Education

You are going to get a ton of conflicting and negative comments on here about the education system. Feel free to PM me as I am going through the same thing as you. But, I M also applying for a teaching job in the public schools and may be able yo answer more detailed questions.

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very true. read this message board. you may find all of your answers right here.

yes you will get conflicting reports about the education.

do you have jobs that are portable? do you have wanted skills. do you have major health issues? do your children? do you need a lot in life to make you happy? do you mild things not being clean all the time. do you mind NOT using air conditioner in the high heat of august september when it does get very hot.

do a lot of reading, come back and ask questions.

The language is english.

Private schooling is expensive. I've heard numbers upwards of 10k.

My friends who had their kids in public schooling had no major complaints. They did, however, maintain a watchful eyes on their kids. Then again, any parent should.

JeffandBecky,

The snarky comments started early on this one. If you're not already an expert by the time you post on these boards some people will call you out. The point of this board is for people to do research and seek out advice from others that do know the answers. I apologize in advance for all the classless clowns that will belittle you rather than help you.

As far as your question goes I cannot give any first hand advice on the schools. I know there are plenty of people here that can and I hope that the truly helpful people on this board show up and help you out. Some of them have already given some advice. I hope you get more great and helpful answers to your questions and the snarky clowns keep their hands away from their keyboards for once.

Good luck with everything.

I don't frequent the boards as much as I used to but as someone who just recently moved here to STX, I may have some tips for you so please keep asking your questions. That is the only way to learn the right answers.

I think Country Hope is more like $14 thousand a year now. But...well worth it. You can likely send you little ones to free public school when they're younger but you'll definitely want to send them to private school once they're high school aged. Just my opinion.

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Good luck JeffandBecky. I hope future posters to this thread stick to your original question and provide you with help and do not continue to belittle you. I also hope this doesn't scare you off from asking further questions to help educate yourself on the ins and outs of this beautiful island. You won't know the answers unless you ask the questions and many people on this board love to help answer those questions.

Thanks for those who have actually answered my question. We appreciate your help. And no negative comments don't bother us especially from those who do not know us or know the research we have done. We had conflicting reports from some people about languages on the Islands and Puerto Rico so we just wanted to make sure it was English while we narrow down our best fit in the Caribbean. We have read the headers at the top of this page and we just wanted to verify. We do plan to visit soon and also know some of the challenges about living on the island and they have not deterred us from looking. If we come down we will search for employment but should have enough reserves based on the cost of living sited on this page for 8-10 months probably more by the time we move. Becky is a waitress so hopefully she will be able to find something rather quickly. As far as me I will probably be looking for a part time job while I try to nail down a career down there. We will probably sell our house here and buy a house down there so we will not have a mortgage payment. Even with 3 kids we live a fairly simple life and as a family we are happy living that way as we know we will have to keep some of our expenses down as we start out. No it will probably not be easy to start, but lets face it live isn't always easy. We live in Rhode Island and our economy up here is not very good at all so we have learned how to get by with what we have. We plan on doing the same thing once we move.

it sounds like you have done a lot of research and know to have enough money-just in case. waitressing jobs should be able to be had for those that are good.

english, spanish a patois are spoken here. most people can speak english.

we were just in Puerto Rico for hubbies surgery, almost everyone we spoke to spoke english. but of course they are taught that mandatory.

please just rent for about a year so you can get the lay of the land and know where you want to live.

any other questions-ask

Yes, English is taught in PR, but not everybody is bilingual. Most people working with tourists, professionals, and most health centers speak English.

I was on the Urbano Treno (sp?) and went to quite a few people before I found someone willing to speak English. Had similar situation in Fajardo. Thank goodness for Google Translate!

Good luck with the blizzard you are now getting. I don't miss those all that much. I was born and raised in MA.

Maybe, before you burn your bridges and sell your home in RI,
you should live in STX for a year and see if this lifestyle is for you and your kids, especially since you have such young kids.

Life in the islands isn't for everyone. We all know people that have come and gone in a relatively short time because it wasn't what they expected.

Be sure what you want and can afford, before committing yourselves and your children. If things don't work out here, will you be sorry to have sold your home there? If it's not an issue, go for it.

To the OP - I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the opinions of those that can be viewed as negatively (Or maybe a better term is non-polyannaish). I think their hearts are in the right place and are trying to help you not make the same mistakes many others have made in coming down, even if its not what you want to hear. There are a lot of great things about St Croix and somethings that can be highly irritating. Realizing and accepting that there are going to be a number of things that will leave you shaking your head will help you adapt and thrive.

My $0.02 and good luck

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Every island is going to be different, but I will give you some St. John perspective.... of the people I know, there are very few that moved here with children and end up staying for more than a couple of years. The number of people I have known over the years who transplanted here without children, then had children, most of them move away too either before school years or shortly after their school years begin. A big part of their decision to move was because of school, especially if their children had any kind of special need, whether physical or learning disability.

