fearful

The behavior of SOME of the members of our local police force is of concern to all of us here. I certainly don't want to seem as though I'm making excuses for any public servant who abuses the community trust but if you pick up any local newspaper covering any area of the United States you will all too frequently find such conduct documented. Metropolitan areas throughout the country have been regularly ravaged by such abuses over the years, the latest of course being in New Orleans both during and after the devastation of the hurricane.

I hope you will put your fear into perspective and move here with an open mind and heart, settle in with the thought of enjoying whatever time you spend here and dwell on all the positive aspects of your move. Become involved with the community while you are here, learn and implement the basics of "fitting in" as you would if moving to any new setting - and enjoy!

buttercup,
your fears are well founded, and reading the news papers will give you the best idea of what is really going on down here than any message board can give you.
the local government is fighting tooth and nail not to have any federal presence on the island, when it is obviously neccessary. congress woman donna christensen had proposed some type of federal regulator to oversee how the government spends federal money and this was shot down to the best of my knowledge.
my best advice is not to put yourself in any situation that you would need the assistance of a police officer, and keep your business affairs above board ,filing proper taxes, business lscences, and all the other little things that are required of you once you live on the island.
generally if you stay away from trouble,and the troubled areas of the island you should be just fine.
one last thought about the newspapers. now that i live here i dont even read them, they are just to damn depressing, but it is a good way to find out what you are getting into.

Mark ...and also to Buttercup...who asks....

I am not sure how to respond to your comments. On one hand I agree fully that the VI Police are corrupt, uneducated, (and more importantly) badly managed...

But...Because of several factors, it is not as much a problem as some stateside locations..

If you are sort of "middle class" ...and live here full time you will only occasionaly have a negative contact with the police on St Thomas and St Croix. It is unlikely that you will have any contact with the police if you are on St John...{even if you want some contact "response"}

However as others have stated, the police here are no better or no worse than many stateside locations. The more real problem is the local government incompetence.

ARE YOU SAFE HERE? Yes, you are as safe, or safer than most places in the states... Will you have, times when you are not happy with your public employees, including police officers? YES

But that should not be your defining reason to locate here or not...

stxer

buttercup,
keep on reading the paper
try to connect with others with families that havew done what you are about todo, they could probably be the best source o0f info for you. best of luck to you, i hope everything works out for you.

mark

Thank you for your responses. They made me feal a bit less fearful. Good day and God Bless.

Buttercup

Dear Mark,

On the one hand you "boast" that you don't read the newspapers here any more because they're too depressing and then you urge "Buttercup" to continue reading the newspapers.

Mark, have you in any way become part of the real community here? Have you done anything which has helped make the community in which you live become a better and safer place? Have you made any effort to become part of the community in which you are presently living? And how long have you lived here?

Many of us who have lived here for quite along time and those who were bahn-here read both the Daily Snooze and The Avis and we listen to Sam Topp on Radio One in the morning.

There are vast differences between people who come to temporarily just "live here" as basic snowbirds for a few months during high season, and those who come with an attitude of settling here with the intention of staying for a few years. They come and they go.

I commend "Buttercup" for doing homework where local news is concerned and I wrote my initial response in that vein

Gee, Mark, if you don't read the local newspapers or go onto the (via internet) STT Source then you're only hearing what you hear on the street and you're simply adversely commenting on what you perceive around you and you also being ignorant, m'son!

Enough said. I guess I just get a bit antsy towards newbies (and also long-time residents) who have a whole lot to say and who talk about the day to day inequities but who never bring their concerns to the hierarchy.

Cheers from STT Resident.

dear sttresident, mark here
i donate plants to the animall shelter
i donate plants to roadside cleanup projects
i spend my valuable time giving public schools field trips at no cost ,at my nursery
there are alot of us out there who do alot to try to help the island aside from cheerlaeading from the sidelines on a web site about how wonderfu;l the islands are. i have know idea what you do or or what you do to help the state of our islands but i hope you and everyopne else do something positive to try to improve the headlines of our newpapers

respectfully yours, mark

I think reading the paper is a horrible idea.

The local newspaper, for lack of a better word, sucks.

It's biased and as corrupt as the government. That's what happens when you have a media monopoly. Reading the paper to "get an idea of what you're in for" is like a foreigner watching Jerry Springer to prepare for living in the US.

Not advisable.

Better idea is to get some first hand opinion from people who live here. This forum is a great start. You'll get a much better understanding of what it's like to live in the VI.

dear rich,

are the newspapers making up these stories, ireeally dont think so
and i continue hearing everybody saying that the negative aspects we have been talking about are similar to metropolitan areas in the state, guess what we are not a metropolitan area. i am just trying to be a realist and realize we have many problems facing our islands, and as i responded to sttresident i am doing something about it, the list i gave could have been much much longer. instead of arguing action is a much better solution to pointing fingers

lets all get along, and see if we can continue to try to make the islands better.

Let's all work to make this a better place to live - where ever "this" is = here in the USVI or stateside or where ever. We all have a responsibility to make this world a better place.

You have to realize - there is no perfect place. S**t happens - here or where ever in the world you are. There are much worse places to live. Be happy where you are - if you can't be - do something - effect change - or find someplace else that you do like. But don't just yap about how bad things are.

Sorry - just put in 14+ hours at work - in one of those - Poop or get off the pot moods.

Love to all! And I DO love it here.

Linda