Feeling Deflated

"A quotation is a handy thing to have about, saving one the trouble of thinking for oneself, always a laborious business."

Saves having to edit a single sentence.

i am seeing double.

i am seeing double.

Haha...me too. Haven't seen that happen before

shangirl,

I first vacationed (married and honeymooned) on St. John in 2004. Fell in love with it immediately and when I returned home to North Carolina, I found this forum and signed up. Making it my mission to move here (STJ, initially, but STT ended up being home for 8 years), I didn't ask a lot of questions at first, I read just about every page on every subject matter, I researched the USVI as much as I could and, found a job while still in the States - a rare occurence, I know, especially since the job included housing! There were certainly some negative posts and comments but also some very positive ones and some extremely helpful people on here - I found this forum to be an excellent resource for my move. I have since divorced (my ex hated it here! One of several reasons we are not together anymore), met a man who has been on and around all the islands (STT, STJ, STX and the BVI) for over 30 years, who is my best friend and, feels to me to be the love of my life, and moved to STX, where I have now been for 1 1/2 years. All 3 islands are completely different, however, I am happy being where I am at the present moment - I miss STT and my friends (and my beloved STJ) but STX is a beautiful place, too, full of friendly people. All 3 islands have unfriendly people, too - so does every State in the USA, in my opinion. As others have said, you are the only one who can decide whether any of these islands suit you. And, if you just come for a little while and decide to move on, that's ok! One should not be judged because a place simply doesn't work for them...the problems seem to arise when someone relocates here, is here for a very brief period of time and then proceeds to spout off information as if they know everything (based on a couple of months of island living and continuing to read local news and forums) and give potential newcomers all sorts of advice about "island living"...
Which brings me to you, wanderer - since you were here for a couple of months, using it as what seems to be some sort of research project, and it didn't suit you or you simply decided to make a research project out of another place, why are you still on this forum giving people advice who are asking what it is like to relocate and live here? I am of the opinion that the advice needs to come from people who live in the VI currently or have lived there for quite some time - not from someone who was just passing through...my opinion, of course. If I put myself back to 2004, when I was researching, I would not have given your posts much credence due to your lack of time and overall knowledge of any of the islands and the realities of living there. And, as for your arguing with Alana33 and others about the term "native", it is just shows your ignorance...I am a "native" North Carolinian. I am a 16th generation American, whose ancestors came from France, Scotland, England and Germany, however, I still consider myself to be an American who is a native of the State of North Carolina. I have now relocated to the Virgin Islands and have lived here for 9 years. I vote here, I pay taxes here. I opened my own business here. I am what some may consider to be a "local" now, others, a transplant, however, I am no longer really a newbie. I really don't care what I am considered to be - I just know that I consider the Virgin Islands to be my home. I have friends who are 10th generation Virgin Islanders, transplants (like myself) - some newbies and some who have been here for over 30 years, and down islanders. I don't segregate myself from others nor judge others due to their background or upbringing. I go out of my way to be friendly and helpful to everyone - if they return the attitude, it makes me smile, if they don't, I move on.
So, back to you, shangirl - being able to put myself back in the position that you are in, the excitement and fear of the unknown in moving to our beautiful territory, I will strongly caution you to take any advice from wanderer, as he has nowhere NEAR the level of knowledge and experience about ANY of the islands of the VI from his extremely limited time here. He is certainly entitled to his opinion, as is everyone, but proceed with caution. Instead, read everything you can from the search menu, ask specific questions, then come down and decide for yourself whether this is some place you want to hang your hat for awhile or for forever!
Ok - thesis now DONE! Sorry, folks....I had A LOT to say!!

(tu)(tu)(tu)

Amen.

Thank you for your response Pilates. I was a little down over some things I read here on the day I posted this but I have read so many helpful tidbits of information and conversed with others who have teens on the island and overall I find this forum extremely helpful!

I am glad that you are able to find some helpful people, shangirl - gather as much info as you can, then jump, with a pinky toe hold still back in the States, in case you find this isn't the place for you. I would be happy to help you with any specifics you need.
Alana33, I believe you to be a wealth of knowledge, as I do you also, East Ender. Thanks for the thumbs up and Amen 😉

WONDERFUL POST, pilatesgal318!!!!

