Crucians.....I need brutal honesty

OMG, I meant NO DISRESPECT! so please don't take it that way! I'm just curious to hear how it really is from the mouths of the locals is all.

I think you'll find there's a little bit of everything here. Yes, overall it's a beautiful island, with some of the most picturesque beaches and vistas you'll find anywhere in the world. And yes, there's also some areas that are less beautiful and need tidying up. But I can tell you that I've never seen trash (or condoms) littering the beaches--at least the ones I've been to, and I've been to most of them. There's no doubt that the island has some challenges with litter, but overall, its clean and beautiful.

I'm not "in" with the restaurant or construction crowds, but from what I've seen, if you're good, responsible and work hard, you'll have no trouble finding work in those areas.

Bernie

You will have to come and decide for yourself if STX is for you. If you do move I would suggest renting for six months or a year to be sure island life is for you.

I have never seen a condom on ANY beach or indeed lying around anywhere.

OH MY GOODNESS, I read that quick, and thought you were 14 years old !

14 year old bartender! 😮 LOL

Hahahah (14 year old), thanks all for your insight, and yes I suppose our pre-move visit will be the only way to judge for myself. And thank God none of you have ever seen trash like that on the beaches in STX, on the other hand if you've been to New Jersey Shore...YUCK!!!! (td) I am Sooooo excited for this venture that my husband and myself are taking.....And please anymore advise is surely welcome.

I'm only a visitor, but I've never seen condoms or needles on any of the beaches we've been. And that pretty much covers the island! You should do like Linda said and make a PMV and really look the island over before moving. My family moved to St Croix without doing a PMV back in the 70's and fell in love with it-- thank goodness. Some other people we knew didn't care for it and left. So just to be sure I think I'd visit first. Good luck to you!

Paula

I have seen a condom or two in the water over the last 25 years here in STT, but that is it.. I would think that this is the last of the concerns that I would have. The beaches on STX are like most beaches in the islands, beautiful!

You need to do a PMV. Without it you are just doing a crap shoot. Line up a job and a place to live and calculate your income and see if you can live here. This is not like looking in the main land. The number of jobs is limited and now when construction is down that may be a problem. But you need to come to see.

billd

well, as for the condoms, never seen them on the beaches. i have seen them on the road to a house my bf is building, seems to be a popular "lunch spot" i have seen trash and dirty diapers on this one beach we go to. we pick up what we can but i dont touch dirty diapers. ICK ICK. i dont think i have ever seen needles, jeeze not even in the government lot.
i think the price you pay for goods will be a shock to your system more than anything else.
but, like everyone else said PMV will do wonders.

@Bernie: "I can tell you that I've never seen trash (or condoms) littering the beaches--at least the ones I've been to, and I've been to most of them."

Seriously? Have you never been to Salt Bay or Kramer's after a long holiday weekend?

or the west end beaches? Very trashy.

I've been to both Kramers and the west end beached and never saw any such thing.

I'm doing my PMV in April and will report from a newcomers standpoint. I'm also a bit concerned from reading on this forum, but I'm hoping they're just trying to scare me off and keep the good island to themselves... *-)

There are those people who never see any good in anything and those who are the opposite! I prefer the latter and can tell you that in the three years I have lived here I find the people extraordinarily friendly, helpful and non-judgmental. Most are here because they choose to be and the one's who feel stuck are probably the nay-sayers! The old adage "What goes around, comes around" is very true here. No place on earth is perfect in all respects.....I simply find this much better than most and you will get "islandized" after a time for some of the issues that are faced on a regular basis. If you see trash, pick it up (except dirty diapers) and someone will see you do it and follow suit! Don't just complain about something you CAN help to fix!

I would love to know who is spreading the trash about stx. I have my suspicions...

Anyway, I've lived on STX for nearly 20 years and the only needle I have ever seen was on Southbeach in Miami. All the beaches I go to on stx are gorgeous. The south shore beaches occasionally get a lot of floating plastic trash that comes in on the current but that's the worst I've seen.

BTW cleaning up the trash is a fun activity for families. Taking a bit of ownership in the islands never hurts.

The stories I that I am taking about actually can from this web site VI moving center......if you go under "what to expect" Story #37 has said it along with other stories on that particular thread.....not saying all the stories are bad, but some are. That's where my mind started to swirl.....I just wanted some "real time" discussion, and I thank you all for it.

