Considering relocating, have LOTS of questions 🙂

Jane - I am sure you will correct me to insist that I am wrong, but it was my understanding that posters on this website are, in general, expressing their own opinions and experiences when they post on a topic. Sometimes people also have some professional knowledge to share on a specific subject, but post to many topics other than something that addresses their own profession. Perhaps it would be appropriate for people to point out that they are responding in a professional way when that occurs rather than emphasizing that this is a personal opinion post when they are posting their opinions and personal experiences. I would find it ridiculous if we all had to preface every sentence in a post with a reminder that each and every sentence is our opinion and not a professional statement, yet that is what you are chastising me for not doing in this case. Perhaps you can simply ignore my posts in the future so you don't give into your urge to tell me what I can and can't think or express as my opinion. You certainly don't have the professional credentials for that.

I'm going with rust (and sweat).

Kelly,
for what it's worth, and you can take from it what you will, I am looking to move my family to the Virgin Islands to get away from the Liberal mainland for a much more Conservative and Christian kind of culture and lifestyle. People with whom I have spoken tend to believe that I am headed in the right direction. If you are hoping for a change, I believe that people are products of their environment. You have to decide for yourselves if you want to be surrounded by traditional, conservative, Christians. Granted, not every Virgin Islander fits this description, but from what I have researched, they are the ultra vast majority.

As for the bike, I am wondering the same thing. Should I take my car or leave it here? Do some vehicles rust less? or do you just accept that you'll eventually be driving a rusty car if you wait long enough?

Well, whatever you choose, I wish you Godspeed!

Simkiss, I certainly hope that your dream coincides with the reality.

Edited out Neil's name

Thanks Promo....

I'm pretty philosophical about change and moving.

Things I've been saying in moving conversations:

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
"Some like where they are, some aren't happy anywhere."
"It's ok to change your mind."
"I don't want to wait until I'm too old ...or dead."

Sorry about that Neil was actually replying to Simkiss, but put wrong name in.

promoguy,

from what i understand, i should be able to associate with and surround myself and my family with conservative Christians. that is something that is difficult to do here in the northeast without having to drive all over the place to find some.

is this is a misconception that i have?

You say that you have already been to the VI, so I guess that you have already scoped out the churches etc. I am sure that you will be able to find like-minded people on the Island, but you will probably encounter many different lifestyles and beliefs. The Vi is traditionally a place where people seeking laid back free lifestyles have gone in search of Paradise. Tolerance and acceptance among the transplants is a staple of Island life.

Jane, I believe on another thread, he had mentioned that he had visited many years ago. My comments were with regards to someone moving to the island and finding conservative Christian community. Community to me, means finding more than a few people with whom you hold like mind.

I'd even go as far as to say that in Los Angeles, he would have a greater chance of really belonging to a conservative Christian community.

/wow, these threads take different turns.

I agree with you, but again it did not translate well into the typed medium - British understatement failed.
I meant that he would prbably be able to find pockets of like minded people in a general population that was mainly not like minded. He would find enough people to circle the wagons in small defensive positions. IMHO, he and his family would be bombarded on a daily basis with extremely worldly visual and audio. Conservative Christians make up the older population mainly - the times they are a' changing and many VI'ers are secular bordering on the licentious.

Also, many of the more conservative churches might be culturally very different to his experiences and his family could feel very lonely in the midst of a crowded island.
Was that clearer?

simikiss, what exactly is your definition of conservative Christians? I'm not sure if we're talking your basic Episcopalian or your basic Church of Christ, both of which would tell you they are conservative Christian churches but hold vastly different views as to what "conservative" might mean. Perhaps you are talking nondenominational, which can run the gamut.

Perhaps the good folks of STT who are churchgoers could chime in here and give you a broad picture of what to expect and where to look for the time denomination you are looking for - but I'm not sure anyone has a grasp of what you are looking for just yet.

it seems hell is bound for the vi please keep it on the mainland and not bring it home . my wife and three kids moving here soon, we are also a christian family.

we are catholic, but very conservative (there are all kinds of catholics). conservative evangelical protestants think we're conservative. :o) that puts it into better perspective i suppose :o) love to all!

Simkiss, the majority of the church-going Virgin Islanders belong to a variety of denominations - most of them Pentacostal, Evangelical, AME etc. Lots of belief in the gifts - prophecy, speaking in tongues etc. The vast majority are really old Testament based - and may well not consider the Catholic Faith to be Christian. I do know that they have a big problem with worship of and prayer to the Virgin Mary, and I believe the transubstantiation belief may well be a deal breaker too.
Someone from StT may be able to fill you in on the size of the Catholic congregation(s) there, but I do believe that you may not fit in as well as you think to the overall body of worship

Hi Mark,

A quick Google search regarding religion in the VI turns up a statistic that can be found on several websites indicating that Catholicism is the second most widely practiced religion in the USVI. Here is a link to one such website:

http://www.worldinfozone.com/country.php?country=USVI

It is also my impression that Catholicism is widely accepted and practiced here on STT, and I am not aware of the biases against Catholicism as described above.

