Crime, Safety & Paradise

No disrespect intended, but if you have so little experience with the island that you have to ask the question(s) you are asking, it is my opinion that you are making a HUGE mistake by planning to buy a property at this time.

I would recommend moving down and renting for AT LEAST 6 months (12 would be a lot better) before you buy.

Besides crime (by the way, I don't htink of the East End as being particularly bad in that regard), there are 1,000 different things that may make you decide that you don't want to be an investor here.

STT:

No offense taken.

I have had some experience (as a tourist) in St. Thomas, but not enough to gauge just what it might be like to live there. I just wanted some advice/inside information from someone who is a resident could share.

Yes, we will be taking our time to make a decision.

Future Islander

Lived on the East End for 6 months now.....no crime is IN MY FACE as it were. I do not frequent obvious places NOT to go at night. No threats to me ever. I plan on visiting Lindquist Beach to photograph it one day really soon.

If you've loved this place, as many of us have, and made the decision, as many of us have, to move to this piece of Paradise, for all the reasons that each of us carry with us each day.....you too will make your own reality and judge for yourself that it's as safe here as you choose to make it.....and that, in my humble opinion, can be said about anywhere in the states as well.

Hello Future Islander,

The East End emcompasses many small areas (Red Hook, Smith Bay, Lindquist, Sapphire, Cowpet, Nazareth, Anchorage, Bolongo, Bovoni, Frydenhoj...) in general terms the area is safe, how safe depends on what area you are in and sometimes what you are doing. Red Hook for example is a safe area but can be considered an area with an increased amount of criminal activity if you keep in mind that it is where many bars are located and and at night folks hanging out outside the bars with drugs; there are drunk people getting in fights and getting into trouble or getting taken advantage of. You also have a couple low income areas in East End. You mentioned Linquist; its a safe area. The property in this area has only recently been developed so its not densely populated or developed. The beach is surrounded by private property, there is no nice cemented road with lights, actually no lights at all, its rather isolated in my opionion with the exception of weekends when lots of locals have bbq and beach gatherings there. As a general rule its not a good idea to hang out alone in isolated places or beaches. There have been a couple attacks there over the years on individuals who were there alone, or there really early in the morning/late at night but I wouldn't call the whole area unsafe. Investigate the various areas, do your research on the property and area and you should be fine with your purchase in terms of securing a house that you don't need to lock yourself up in.

--Islander