since we put the gate up.

We have been in 2 restaurants when armed thieves came in. One time they came in shooting. Very scary.

How can anyone say I've given off the wrong vibe or didn't have a positive attitude. I asked for all that?
I smile to everyone and say Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good night. I'm very respectful.

Our house is on the market, I wish we could stay, but to be honest we have lost so much it's crazy. I do love the beauty of the island.

I think I have also given some great advice in my story. Reminder, Sleep with keys, have full coverage on vehicle or at least theft. Have a dog, get a gate. Cameras can help also, as long as they don't knock them down, or put palm fronds in front of their faces. Yes, that also happened.

I have so many stories, I could write a book.

I have guys with huge machetes show up at my front door once a week to cut back bush...if I don't pay them, they will probably be back LOL

well, there have been robberies with a machete at mill harbor

and i do not think it is negative to tell you things that have actually happened. threads of positive happenings have been started in the past by myself and maybe 2 others, quickly gone to the back of the list.

just because we post about crime does not make us negative nancys, just as posting about all the sunshine and blue waters does not make us see things through rose colored glasses.

A lot of people come to these boards asking for advice and for us to share our experience and knowledge. When said requests are shared, a few make it to The Rocks, come back here and blast what was shared… I am sorry but that is NOT right and downright impolite, IMHO…
So far I’ve had no issues whatsoever and/or horrible situations in STX thanks to common sense, but mostly because what I’ve learned from the bad experiences of those who have taken the time to share even when it has been painful…

To you all, from the deepest corner of my heart I THANK YOU!

To those few who downplay what is posted here, please, just because “so far” you haven’t experienced any problems and, who knows, maybe you will never have to, doesn’t give you the right to come here and smack’em on the face for doing so…

Also, always be considerate that you end up with multiple threads about the same basic topic over and over again… and, in many cases, even if it is ridiculous, we take the time to reply and bite our tongue in doing so with the hope that somewhere along the line a “thank you” will be received by the OP… a bit of sarcasm and odd humor may very well be an unwanted outcome of the thread… just accept it as is and not make a big deal about it…

I've been here for 8 years. My honeymoon phase lasted for 2 years - 2 glorious years!

May yours last as long.

Over 50 years here.

Bicycle stolen when I was 11 or 12.
One burglary with about $200 worth of stuff stolen (that I got back) when I was 23.
Two friends shot standing beside me (minor injuries to them) 30 years ago.
Tools stolen from unlocked truck in my driveway.

That's it...

Crime can strike anyone at anytime, but in general, what are the demographics of those dealing with this kind of criminal assault, be it physical or on personal property i.e. stealing or vandalism, etc.? Any trends worth noting? Obviously these are not just tourists being targeted, or folks unfamiliar with the area. Some have such tales and others, not much worth mentioning. What are the trends here?

here ten years

cell phone stolen
two car window breaks at mill harbor back when the crack heads lived next door to the property.
a person walked in my home while i was there and took a camera case-most likely fast eddie-i hear he is back out again.
house hubby was working on broken into 3 times-things stolen each and every time-blow torch used for 1 burglary. obviously a person who had worked on the house at one time.out of the way location.
car broken into a stuffed moved.
van broken into and pain cream stolen. maybe some change taken. we were home at the time.
neighbor shot in the leg when he went to help his visitors who were getting robbed on their way home.
lots of gun shots heard-the wind carries just right.
another house hubby had done work on, a year or so after he stopped doing work on it that house was broken into about 2-3 times, last time all appliances were stolen.- possible caretaker theft/burglary.
co worker shot in leg a few years ago.
lots of other people have stories to share too.

lived in the states for over 40 years
change burgled from fathers bedroom-friend did it
a few pieces of jewelry stolen-friend did it
can not think of any friends who actually had any crimes committed against them in the states.

cruzan, glad you and your friends were not killed

rowdy great post

I like the chronological story-telling! I want to try one for a third party...

F.Y. arrives on St. Croix after being driven from his native Palestine.

F.Y. carries a suitcase loaded with dry goods, on foot, through STX neighborhoods for about five years. He does not worry about being robbed or attacked with a big machete as he markets his wares in Machuchal, Harvey project, Red Brick, and Kennedy.

