Crime in St. Thomas

This has been written about over and over again. Go to search, put in "crime" and then "search all forums". There is nothing to worry about here, if you look for trouble you can find it, but it is not a problem here.

There is a young man named Dominic who is a native Curzan and who attends college in the US. He often posts and maybe he can answer your question.

Hello Liam,

You want a Virgin Islanders perspective... long time residents rather then new residents...?? Not clear on who you are addressing? Any topics in particular you want addressed or you just want general positives and negatives?

This site is the only site dedicated to relocating and living in the Virgin Islands. There are a number of travel/vacation related sites.

You might want to order the Settlers Handbook for the USVI to help with your planning. At the top of this page its shown, click on it for more info/to order.

The areas that aren't recommended... some are known for drug sales, a couple are seedy at night with stripers/prostitutes, a couple have a high number of delinquents/gangs. What do you want to know from someone that lives or has lived in these areas?

--Islander

What are these areas that are bad? What streets or districts?

Id like to know where not to look when im looking around for apartments when I land on the island in.... 1.5 days.

Ian

Ian: Believe me, you will know when you see it! This is why you hear the advice to go look for yourself.

Liam: Read the on-line newspapers: www.stthomassource.com and www.virginislandsdailynews.com. These are good sources of what is happening on St Thomas.

The only message boards I've heard of are touristy ones, as opposed to boards for prospective residents.

This is really the thing where you must come and look for yourself.. there are widely varying opinions of what it's like, and it can't be adequately described in words. I'm not that familiar with St. Thomas, but like St. Croix, it is difficult to judge where good areas are separated from bad.. again a pre-move visit is necessary. Here is my quick list of positives and negatives of living in the VI

Positives:
Climate - not having to wear winter clothes..

Culture - there are so many different ethnic groups.. I find it amazing how there is so much diversity on three little islands.

Food

People - the diversity cannot be duplicated anywhere else, also, people are more tolerant of differences than on the mainland, in general

The many different species of animals.. iguanas, deer, lizards, goats, etc.

Scenery, ocean, etc..

Music

Friendliness and people's tendency to help out one's neighbor (most people, that is... lol)

Negatives:
Being careful about where to go at night, crime is a problem, but for the most part, I feel that most people getting killed are those in the drug world, or who have issues or "beefs" with someone... robberies happen, but it can be avoided if you're careful and use COMMON SENSE... crime is a problem, but it should not deter you from staying here

Sluggish economy (moreso on St. Croix but also a problem on St. Thomas)

Things are inaccesible and I rely on the Internet a LOT for ordering things

Slow and incompetent postal service that takes forever to deliver things from the mainland

Centipedes (I can't stand them!)

Incompetency in government offices, police, etc.

Hospitals are decent at best (though getting better)

Hurricanes (I've seen my fair share of them!)

In my view, the positives outweigh the negatives. I could never have grown up someplace else, and feel fortunate to have grown up here. I'm on St. Croix for break right now.. and when I graduate from college.. I will eventually move back, because the VI is the right place for me.

Thanks to all that responded.

Islander -
Sorry for being unclear, I am looking for a native-born virgin islander perspective, postive or negative. Before I moved to NYC, the only people I knew that lived there had moved to the city from somewhere else. Their views on issues (i.e. where to live, crime, politics, Yankees - baseball team) tended to be very different, not always, than native New Yorkers.

A friend of mine gave me his copy of the Settler's Handbook, he got married and moved the 'burbs instead. I have checked the travel/vacation boards but was wondering if there were any other types of boards/forums where people talked about other issues, nothing specific.

East Ender -
Thanks for suggesting the online newspaper sites. They have been helpful in understanding other aspects of the virgin islands.

I'm sure once I visit that I will be able to get a better understanding of island life for myself and find the answers I'm looking for. I must say this is a great site and I can't wait to get down there.

Thanks
Liam

Dominic

Thanks a lot for your post, very informative. You posted right as I was writing that last one. I'm sure the positves outweigh the negative too. I saw an interview with Tim Duncan and he also said he felt fortunate to grow up in St. Croix. So far I have not been deterred.

Thanks
Liam

Liam,
If you have been living in NYC, i think you will be fine here. Well, let me clarify that a little. I lived in NYC for 5 yrs before moving here this past summer, and i don't find it to be scary here. However, i was never one of those manhattanites who was scared of the "bad" areas of NY-- i lived in Harlem & Brooklyn (not Park Slope, but over by the Bklyn Museum in a semi-sketchy area and also in Fort Greene for a little bit), never had any problems with people in the not-so-good neighborhoods, and was annoyed with people who only hung in the trendy Soho or Village areas and were "afraid" to go north of 86th St or to check out the other parts of manhattan or brooklyn. thus, moving to St THomas was not so bad for me in terms of assessing the crime situation.
i can definitely notice the sketchier areas and try to avoid them, don't hang out at the clubs downtown, try to keep aware of my surroundings for the most part, etc. However, I always felt more welcome in areas of Harlem if i was the only white woman around, and in St Thomas there are definitely areas that white people should NOT go to ( i guess a lot of people in NY would be scared to go to Harlem at night, but i never found it particularly scary). in fact, there's areas where black state-siders shouldn't go to -- it's not entirely racial here, a lot of the issues are mainlander vs. locals, thus no matter what race you are, you won't be accepted into certain local hang-outs. I'd avoid the Bovoni and Smith Bay areas after dark, and certain areas of Charlotte AMalie.