Factories on St. Croix

Cruzan Rum and Hovensa (oil refinery) are the only businesses that could be considered "factories".

Have you ever been to STX? If not, I strongly suggest a 2-4 week visit to check things out.

Thank you, we do plan to come check it out first. 2 weeks is probably going to be the max we can afford.

Any idea what an entry level position pays at Cruzan?

two weeks is a vacation. Before you plan on moving, spend more time. If you can't afford that, how will you be able to afford it if you don't like living in the USVI and have to move back?

Terry, you took the words out of my mouth - I actually pretty much had the same reply typed out and deleted it - Melissa, it is expensive to live there - you probably will need more than one entry level position apiece to keep things going one direction. You don't say what area of the country you are from, so maybe the costs won't shock you - but if you can't afford to visit for more than 2 weeks, what are you going to live on until you get jobs? You may get one right out of the chute - or you may be completely overqualified for anything and everything and may end up handing out towels at Buccaneer. Several highly qualified people on the island used that as a stop gap job until they moved up or moved on, but it wasn't the only thing paying their bills. Be careful, be careful, be careful. It's a great adventure and you may love it and you may make it just fine - but 60 days into your adventure is kind of the pivot point - two weeks doesn't tell you a whole lot of anything.

I agree with what has been said so far. If you come on a vacation to gather information, also keep in my what you are willing to do to live here. I have had many visitors stay in one of my apartments. Some are willing to do whatever it takes to make it here. Generally, they do. Others have a focus on 'doing what they did stateside' and those jobs may either be rare, or not exist.

Handing out towels has been done by social workers, business managers have worked in nurseries or golf courses, and given time, they seem to find their way back to something close to what their given field is.

I was ready and willing to do anything to make is here for health reasons. Given that, it wasn't very hardea. I still have that mentality after one and one half years. Some of what I do is in my field, other things came as a surprise, but I like doing them as well and they help.

Fall in love with the islands first, then make decisions. In the meantime, save, save, save.

Best wishes,

Dan

Thank you all for your helpful advice. We are in the beginning stages of planning and I have been reading these message boards for some time so I do understand that it is totally different than living in the states. I also understand the cost of living is high which will be a bit of a shock.
I am selling my house here at a pretty good profit and will have a nice chunk of change to bank towards this move plus all of our debt will be paid off (credit cards, cars, etc) for about a year before the move so that we can save, save save. I plan to have a lot of money saved up, not a fortune, but plenty to live off of for several months if need be. It is not that we couldn't afford to stay for a month, but we don't want to quit our jobs here until we are sure that we are going to make the move. 2 weeks is about the most we can take off work at one time for the visit.
Our plan is to get there, take whatever jobs we can get just to pay the bills and keep us there, then hopefully get something better in time. We are both willing to do whatever it takes to make this work and will take whatever jobs we are fortunate enough to get first.
We will have money put back in order to move back if we would need to. If it was up to my boyfriend we would just take off and come down there today, he is very impulsive. I am much more cautious and intend to do my homework before taking the leap. What we have in common is that we are very tired of the norm and are looking for some adventure and a challenge. This will certainly be both.
We want to learn a new culture and learn to conserve in ways that we don't have to here. I am looking forward to doing without things as crazy as that sounds. We want to simplify our lives in terms of material things while making it more of a meaningful journey and gaining a lot of insight into ourselves and our relationship. We both expect there to be hurdles and hard times throughout this experience, but we also expect there to be good times. We don't expect to live a life of leisure down there, we will work hard to make it. We will struggle at times anywhere, why not struggle in such a beautiful place?
I do appreciate everyone's input. It is very helpful as are all of the other things I have been reading. I especially appreciate the negative comments, or maybe I should say the comments that tell it like it is, they are most helpful. We are pretty determined to make a change in our lives and experience more of what life has to offer. Something different, new.
Another question for you, are there a lot of barbers? I am going to be getting my barbering license in 2 months and have thought of that as an option for work down there. I plan to use barbering here as a part time job to help fund this move as well, more money saved!

Melissa, you have my undying admiration for having a plan and sticking to it - of course it will have to be tweaked along the way, but you sound like you're making all the right steps and decisions. Congrats!

Barbering - well, dunno if you consider female hair stylists "barbers", but I found it difficult to locate a great hair stylist for me at a reasonable cost, and I ended up buying the electric gizmo and buzzing my husband's head every month because he has weird hair no one could get right......hopefully you will be able to check with Monica's or the guy downtown whose name has slipped my mind and come up with something.

Barber's are basically the same as cosmetologists, women usually go to cosmetologists as they are more focused on working on women's hair (perms, colors, etc.). Barbers usually are more focused on men's hair (flat tops and other men's styles). I am learning to be a barber because my dad is a barber teacher and can teach me in his shop for free...can't beat free! I feel more comfortable with men's hair, but do need to know both to take my test. Thank you for the help.
If the Virgin Islands wasn't so different than the states we wouldn't be so excited about making the move!!!