I would also like to echo what speee1dy said about health issues. If any one your family has health issues, things will be rough in the VI. Please read the threads about health insurance. It is something we continue to struggle with in the Virgin Islands.
I have a friend that move to STJ with their child not that long ago. They rented out their house in the states and are renting in the VI. That might be a good option for a year or two until you decide if it's a good fit for your whole family.

There are some very good threads on private vs public education on this forum. Please read them all! You will get lots of different points of view, but it will help you narrow down what specific questions you may have. Then come back and ask away!

I have two children, both born in the VI. My oldest (13) decided he wanted to go to the states when he was 12 so he could have more 'stuff' which included a bigger school, more sports and extracurricular actives, etc. He went to private school until he was 11, starting in pre-K, to the tune of $8k - $12k a year. He was in an online program (a lot like homeschool) for a year before he went to the states. My youngest, who is now 4, is in a private pre school, but I will be sending him to public school when it's time for kindergarten.

My husband and I are thinking of renting our home here in Buffalo, NY if we do make the move to St. Thomas. We could always pull out some money based on the equity we have if needed. We are also planning on having a decent reserve so that we won't be too stressed when we get there. My husband is a plumber but also has a lot of experience in the restaurant industry. I work in the mortgage industry so I'M hoping for a banking job, but I certainly don't mind doing something such as a waitress in either. We don't expect island living to be an easy way out so we have been doing a TON of research, and we have been to the islands many times before. We are planning a trip soon, but more to explore a possible move and not just sit by the beach...although with the weather we've had recently I might not want to come back!! Lol

You probably won't like St. Thomas as much as you'll like St. Croix. Check both out to be sure you're making the right choice.

You probably won't like St. Thomas as much as you'll like St. Croix. Check both out to be sure you're making the right choice.

Why do people who haven't lived on STT decide it's perfectly alright to advise what they know absolutely nothing of about living here?

All our islands are different and offer different things. Each has its own charm and challenges. Personally, I think STT offers better opportunities for jobs, it's easier to get around from one side to the other since it's smaller in size and much easier access to other surrounding islands to explore and get away on weekends.

It is more expensive than STX to purchase property and rents are higher so that may be a consideration.

One shouldn't go out of their way to belittle one island over another.
There are a few posters that do this on a regular basis. It's tiresome, rude and ridiculous.

You probably won't like St. Thomas as much as you'll like St. Croix. Check both out to be sure you're making the right choice.

How long did you live on St Thomas? How many times have you visited and for how long did you stay? St Croix is a beautiful island, as are they all but I agree with Alana33 that the St Thomas bashing from some who contribute here and live on St Croix gets very old and especially since the majority knows nothing at all about the island. In all my years here and for the 10 years I've contributed to this forum it's never even crossed my mind to denigrate St Croix and I just don't "get it".

I thought my statement was fair and balanced...certainly not a "bashing". Of course there many differences between two islands. But, from all the posts I've read from the OP, I infer that they may prefer the slower, more laid back pace of St. Croix. There could be no fairer statement than "Check them both out to be sure you're making the right decision."

But, from all the posts I've read from the OP, I infer that they may prefer the slower, more laid back pace of St. Croix.

Then I'll address that because it, too, is rather a fallacy of comparison. Once you get outside the main drag of Charlotte Amalie, the hustle and bustle of the center of little Red Hook and the Tutu Park Mall, St Thomas is as peaceful and laid back as St Croix. For instance, I'm about 8 minutes from town, 15 minutes from Tutu Park Mall and 15-20 minutes from Red Hook. All I hear on a daily basis is the occasional barking dog, the chirruping of the bananquits, the screeching hawks, the gossipy trashy birds, the waves from far below, the occasional car on the private road and, at night, the cacaphony of tree frogs, . It's as slow and laid back as you can get and even when I lived just 5 minutes from town for 10 years, I was up high and the peace was pretty much the same although more traffic noise during the day from the main road down below.

People who come here for just a day or two and don't get outside the commercial areas don't see the (vast) rest of it, draw entirely the wrong conclusions and that's a shame. Just setting the record straight!

JeffandBecky and CarabearWNY,

I too am looking at moving my family to the VI. I have read all of the posts on education and haven't found a solid answer. If we stayed in the states my son would be going to a private school. That being said, there is no reason for me not to look at private schools in the VI.
My daughter is a lot older than my son and she went to public school, it was what i could afford when she grew up. The big difference I have found is kids in private school have parents that are more involved.. I know that is going to raise questions but If you look at a majority of families in private school I am right.
If public school is the route you go, be involved, stay focused, supplement the education if you have to.

That's my opinion.