Backpack move to coral bay

A better plan would be very good!

You can't just camp out with your backpack.
Most of STJ is National Park.
Their rangers are extremely vigilant. They will bust you.
Camping is only allowed in specified areas and you must pay to camp.
As far as I know, there is no campground in Coral Bay to just set up or rent a tent.

Additionally, there are a limited number of restaurants in Coral Bay, hence available jobs will be limited, possibly non existent, especially, now, at the height of season. STJ is the most expensive of the Virgin Islands to live.

I'd suggest that you do way more homework and bring lots of MONEY if you come to the VI. It's expensive to live here, no matter what island you're on.

After talking for some time I was sold and he said a cook could make it with a few hundred dollars and a backpack in coral bay.

He lied...you will need a better plan.

There are always employment ads for cooks on the USVI Craigslist -- from reputable restaurants - you will have to come with at least enough money to pay a months rent and likely a month or two more to secure housing - you may luck into a job quickly but it will be circumstantial at best for sure. You may be able to find a roommate situation with some networking with other restaurant employees - much of this work is seasonal - the more professional you appear to be the better your chances overall - showing up here in the USVI with a backpack and very little cash reserves is a very poor plan. IMHO

(tu)

maybe push it back till after the summer

I'd push it out to November or December. Things don't pick up until around then. You might find this listing helpful, it shows restaurant closing schedule for most of the places on St. John. STJ Spice

A move like you describe is tougher to pull off than it used to be even a couple of years ago, because St John's rental housing market is very tight -- limited supply and higher rents than ever. This is because a lot of the places that used to rent long-term are now short-term AirB&B rentals, so seasonal workers like yourself have fewer options. A number of restaurants this year have had a tough time getting good help because there simply isn't anywhere, affordable or otherwise, for seasonal workers to live.

If you don't already know someone on the island who can help you find a roommate or housing, it's challenging but not impossible. At a minimum you would need enough money for a temporary place to stay for at least a couple of weeks, and a return ticket if it doesn't work out. A better plan is to save up until you have enough for that plus first/last/security on an apartment. In Cruz Bay, even the tiny studios this year are going for $1,000+ per month (so that's $3K just to move in). You can live slightly cheaper in Coral Bay but there are fewer restaurants there, so your job opportunities may be more limited.

StJohnJulie's advice is solid - save up for the rest of this year and come down in October, when the restaurants start reopening and housing is still somewhat available.

I have been working as a cook for 10yrs and at this new place I ran in to a guy who said the usvi was the place to be. After talking for some time I was sold and he said a cook could make it with a few hundred dollars and a backpack in coral bay. Guess what I need is tips tricks or a better plan.

Had this guy been drinking? My guess would be yes. Although you possibly could make it in Coral Bay that way, it would be a hellish, couch-surfing, subsistence-level existence. And, you would need lots of friends to help, friends which, as a newcomer, you haven't even made yet. In short: it would suck ass.

Come up with a better plan.

I think the Operative words that you gleaned from that conversation that got you all giddy about dropping everything and dropping out of life, moving to a place you've never been to all on those words "the USVI was the place to be". Did you not stop and think if it were the place to be and it were that easier why wasn't HE not there instead of being in the States.

This reminds me of those folks who buy timeshares after being brow beaten by sellers WHO DON'T OWN A TIMESHARE about how great they are until they buy it and find they are paying way more in maintenance fees than what it would cost them to stay in a motel in the same location for that week.

Stay where you are at unless you have $10,000.00 plus in the bank and a plan. Cooks do not make any more in the Islands than they do in the states unless they own the establishment.

mike