Are there any natives on here?

Guess that's exactly my point, Old Tart (great handle btw). How do we tell the real residents from those who have been there a long time. The short answer to my questions seems to be: we will just have to do the move and see how it turns out, which is fine with us. There are no guarantees in life for anything, right? 😀

the real residents are anyone who lives here.

Just have a positive, friendly attitude, with a good dose of patience and common sense. And.....bring money to see you thru setting up house, settling in and getting acclimated.

Some people take to it like dolphins to the ocean, some struggle with the learning curve and some, really should have stayed home.

As many forum members have mentioned, "island life isn't for everyone." We've all seen so many come and go, very quickly in some instances, others for various reasons after many years.

Keep a sense of humour and adventure.
Nothing has to be forever and everyone's experience can vary.

Good luck.

the real residents are anyone who lives here.

Thank you!! I have to explain this to visitors all the time - we're driving from the airport having just picked them up and they point to some random hillside and say "is that where the locals live"? And I say "you're in luck! You're going to be staying with locals the whole next week, and we're on our way to one of their houses."

I do get a little tired of so many people assuming I'm a tourist because I'm pretty white, but just kind of accepted it after a while. Especially funny when I'm paying for something with my Scotia Card and the person then asks me where I'm visiting from.....duh, who else would be giving you a Scotia Card? Oh well. I work here, I live here, I drive to Red Hook to pay my taxes to the BIR and I vote here. Sounds like a local in my book.

lol so true. i asked someone one time what he was doing with certain things he was holding at a local business, they kind of looked like locks, he told me they were counters. i asked what he was counting and he said locals vs tourists. again i wanted to know how he determined this. he said the blacks he counted as locals and the whites he counted as tourists. i thought that was the funniest thing-not in an offensive way at all. we had a good laugh about it

Unfortunately I've known more people reluctantly leave island due to economics, than to leave because they didn't like living here. Keeping that in mind, have infinite patience, don't be easily upset when thinks aren't going how you think they should, make good choices (where/when you hang out), try to maintain a positive attitude, and you'll do just fine.

Whoa Whoa Whoa!!!!!!!

Natives?!?!?!?!

You better watch your Ps and Qs if you gonna live heh. Virgin Islanders are very very very VERY sensitive and you must walk on egg shells when speaking to them. Especially when it comes to criticizing their precious islands.

Already been through the "native" wording at the beginning of this thread

Then there are the "Johnny Come Lately's" that know everything, complain the most, yet never register to vote and don't get involved in community activities or volunteer for anything.

Hannah Davis, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition cover model, is a VI native.;)

native
noun
: a person who was born or raised in a particular place
: a person from a group of people who were living in an area (such as South America or Africa) when Europeans first arrived
: a kind of plant or animal that originally grew or lived in a particular place
Full Definition
1 :one born or reared in a particular place
2 a :an original or indigenous inhabitant
b :something indigenous to a particular locality

3 :a local resident; especially :a person who has always lived in a place as distinguished from a visitor or a temporary resident

The teacher in me loves your last post Alana! (tu):D

😉

Whenever I hear the term "native" being bandied about it immediately brings to mind the hilarious piece which appeared in a stateside newspaper a few months after hurricane Hugo wreaked devastation on St Croix in 1989. A visitor who was temporarily stuck there on vacation after the hurricane, blogged about how scared she was when at night she heard "the native drums echoing across the island" ... 😀

I am a native Californian, yet I call St Croix my home for the past four years. I am registerd to vote. Have campaigned hard for my candidates. Attended the inauguration of the new Governor. I am the secretary for Crimetoppers USVI. I do not complain, and I am attempting to make a positive change on my new home. I drive to all projects on this island to see patients in need of home health.

Not all newcomers are complainers! Just saying!

Not saying all are.
Good for you in becoming a contributing member of the STX community! Enjoy your new home.

Ok, my 2 cents. There are many people on here who are Negative Nellies, and it is very difficult to distinguish who here is a ( yes, I'm gonna say it) native vs a transplant. With that said, after reading and commenting on many posts over the past couple of months, if you read carefully, you can figure out who the natives and transplants are. And let me tell you there are quite a few natives that are Negative Nellies who complain just as much, if not more, than some of the transplants. So how about we leave it that if you don't like something about the USVI you have a couple of choices. One, move. Two, try and make a difference in the things you don't like. Volunteer to make a change. Three, keep bitching without doing anything to better the situation or your situation and be ready for people you tell you to quit your whining and complaining.

Thank you Alana33...... Hard to think of this as my new home after four years, but. Guess some of you still think of us as newcomers. We are very involved in our community! This is our forever home!!!!

Ha!!!! It filtered out my swear word! LMAO

Agree with Klpmtm wholeheartedly!!!!

Agree with Klpmtm wholeheartedly!!!!

Who hasn't even moved here yet ... The funny thing is that many people who move here after reading only this forum for their "take" on island living sometimes find the reality of living here vastly different from that which they gain from reading about it and some end up being the most dreadful "Negative Nellies" of all. And no, before I get jumped on, I'm NOT pointing a finger at anyone here, merely making an observation on something I've unfortunately seen many times over many years.

There's another forum I contribute to which has a VERY small and sparsely written-on section for the USVI and it's always with a sense of dread that I offer advice on there to people seeking input on a possible move. I discovered very quickly that if I offer anything other than the admonition to pop onto this website for information, there are a few people who came, saw and left who can't wait to jump in and go on a total diatribe bent about everything connected with the USVI, warning them to stay away at all costs. It's sad.

No offense OT, cuz I really like the discussions we've had, but what does me not being there yet have to do with the topic of negativity. I'm confused. I was just making a point that there are natives in the USVI that complain just as much as the transplants. In fact, I even tell my friends and family back in the N.E. who are complaining about all the snow they are getting hammered with to quit their complaining! They choose to live there. So I tell them be quiet or move, I did. No more shoveling snow for me!

No offense OT, cuz I really like the discussions we've had, but what does me not being there yet have to do with the topic of negativity. I'm confused. I was just making a point that there are natives in the USVI that complain just as much as the transplants. In fact, I even tell my friends and family back in the N.E. who are complaining about all the snow they are getting hammered with to quit their complaining! They choose to live there. So I tell them be quiet or move, I did. No more shoveling snow for me!

The comments prompted a train of thought. When I say, "And no, before I get jumped on, I'm NOT pointing a finger at anyone here, merely making an observation on something I've unfortunately seen many times over many years ...", I actually mean it.

OT, the problem with communicating via message boards, texts, emails, and all written communication is that people can, and do take things out of context. I did not jump down your throat. I merely asked a question, to clarify what you meant by you statement. Which is why I started with no offense and stated I was confused. You misunderstood what I said and then jumped down my throat. Or so it seems.

First I wasn't responding to your comment but to another poster's. Second, I've already explained my comment and taking it out of context achieves nothing. Nor did I use the term "jumping down throat" but simply "jumping on" and now you're doing the jumping and telling me I misunderstood you and am jumping down your throat. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Good solution? Forget that I even made an observation.