That said, I am a relative newcomer here on STT (having lived here for 16 months to date) and I certainly hope someone will correct me if I am wrong about this.

Whether or not you will find the practice of religion and the general atmosphere here to be as "conservative" as you hope it to be IS a big question mark for me -- but as someone else pointed out, this can be a very relative term, and hopefully your upcoming PMV with your family will help to clarify this issue for you.

Oh, hi Mell...did you enjoy your "off island' break?

On STX, the nuns who teach at St. Mary's school in C'sted follow more conservative practices than other nuns I have seen on the U.S. mainland. They still wear full habits with head coverings at all times, even on a rare outing on a boat or to get into the water. Contrasting that to the regular street clothes many nuns wear on the mainland suggests to me that the Catholic church here is likely of a more conservative mindset also, as the nuns live a more cloistered lifestyle than many of their counterparts on the mainland. That conservatism may not extend into the congregation, but some of the older values and customs of the church prior to Vatican II are still in evidence.

side note: Catholics don't worship Virgin Mary. We pray to Mary to intervene for us with the Father and Son.

post: I did see that 34% of USVI is Catholic, so I was hoping that the Catholic style, like the other Christians on the islands was more of the conservative, traditional type, as opposed to a modern, progressive, do-whatever-feels-good-to-you type of "religiosity."

I guess the bottom line here is that I need to just see for myself. I guess when I say my family is conservative, it means that we are always on the lookout for Babylon creeping into our lives from every angle and we're eschatologists. It's the idea of being under attack by the forces of evil, and knowing the end is near. That idea is basically dead in the northeast and just about all except the last few "children of light" are just jumping into the lake with their orgies, sex toy parties, gambling, promiscuity, debauchery, etc.

2 Timothy 3
Godlessness in the Last Days
1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

We want nothing to do with these people. The thing that makes us different is that we're only 32 and there are about 0 people we relate to around here. Our generation is doomed. At the moment, we can't find anyone acceptable to be the Godparents of our newborn. It's that bad.

Thing is, we're not boring at all. We're fun and enjoy having people over for drinks and dinner, bbqs, etc. Well, anyway, maybe we'd be better off in the deep South somewhere. But there's basically no Catholics there, so the Virgin Islands was/is looking like our best option at the moment.

I believe that the nuns on StXare part of Mother Theresa's order, hence the white robes with the blue banding.

Hey Simkiss, just a sec....just because people don't espouse your particular belief system....does not mean that that they are all jumping into a lake with sex toys and deceitful orgies etc. Ya might might like to tone the old rhetoric down.

Out of forum courtesy, perhaps simkiss you may wish to start your own thread on this topic. I believe this is "stepping" on Kelly's thread.

There are several different orders of nuns on STX. Some were from Mother Teresa's order, others were Carmellite and I don't recall for certain what the third order was in the dozen assorted nuns along with two priests and a few lay people who came out with us on the sailboat about a month back for a Sunday afternoon at Buck Island. I am not Catholic, but they were truly a joy to spend an afternoon with.

Simkiss - if promiscuity or extra-marital sex is a serious issue for you, you may not find part of the culture here appealing. It isn't uncommon for some of the men to have children with multiple women without ever getting married.

Or sex with multiple men. And be married.

onika:
maybe it is a good idea to have a different thread. :o) good point.

the new improved jane:
this is not my "belief system." it's what the bible teaches. i am not ignorant to the fact that 99% of world believes their beliefs are just as valid as what the bible teaches though and they know better, and i'm not judging anyone. i'm just saying what the good book teaches and looking for others who read and agree with it. there are so few. :o) what you do is your business. ...just looking for others who think AND act like us.

alexandra:
extra-marital sex is everywhere. i'm not looking for utopia. i'm just looking for a place where there are still some people who think it's wrong. up here, it's like a sport.

:o)))))

Back to the topic. In 1999 we moved to STX for a year. We had been coming on vacation for a couple of weeks in Feb. every year for 20+ years. My youngest son was totally non responsive in his Jr. year of high school. We bought a piece of land and paid it off and I had a dream/ goal to build a house on it..
My son went to the Academy of the West Indies and with the small class size and the cloud of an extra year of school he excelled. We also had a blast surfing, biking and exploring together. He made some good friends pretty much stayed out of trouble. I did maintenance and painting, my wife worked at a shop in town and we engaged in the economy, made some friends and decided that living here was realistic for us.
So were here and digging it. I'm working full time, wife part time. We have our permits and are just starting site work. The process has been much different from what I'm used to in Maine but I'm learning.
Sure some things are more difficult and take more time but that's de system, mon. I find the locals very warm , eager to help, super polite and gracious. It's their crazy mashed up culture in which Patience, tolerance and respect guide us all.