A few more questions

Hello B,

Depends on when you are moving. Right now apartments are more difficult to find but when season ends around May, there should be more availabilities as seasonal employees head to their next destination. Some folks report finding a place within a day or two of getting there, others it takes a few weeks to find what they like/want.

Your numbers seem ok and are attainable with one good paying job or two ok paying jobs. $600 on entertainment a month - WOW. So you are budgeting more for entertainment then food or perhaps you plan to eat out a lot :-). Whats your car & gas monies for... I figured car was gas/car but then saw gas by itself?

--Islander

Islander,

Thanks for the reply. As of now, I plan to move around Oct. I will be doing a pre-move scouting trip before. I'm wrapping up the things in my life here a little quicker than expected so I could move a few months earlier if that would help but, from what I read, Oct. is good.

I plan to work two jobs at least until I figure things out. I also will have a little money in case I stumble upon a business opportunity along the way. I'm a hustler (Pete Rose type not a crook) who doesn't mind work.

As far as my numbers, $600 for entertainment seemed to be a little low to me. I was including most of my spending money in this catagory. It is only $20/day. I work most nights, don't drink much and cook most of my own food so I don't waste much money on these things.

The car was an insurance subcatagory. Is $150 a month reasonable there? Will $250 a month cover gas. I really have no idea about this. I have owned a landscape company here and haven't had to worry about how much gas costs b/c it was just a cost of doing business. It's not a personal bill I have to pay.

As far as spending more on entertainment than food, I have also included $200 a month for supplements including protein powder and protein bars so my real food bill is closer to $500. Still I was planning on some help w/ the food costs. I plan to grow my own herbs and some vegetables, and I figure I can get to know all the local market people and do some odd jobs for a discount on fresh food. Am I crazy for thinking this?

Thanks again,

BG

you wont spend nearly 250 on gas per month... depending on where you live in the states, gas on STT is only a few cents higher, but you will probably only fill your tank 2 or 3 times a month.

My two cents- electricity (and sometimes natural gas) is NOT included in price of rent for most places.

Electricity is expensive here- and your bill will be even higher if you have A/C.

Plan to spend a couple hundred bucks a month on that, depending on the size of your place.

Good luck!

LR

We're only a few cents higher than in the States?!? No kidding? I never realized the poor Stateside folks had to pay $2.35/gal (STT)! Wow! That's gotta be pricey up there, where people are in their cars for so long each day. Ugh!

whoa, i dont know where that is? Here is is about 1.89/gallon, which still seems outrageous to me. maybe in the bigger cities (Im in pittsburgh), it cost more...

Do you really only fill your tank 2-3 times a month? Is that typical for people on this islands, since everything is closer together? I fill mine about 5-6 times a month

How much gas you purchase will depend a lot on your vehicle. I have a gas guzzling SUV so I do spend more money on gas here on St. Thomas then I did back in the states. I fill my vehicle up 4-5 times a month and average 9-12mpg. This is by choice but you might want to factor it in if you are on a budget.

I paid $2.09/gal for Premium (93 Octane) just this morning here in Florida. Regular gas was $2/gal. Considering there's a refinery in the heart of US VI, .....call me crazy....but, I would have thought the VI would get some benefit from having that refinery in their midst (i.e., more economical gas prices).

Is it 2.35 on stt right now?! wow, when I was there a month ago it was around 2.05. I'm in NY right now and gas is about 2.15, but it has gone up from about 1.95-2.00 a month ago. Then again, gas is prolly more expensive here (as opposed to a lot of other places in the states). Can't wait to get back to the island this month though, it's supposed to snow again today!

how many gas stations are on the island?

Enough

You might want to pick up some air ambulance coverage because there's no trauma center on the island. About $120 per year with SkyMed.

Even though we have the refinery on STX, we don't get our gas in STT from there. Why? Good question. Someone probably signed a contract for us to get it from somewhere else so that their friend/relative would get a kickback from it and now we have to pay outrageous prices. What is it on STX? A buck?

$1.84 for regular

The recent study by the Legislature as to how to lower gasoline prices - ie, bringing it over from STX, produced the following info. The ship(s) that haul the gasoline from STX to other places do not have a spot to dock here on STT as there is NO STORAGE FACILITY as in one or more of those big huge round refinery storage bins.

Committee looked at the cost of building one and, from all I read, didn't decide to go forward with it.

If they had the gas could have not only been brought over from STX, but stored for distribution to the stations here.

For some reason it arrives by ship from PR which can be docked and offload into? Sheesh, not sure.

Too bad since the once lowered price has now shot back up!!!!

So much for committees!!!! And that one was the 2nd time they had spent money to exmaine the PROBLEM!!!!