So I will be flying in on May20th and am extremely excited about out Pre-Move Visit.... Any other info about the Island is welcome.

LOL...did you see Frederiksted after the carnival parades? Can you say OMG?

It is what it is whether people choose to see it or not. Lots of litter is left on the west end beaches especially from Frederiksted south - lots! With winds from the east, a lot of that trash ends up in the water. The beaches look as nice as they do because of constant and ongoing clean up efforts by many individuals and groups. I've never seen a needle or a condom on the beach but the litter, as well as the clean up efforts, are constant.

@Bernie: "I can tell you that I've never seen trash (or condoms) littering the beaches--at least the ones I've been to, and I've been to most of them."

Seriously? Have you never been to Salt Bay or Kramer's after a long holiday weekend?

OK, first, I should have said "regularly." I know that after holiday weekends or special events, trash can be a problem (especially Salt River). Second, I don't go to Salt River or Cramer's, so my comments don't really apply there. I was mainly talking about the beaches I frequent, which include Cane Bay, Rainbow, Sandy Point, and Isaac's.

Bernie

"I'll start off by saying that I have never been to the island." Linda and Paula have it right.

I made three pre-move visits (PMV) before making my decision.

The first decision (after deciding Caribbean) is "Which Island?" I decided to relocate permanently to St. Croix. But I'm retiring. If employment were on my agenda, I might have decided St. Thomas or Puerto Rico.

I've not been on the beaches after big parties, but I have never seen a condom or needle on any beach - and I've been to many.

The best advice you will likely get from members of this Forum is to do a PMV.

Maybe I'm blinded by that beautiful blue water and haven't been noticing trash that's on the sand or something, but when we go to the beaches I just haven't seen anything I'd be grossed out about. We have seen a few pieces of glass when walking that we pick up now that I think about it, but we've seen the same thing here on the beach at home. We walked out at Cramers a couple of times and it was very clean. Like I said, we're only visitors now and maybe we've been lucky enough not to follow a huge crowd that's been partying. My husband and I like to walk the beaches and so far we've been to the one in front of Cottages and on beyond that, Davis bay beach, Pelican Cove--walking as far as we could in both directions, Ha'Penny, the one that runs just west of Grapetree that has 3 or 4 private houses on it, the Divi beach, Shoys, the one right in front of Coakley Bay condos, Coakley Bay beach where one of the Buck Island tours has their bbq, the Reef beach in front of Duggans, Chaney beach, Tamarind beach, Buccaneer beaches (of course these 3 are clean!), and even the beach at Good Hope School. I can't think of a time we ever thought they were littered. Maybe we hit it lucky and the beach cleanup groups had just been there, or these aren't popular with the general public. Gee... now I'm missing St Croix again...*-)

After a long holiday weekend, they put one of those big trash bins out there and it isn't big enough to hold all the garbage. But not too long after the weekend, clean up crews and individual cleaners are out there making it nice again. There is always some litter, but most of the beaches are really nice.

As far as the downsides of living in the Caribbean or on Stx specifically, you only rub up against the frustrating things maybe once or twice a day...and sometimes not at all! And even if you do rub up against one of those downers, you just look at one of the many beautiful views or take yourself out to one of the pretty beaches and it all washes away. You can't do that in many cities in the US. And where else is it summer all year?

the one i go to is the coakley bay beach where big beard does the lunch for buck island tours. that is where we have seen litter and dirty diapers. we pick up litter but i dont have plastic gloves with me to pick up the diapers. sorry no way no how.

The only place I've ever seen a condom on the ground is in front of the cafeteria at UVI. Occasionally there's trash on the beaches, but I've never seen condoms or needles. What annoys me most are the little things--no decent shopping, people constantly blasting their loud music, grocery prices that are insane, and the fact that good, authentic Mexican food like my madrina used to make is completely unavailable (which makes sense, culturally, but it still sucks).

stephyih, you mean to say that kmart ( not even the big k ) is not a great place to shop? and you dont like paying $6 for a 1/2 gallon of milk or listening to vulgar rap music that is so loud you can hear it and feel it if you are in an office downtown when a car with huge speakers goes by. i just dont understand that. i will agree with you about the mexican food.