extended vacation?

One of the regular posters to this board has recently moved to St. Croix to work as a pharmacist at the west end KMart. They required him to sign a 5-year contract to bring him down. He had interviewed with pharmacies on STT, as well. There are several other pharmacies on the STX other than the one at KMart. You would have to contact them each to see if they have any need for your services.

I understand that the new arrival is still working very long hours at the pharmacy. You may still get enough off-time to "recharge your batteries" since it's a quick trip from work to lounging on a beach.

As to license, he said he had a year to take and pass the local licensing examination (boards). It has been so long since he took it on the mainland that he was NOT looking forward to the homework to prepare.

I think he also said he had to be working on-island under the direction of a licensed pharmacist for 6 months before he was even eligible to take the test. And he's been a pharmacist for 25 or 30 years.

Hi, goombah...

That's my husband they are talking about, Russell. Unless NJ has reciprocity, which I do not believe they do, you too will get to take NAPLEX again...and work as basically a grad student until you do take it and pass it. You have 3 chances to pass in 6 months, or your sweet butt is headed back to the mainland. Moral there is don't let your Jersey license expire!

The salaries were comparable to Arkansas, but I doubt anywhere close to NJ - incidentally, he is from Asbury Park originally! The cost of living has been a little shock-y for us, but once again - we came out of rural Arkansas. I would imagine you are closer in line with that than we were/are.

He works 40-44 hours per week at the fastest pace he can imagine, but he is doing retail...he didn't want to do hospital...but when he's off, he's off - and we're scuba diving and hanging at the F'sted pier and meeting all the great people on this board. We were just talking today about it, because he used to be a pharmacy manager and work 60-70 hours a week - so we almost consider this retirement. At this point, and granted we are very new, we can't imagine having made a better choice for US.

If you would like to email us privately, I can give you his phone number for when he is off and he'd be glad to tell you what he knows...but just FYI - I did the same thing you are doing and simply asked a question on this board - the manager for Kmart saw my post, got in touch with us, and the rest is history! Contact us at ssrr@runbox.com And good luck!

Sam

becky r

Thanks to all who have responded to my post. From reading various and sundry postings on this board I have come to the conclusion that it will be best for me to sell everything I own except for clothing and a small number of personal possesions with sentimental value and purchase what I need on arrival. The procedure to "import" & the fees required to bring a vehicle sound horrible, besides I don't want to bring my Lincoln Towncar to get beat up by the island roads. Better to sell and find an island car later. I notice several entries about traveling with pets and wonder what the weight limit is to carry on a small (approx. 20 lbs) dog? Also, does anyone know if "Joey the Scottie" could sit in a carrier in a seat if one was purchased for the beast? The lengths some people will go to for a pet!

nj goombah

You can research the island trader, and see if it is worth bring shipping a car from the states to STT. In some cases,you can find nicer affordable cars in the states than you can in the V.I. The size of the car determines the weight for the price. The roads are really bad. Tropical Shipping, may be able to refer you to a location for shipping vehicles.

NJ Boy -

You've hit the nail on the head - I would NEVER go through what I've gone through to get my items of loveliness here again! Too much cost and hassle!

Dogs - yes, if they will fit in a carrier under the seat they can ride in the plane with you....provided Joey isn't a barker, at which time your airline mates may declare a mutiny and throw you out...but I digress....Please check the airline rules on the various websites, they will tell you what crates are acceptable, weight, size, everything.

I've brought over 3 Rottweilers and a mutt, with 2 more Rotties on the way. It can be done even with large dogs. Pink Fancy will let you stay there with a dog, I believe, if you give them some notice...and it's a good central location if you need a place to stay until you find a spot to lay your suitcase semi-permanently.

Good luck to you - and some of the condos will let you rent with a small pet, I think. They just weren't too excited about me and my canine brood...imagine that.

helpful readers,

The more I dig deeper into my idea for an extended vacation on STX, the more questions pop up. Many are answered in these pages, but some are not. Regarding cistern & septic systems, apparently utility services such as water & sewer do not exist as such on STX. Do most people have filtration systems for home drinking water or consume bottled water? Any source of info on maintaining
cisterns and is this the landlord's or renting tenant's responsibility? Do most residents use laundromats for laundry or are home washer/dryer common?

Sorry for the seemingly obvious questions, but I want to minimize any little surprises along the way.

A PMV for early December or January for myself and girlfriend (this will come as a surprise to her!) is in the works.

Thanks again for all the advice.

nj goombah

njgoombah here is a site with lots of information about cisterns

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/RM-12.pdf

It depends on the area you are in. Some areas have city water and sewer.

Hello,

Some folks drink bottled water only. Some have filters on their tap or use Brita type water bottles. And some only have the basic filter screens on the intake pipes & tap. So basically it varies. Any issues with cisterns, in my opinion, are for the landlord to take care of, with the exception of it running out of water. In which case you should know when moving into the place whether you are responsible for paying for water when it runs out and who is suppose to order the water when it does.

Washer/Dryer in rentals isn't common that I have found, but I am on St. Thomas. Perhaps it’s different on St. Croix??

--Islander