Are my parents right?

oh, yeah, and one more thing...has this happened to any of you before?

You can do it, but it will definitely NOT be easy, especially since you only have a high school diploma.

Nikki: You are still in high school and you are dreaming of rum? Well,I guess the VI will be a good fit!

I agree that you need to finish your college or technical school before you think of moving here. Maybe you should plan a vacation for a graduation present, then go from there!

P.S. Your parents are always right until you get out of their house and are on your own! 😉

Gosh, we sure are a bunch of old farts, aren't we? Save your money, finish your education, (eat your vegetables) and come on down. Plan to stay for a while to see if you like it.

Good luck

Dear sunset angel:

Looking for a predator on this board? Or are you a troll?

Still in high school?

On the remote off-chance that you are legitimate, suggest you read through this forum in its entirety and then re-post when you're grown up.

um....I'm sorry? I'm only asking for help. and no I'm not looking for a predator, if I was, I'd give away where I lived and what my real name is. thank you for your "concern" tho. and in response to the rum joke. no, I'm not dreaming of rum! lol. never even tasted it! it's just the chorus of one of my favorite kenny chesney songs. 🙂

Okay that's it -- I can't stand it anymore:

It’s JOST (not Yost) and FOXY'S (not Fixy's).

Sunset Angel. You are obviously very young with your whole life ahead of you. The islands are nice, but there are many fabulous places on this planet. You should make it your goal to visit as many of them as possible.

BUT FIRST

Lay a solid groundwork for your future. Go to college and get a career as you will need money to see all of these wonderful places. Yes, you can visit places on a shoestring (which is always fun during summer breaks from college). BUT traveling is a lot more enjoyable if you have a little spare cash in your pocket.

Listen to your parents. You will find that the older you get the smarter they become (to paraphrase Mark Twain I believe).

Don't overindulge in rum (Fixy's, Foxy's or otherwise). It will kill brain cells that you will sorely miss when you get older.

Good luck :)!!!

If you intend to come to live on STX at some point in the future, try to tailor any technical or vocational training you get to the job market's needs here. Specifically, try to get some info on the Hovensa oil refinery, as they are the largest employer on the island and pay decent wages. They have broad needs, but if you arrive with a solid foundation in something they have a need for, you will be that much closer to landing a job that will support you. You won't have family here to fall back on if you are out of work for a long time. There have been people who arrived here with all kinds of fancy degrees who thought they'd be in high demand only to discover that the islands' needs are different than other places they have lived. Do your homework!

Kenny Chesney has done a good job of selling an image of the Virgin Islands. There was a guy a long time ago named Jimmy Buffett who did this for Key West and the Caribbean in general. I think a lot of entertainers are jealous of him. Jerry Jeff Walker tried to do the same thing with Belize. But image and reality are two different things.

In the culture that most young people inhabit, image is important. Once upon a time, young graduates did a Grand Tour to learn about ancient civilizations, learn languages, study art and broaden their horizons. Actually, not a bad idea to see what places really are like instead of living vicariously though music videos and cell phone pictures.

I relinquish the bully pulpit. 😉

I think only you can answer the questions you pose. I both agree and disagree with everything I have read. If you are driven and highly independent, have excellent and marketable skills, can take care of yourself and KNOW what drives you, then you know what your ability is to live independently, regardless of where that is.

When I was still sixteen, I moved to the mountains in Mexico and taught English privately. I was also on the extreme end of a survivor, adventurer and could probably have survived in most areas. While there, I met others who were a few years older, but who were an absolute mess from having made the same choice. They did not have the skills to survive on their own. Most young people grow into this in their twenties, not in their teens. I was just a little different. Not better or worse, just different.

"This has been my dream". I would really look at that. Why? Where did it come from. Am I looking to move to something or move away from something else. Could you survive in your own community or city on your own? Employment? Living skills like cooking, laundry? Do you feel safe or overwhelmed by strange crowds of people?

I have found that too many of the young people are afraid to dream, so I give you credit for that. I would also think about what are the parts of the dream that are important to you, and can you do it in one step, or would it be like me. I wanted to retire in St. Croix. I made it here twenty years before retirement, but it took a lot of living and working to make this a reality.

Most of this is food for thought. Most importantly, as I assume you will do what you want to do, please make sure you have a back up plan. If it doesn't work, make sure you have a way home. Don't end up stranded and afraid.

Yes, I lived in Mexico, but I did always have the resource financially to get back home if needed.

Best wishes to you, be safe young wanna be a traveler, and think of this perhaps as ONE of perhaps MANY dreams you have. Perhaps some are more viable than others,

Dan G.

Good post, Danieljude!

If sunsetangel is still istening here, please do pay heed to the advice given to you on this forum.

Dreams are integral to life. Education is an absolute must. Learn as much as you can both in school and outside school. The internet tools have only come about during the last several years of my rather long lifetime The internet is an incredible source of informaton, use it to good avail.

Spend time researching rather than playing. Use the resources available at your school to enable you to keep up your grades. Get yourself into a good college or university or, if not, continue to learn online and get yourself into an entry-level position as a high school graduate which offers you advancement opportunities. The dreams will come to fruition eventually but you have to work hard to get the necessary credentials to afford you an employment opportunity anywhere in the world. That's the reality.

Living in the Caribbean isn't easy and neither is it an escape for what ails you on the mainland. Your parents are looking out for you as they should. When you have chldren of your own you'll get the picture...

Cheers, dear.

Sunset Angle,
What I would recommend as well, what other people have posted. As you get closer to the time when you want to make the move, get down here with your parents. Let them see what it is like. That will either change their minds or may make them even more against it.
Years ago, my only daughter worked in the Club Med sales office here in AZ. She had gone to several of the clubs, and decided that she would like to work at one. She was of age, and didn't NEED our permission, but wanted our blessing. She offered to take my wife and I, we had to pay but with here discount, to any Club Med we chose. We chose Tatahi.
I didn't think I would like the idea of her going out of the country and being in that type of atomsphere. After 10 days there, on the plane ride back home, I told her she would be crazy to NOT do it. She worked all over the world for a number of years before comming back to settle down. It was the best learning experience she could have ever had.
Had we not have seen what it was like, we would have always been ill at ease, and against it.

Terry,
Just a point that my parent and stepma honeymooned on Tahiti. One of the conversations we had was about the people working with club med and my dad wanted me to try it. I wish I would have.
SA when I was your age I had dreams to and for unforseen circumstances they ended up dreams. I can't change that. But it has only been 15 years (half your life basically) and I am finally on track to my dreams. Let us know a little more...
With respect

GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as young as you are if it doesn't work "whatever"you will never wonder or in 10 years and say could have should have like me.I'm fixing that.I was 18 the first time I thought of moving now I'm 36 with a wife ang 2 kids and thank god we ALL can't wait till our move after Jan.