$ and jobs

STJ is expensive for alot of reasons here are a few...

The most beautiful virgin island period. Hard to find a beach that is not beautiful and harder still if not impossible to find one that has bad snorkeling.

Smallest usvi (25 sq miles). Rockfellers donated it to the us govt on the condition that 75% remained as public parks. So every bit of land there is very expensive.

When the land is expensive the rents and mortgages for business are expensive. The business have to ship almost everything in. There are no major stores on stj so you have to go to stt to buy things in bulk cheap or order them online and pay shipping instead. The business translate the expense onto the consumer.

Employers there do not pay much better then what is being paid in stt and its cheaper to live in stt.

It is also a matter of "SUPPLY AND DEMAND" ... there is a huge demand and very little in the supply chain.

As far as teachers I believe the turnover rate is not high - however - there are always teachers that are retiring
from teaching.

Teacher turnover rate is very high in the private schools which hire from off-island. Most people from the States who move to the VI leave after a year or so, teachers are no exception. Of course, there are always the odd few who stay (like myself). Teacher turnover rate in the public schools is much lower than in the private, but it is still fairly high. Public school teachers make more money than private but the cost of living is high, so they sometimes move into stateside school systems where the pay is higher and the cost of living lower.

Stttarfish-
My husband is finishing his degree is Social Psychology within the year and then plans on getting his teaching certificate. Do most private schools hire teachers w/ Masters or do they hire teachers with little experience? Is it unrealistic to hope he gets hired on at a private school that would also pay for tuition for our children? Your thoughts or anyone else's are appreciated!

Many of the new teachers hired by Good Hope tend to be recent college graduates, although some are fortunately more experienced. The pay is low at the private schools, but the extra perk that makes it worth it for teachers with children of their own is the free tuition for their children. Contact Good Hope and Country Day to inquire into their vacancies for 2007 if you have an interest in STX. Others on the board can give you info about STT private schools.

Nikki, the private schools on STT hire people just out of college frequently, and teaching certificate is usually not required. On STT the standard at private schools is 50% tuition discount for children of teachers. Sometimes there is an additional discount for more than one child attending the school.