F.Y. scrapes together enough money to start a shoe-store...future VI Senator David Jones is one of his first employees.

F.Y. gets enough capital together to expand his business...opens a clothing store in the building next to his shoe store.

Sometime in the 80's, F.Y. opens the first Plaza Extra. You know what happens next.

F.Y. endures hurricane Hugo, looters, a federal investigation, employee and customer theft, etc. etc....however, he never seems to find the time to whine about it on the Internet...he's too busy opening up more Plaza Extra stores. His wife drives a massively expensive Mercedes Benz automobile. His sons are his store managers. They do not browse the Internet. They set up huge satellite dishes and watch TV from around the world.

F.Y. renovates the defunct Schooner Bay Market, installs solar panels, paves the parking lot, and retires to his mansion at the end of the day, oblivious to the apparent fact that he lives in the most dangerous place in the world.

Moral of the story: you can whine all you want, but there are people here who are making this their paradise. Only the strong survive.

I do not believe that Jamison is being disrespectful.
.

Jamison found my recounting of crimes against my person "entertaining", or at least strongly implied that. If I'm wrong, I'll take it back. If I'm right, it's disrespectful. Which surprises me because I've met Jamison and didn't take him for that kind of person. This is one case in which I'd like to be wrong.

IT

Iris: I understand where you are coming from but I took it as he was laughing at the Chicago joke. Chicago was how it was told to me, however, I'm thinking we could apply that joke to many places not only Chicago. Sounds like we could put any city or any island to fill in the blank.

I have always tried to be careful, aware of my surroundings, street smart etc my whole life but after spending time in the VI, Trinidad, & Tobago, I do know that armed home invasions and business robberies are more prevalent there. This freaks me out but not to the extent of shutting down moving plans. I am grateful for people discussing their experiences so that I can plan accordingly to protect my family.

On a side note, when I was in Trinidad, a home had been robbed twice previously and they stole food, jewelry, and other miscellaneous items. One of those times, the owners were home and they soon found out the perps had machetes. No one was hurt but they had grown tired of feeling unsafe.

What was their reaction? They rigged a trap with a machete above the window that the perps used on both occasions to gain entry. Sure enough the home was broken into again the same way and the perp was arrested with a stop to the hospital on the way since he lost his hand. A bit excessive? Yes. But it was an eye opener to me that its necessary to take all precautions.

Soon after hearing this story, I had flown over to Tobago to stay for a month (another place with breathtaking beaches). I was walking from my Jeep rental down towards the beach with a friend. A Rasta looking man (even though they look Rastafarian sometimes does not mean they are the peaceful & spiritual ganja smoking sort) was walking briskly towards us with a machete in his hand. I was soon in panic mode and grabbed the pepper spray out of my back pack like I forgot something. As I looked up, he was now a couple of feet away and had opened the large netted bag he had flung over his shoulder and took out a coconut. He then took the machete and chopped open the coconut and said "Coconut water for pretty ladies on a hot day!" I breathed a sigh of relief feeling guilty for judging the man so quickly and gave him a $20 of TT$ for the 2 coconuts.

What was their reaction? They rigged a trap with a machete above the window that the perps used on both occasions to gain entry. Sure enough the home was broken into again the same way and the perp was arrested with a stop to the hospital on the way since he lost his hand. A bit excessive? Yes. But it was an eye opener to me that its necessary to take all precautions.

Don't try that in the US. Setting traps is a definite no-no.

Don't try that in the US. Setting traps is a definite no-no.

Reminds me of the true story of the burglars attempting to break into a VI business in the wee hours of the morning. A neighbor who was a combat veteran and friends of the business owners heard the noise of the back door being battered, crept out of his house and, unable to see anything, fired off a couple of shots through the bush in the direction of the door. The burglars fled.

A few weeks later, another friend of the business owners, who was a triage nurse at the hospital, told them the story of the guy who came into the ER complaining of "stomach pains" in the dead of night. That very same day, as it turned out. Upon examination he was found to have a bullet in his belly and the police were called. The man had NO idea how he could POSSIBLY have sustained a bullet wound and he, "ain't done nuttin and seen nuttin". The bullet was removed, the man was patched up and off he went - maybe to live a pristine crime-free life thereafter ...

Well stated Native Son.