Cheat Sheet - STX Neighborhoods?

Here are a couple of St. Croix maps that may come in handy.

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/sc/scmap.shtml (great overall map of St. Croix, if you have good eyes 🙂 )

http://www.coldwellbankervi.com/map.htm (Estate maps available here)

I believe that when people are referring to east end or west end, they are referring to that end of the island. Frederiksted is on the west end and Christiansted is near the east end. It's actually in the north shore of the east end. The airport, Hovensa and the Divi Casino are on the south shore (although the Divi is also considered to be in the east end.)

It appears to me that instead of "counties", the island is divided into "estates" (please correct me if I'm wrong folks). As an example,I live at Coakley Bay condominiums which is located at the east end, in Estate Coakley Bay. Christiansted is the closest city, so that's the city used in my address. The condo property is assigned a number so my address is xxxx Estate Coakley Bay, Unit xx, Christiansted, VI 00820.

I hope this helps!

hi Deb, Company Quarter, Orange Grove and Mill Harbor are all in the same area.

Mill Harbor is a condo complex located in Company Quarter, which is actually a large area composed of several estates. Estate Orange Grove is located within Company Quarter.

All of these are located mid island, closer to the north shore than the south. This area is very convenient to Christiansted, shopping, and transportation (taxis and bus). A lot of condos are located in this area, actually most of them.

I'm sure Alexandra Bentley will provide more info than this, but this should help as a starting point.

regards,
Joan

Mil Harbor is on the beach in "condo row" North of Christainsted, in Company Quarter.

when I was working for ReMax st croix - I drew a set of maps - one showed the layout of the quarters on St X anad the rest of the set showed where every!!! estate/neighborhood was within each of the quarters - I am sure that one of the San Martin team would be glad to give anyone a copy. You can reach them at 1800 511 6361 or 773 1048 - ask for the estate map set drawn by Jane

Jen,

The first map website that Debralu posted is for the best map I've come across for St. Croix. It is available as a printed "pocket map" to help you find your way around once you arrive on-island. To help you get your bearings before arriving, you can open up that map in one browser window and open up my website http://www.ourhomesite.com/stcroixhomes in another. On my website, click on "Search Houses", and then scroll down to the "Estate" box. Use the scrolling list of estate names to compare to the printed estate names shown on the pocket map. The two letter tag at the end of each estate name is an abbreviation for one of the eleven "quarters" of the island. Apparently the Danish weren't very good at math. lol. The Quarters are our equivalent of Counties.

EA = East End A, EB = East End B, KI = King, QU = Queen, PR = Prince, CO = Company, NA = Northside A, NB = Northside B, WE = West End, FR = Frederiksted, CH = Christiansted. Unfortunately they didn't put any shadow lines on the pocket map to delineate the quarters.

Essentially, East B is the far east tip of the island and runs from north shore to south shore, East A is just west of that and also from shore to shore, Christiansted is the downtown area itself, Company is the area surrounding Christiansted and slightly to the west of it running to the south shore. Queen and King are just west of that with Queen being north of King, Prince is west of King, North B is west of Queen, North A is west of North B, Frederiksted is the downtown area, West End is the southwest corner of the island.

The lines are blurred here and there and some of the estates cross quarter lines. There are other instances when there are separate estates with the same name but in different quarters. It just takes being here for a while to get a handle on that.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the maps (I have them bookmarked!) Though from what everyone is saying, it sounds like the roads on the maps will have been washed away by the time I get there!

Jen C

Most don't have street signs, either, although SOME of the highway numbers that show on the pocket map are posted in advance of intersections. Within your first month you will have plotted out many landmarks to use when driving.

Justn keep telling yourself " DRIVE ON THE LEFT". LOL.
About the only time I have trouble, is when I pull out on a small side road. On the main roads I don't have that problem. LOL.
When my daughter and son-in=law when down for their honneymoon, I gave them instructions to the condo. Between every turn or land mark, II wrote " DRIVE ON THE LEFT" 🙂

terry - perhaps you can PM Jen that set of driving directions... she'll be your neighbor her first couple of weeks on the island. Depending on when you and Annie arrive, you might get to say Hello.

Terry, the only time you have trouble is when you are driving, there are two people in the backseat with a map and you are trying to turn around and point to the map to give them directions while you are barrelling down the Queen Mary at 45 MPH... meanwhile, Annie sits in the front seat holding on for dear life.... 🙂
-Beth

LOL.:)

I just found this site and am so glad that I did. My husband and I along with our children are moving to STX. It has been a while since we have been there, so I am wondering if someone could tell me what areas we should be looking to buy in. We have a 10yr old and 1 yr old. We obviously want ot stay away from any areas that are bad. But do need to be close to schools also. We have a bunch of listings on houses. Also where can I find what jobs are available? We both need to find work. We have to move to the Island because of our baby.
Any help would be appericated.

Thanks

I would suggest you check with Alexandra, the realator who is on this board.

Why are you moving here? And when? You talk like you know you are coming, but don't know much about where you are coming or what it is like to live here.

Let me suggest that you spend a bit of time researching what life here is like from postings on this board and in doing a REAL pre- move visit (PMV).

I am an adventurous soul and have fared well - and after a year and a half have gotten to a point where I will bring down an adult child, his girlfriend and baby. But I did a very extensive PMV and have been here a while.

Your post just sounds like - Oh yeah! We're moving to STX, we don't know where we should live or where to find jobs - but we're coming with 2 small kids!

I don't mean to sound rude, but that would be the kind of awakening you have if you came as you sound.

Shandra - what areas you should look to buy in depend entirely upon you. Different people fit in different places, as our needs are all a bit different from each other. I was confused by your remark that you are moving "because of" your baby. More people move away from the island due to a complication with having a small child here, but I don't think I've ever heard of someone moving here specifically because a baby has a need to be in the islands.

Have you read much of the information available on this board? There are many past threads of conversation discussing the private schools and the public schools and the reasons why it is often considered unwise to put a mainland child into one of the public schools. There are also threads detailing the costs of living in the island, so you can get an idea of what you will need to make to be able to afford to live here. Housing prices are rising, also. If you care to PM me with some specifics on what you are seeking in housing, I may be able to direct your attention to some of the listings in the MLS that are the closest match to your requirements, desires, and price range. My website also allows you to search the MLS on your own to browse for properties of interest. If you haven't found it yet, it is available via a link in the real estate section of this website on the St. Croix information page or at http://www.ourhomesite.com/stcroixhomes

I am off-island at the moment, but it sounds like you are still at the conversation and information gathering stage of our hoped-for relocation. I'm always happy to answer questions to assist you in making the right decision for your family, whether that results in you pursuing your relocation plans or rethinking them and opting for an alternate location in the end. The islands suit some people better than others. It's a tough transition with small children.

We have been to STX and yes we are for sure moving there. We will be moving sometime this year. We are coming back again in December for a week to look around. We will have our son in a private school there like we do here.

We just need to know what the better neighborhoods are, neighborhoods that are kid friendly and close enough to the school.

We will worry about looking for work more when we get there. Obviously we would not move there if we did not have money to live on before finding work.

I am sorry but you came off very rough in your post. We know what STX is like. And we are not moving there just to move there. We HAVE to because of our baby. It is the climate that he needs to live in in order to continue to be able to live a comfortable life. He was orn with a very very rare skin disease. He cannot live in this climate. So we would not be uprooting our entire lives and moving there, if we did not have to.

You mention putting your child in a private school. Do you know which school that will be? There are a few private schools on island and if you want to be close to the school it would help all of us figure out neighborhoods for you if you could tell us which school he's going to be in. Also, if he's got a rare skin disease, have you investigated physicians on island that can treat his disease. Most of the people on this board live on island and are a wealth of information.

TxSissy

Hi

Not sure which Private school yet. Have been checking into them to see which one is the best. We don't mind if we have to drive a bit to get to the school. The neighborhood would probley be the most important. Once we move to the Island, we would find a pediatrician for him to see just as needed. They will not be a Doctor on the Island that would know about this disease. Which is fine. He has specialist that he sees as needed. One is here in Chicago, Ill and the other is at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. We mostly communicate with his Dr's by email, if something comes up.

If you have any children that are in one of the Private Schools and have a preference please let me know. I would love to hear from islanders that have children in the private schools.

Shandra,
If I came across rude I apologize. Most people come here(with or w/o children) and find it challenging enough without coming here with sensitive issues.

Check seriously into insurances and medical insurance for getting off island for medical treatment. If you need help in finding resources here before you make the move, let me know.

Also be aware - that while we are part of the US technically - we lack services here that are much better in some other island nations. For example, a dear friend that used to live here had come here with his son who was autistic. He supposed that since he received great services in both Trinidad and Puerto Rico that we would have similar services for his son here as well. He was mistaken - and ended up having to move the family back to the states. I know that your child has a different type of condition - but just be aware that even in the private schools there are problems.

Let me know if I can help.

Linda

Linda

We do know that we will not have his Dr's there. There would be no Dr there that would even know about this disease, it is so rare. His main two specialist are here. One is here in Chicago and the other is at the Mayo clinic in MN. As it is now we do not see them very much, most communication is done through email, and meds are called in. If at anytime he needed to see one of them we would fly back. Once we get settled we will look for a pediatrican just for the normal stuff. He sees an ENT every 3 months so for that we would do the same fly back. Until we were able to find one on one of the Islands or even in Puerto Rico. Which my husbands family lives there.

This is something that we have to do in order for our son to continue to thrive and get some relief, he will never be cured as there is no cure. But at least he will finally be comfortable. We would not be uprooting our family and lives and moving to STX if we did not need to. We would stay where we are and just continue coming there for vacation.

No matter where you live there will always be some type of problems in any school. My main concern right now is to find where a good neighborhood is to live, mostly kid friendly, obviously so our 10yr can make friends and hang out. Driving a bit to get him to school is no big deal.
So maybe you could let me know what areas you think would be better.

Thanks
Shandra

Shandra: We have an ENT on St Thomas, and I believe there is one on St Croix as well. While there are some issues with medical care, there are some areas that are covered pretty well. Best wishes to you and your family.

East Ender

Thank You for that info. I will look into them.

Thanks
Shandra

My opinion, and you can take it for what it's worth, is to bring only the things you absolutely need. Store the rest at home. Find someplace to rent furnished for 6 months or a year. No matter what your motivation, or how much you "have" to relocate, you cannot realize what living here is like until you are actually here.

I'd be interested to hear from you after you are on STX for a while.

Linda

If you don't mind me asking, you seem very negative about the living there you would mind explaining what is so terrible about it. And then may I also ask why you are living there and conitune to live there if it is so bad?

I would be very curious to know what is so bad and wrong.