shangirl,

I first vacationed (married and honeymooned) on St. John in 2004. Fell in love with it immediately and when I returned home to North Carolina, I found this forum and signed up. Making it my mission to move here (STJ, initially, but STT ended up being home for 8 years), I didn't ask a lot of questions at first, I read just about every page on every subject matter, I researched the USVI as much as I could and, found a job while still in the States - a rare occurence, I know, especially since the job included housing! There were certainly some negative posts and comments but also some very positive ones and some extremely helpful people on here - I found this forum to be an excellent resource for my move. I have since divorced (my ex hated it here! One of several reasons we are not together anymore), met a man who has been on and around all the islands (STT, STJ, STX and the BVI) for over 30 years, who is my best friend and, feels to me to be the love of my life, and moved to STX, where I have now been for 1 1/2 years. All 3 islands are completely different, however, I am happy being where I am at the present moment - I miss STT and my friends (and my beloved STJ) but STX is a beautiful place, too, full of friendly people. All 3 islands have unfriendly people, too - so does every State in the USA, in my opinion. As others have said, you are the only one who can decide whether any of these islands suit you. And, if you just come for a little while and decide to move on, that's ok! One should not be judged because a place simply doesn't work for them...the problems seem to arise when someone relocates here, is here for a very brief period of time and then proceeds to spout off information as if they know everything (based on a couple of months of island living and continuing to read local news and forums) and give potential newcomers all sorts of advice about "island living"...
Which brings me to you, wanderer - since you were here for a couple of months, using it as what seems to be some sort of research project, and it didn't suit you or you simply decided to make a research project out of another place, why are you still on this forum giving people advice who are asking what it is like to relocate and live here? I am of the opinion that the advice needs to come from people who live in the VI currently or have lived there for quite some time - not from someone who was just passing through...my opinion, of course. If I put myself back to 2004, when I was researching, I would not have given your posts much credence due to your lack of time and overall knowledge of any of the islands and the realities of living there. And, as for your arguing with Alana33 and others about the term "native", it is just shows your ignorance...I am a "native" North Carolinian. I am a 16th generation American, whose ancestors came from France, Scotland, England and Germany, however, I still consider myself to be an American who is a native of the State of North Carolina. I have now relocated to the Virgin Islands and have lived here for 9 years. I vote here, I pay taxes here. I opened my own business here. I am what some may consider to be a "local" now, others, a transplant, however, I am no longer really a newbie. I really don't care what I am considered to be - I just know that I consider the Virgin Islands to be my home. I have friends who are 10th generation Virgin Islanders, transplants (like myself) - some newbies and some who have been here for over 30 years, and down islanders. I don't segregate myself from others nor judge others due to their background or upbringing. I go out of my way to be friendly and helpful to everyone - if they return the attitude, it makes me smile, if they don't, I move on.
So, back to you, shangirl - being able to put myself back in the position that you are in, the excitement and fear of the unknown in moving to our beautiful territory, I will strongly caution you to take any advice from wanderer, as he has nowhere NEAR the level of knowledge and experience about ANY of the islands of the VI from his extremely limited time here. He is certainly entitled to his opinion, as is everyone, but proceed with caution. Instead, read everything you can from the search menu, ask specific questions, then come down and decide for yourself whether this is some place you want to hang your hat for awhile or for forever!
Ok - thesis now DONE! Sorry, folks....I had A LOT to say!!

I like your attitude Pilates. I like jumping 🙂 but yes, I'll keep the pinky toe hold. Florida isn't going anywhere (at least I don't think we are sinking into the ocean just yet) Thank you for the offer of help! I sometimes curse the internet and technology but it sure has its upside! Because of your name I wonder...are there pilates and/or yoga classes on STX?

Good morning, shangirl,

There are both yoga and Pilates classes on island (all 3, in fact) - and, as my moniker would indicate, I am a certifed Pilates practitioner (both matwork and apparatus), as well as being a licensed massage/bodywork practitioner (and certified yoga instructor, personal trainer, group fitness instructor). Since I have been in the fitness and wellness biz for over 25 years, and have done much research and experimentation on many different methods and modalities, I actually consider myself to be more of a movement practitioner these days - just one method does not serve the purpose of all one's body needs, honestly, and, the movement really does best when combined with massage and some form of bodywork/breathwork. PM me if you need more specific info on classes and/or massage.

I love this news Pilates! I will PM you before a PMV so I can come try out a class or two.

Juanita , i guess we both see double lol

What does everyone mean by seeing double??

At the top of page 4, the two posts, one by wanderer and one by Alana, are from a different thread.

They just got repeated.

What does everyone mean by seeing double??

Gives me impression OP not reading all threads. Anybody reading all should have caught it. I loved Speedy's "seeing double" post.

There is also a post on craigslist for some boat excursion looking for crew. Those are postings OP needs to respond to.

What's in a word? Native is from the Latin "natus" meaning "born," as in nativity scene. Latin "natu" means "by birth"; "natura" means "birth" or "nature." I've met more than a few so-called "Native Americans" who loathe the term because it lacks the proper distinction. They'd rather be called American Indians, as before. They argue, correctly, that anyone born in America is a Native American. In Canada, the term is "First People." There is still controversy about who came to the New World first, from where, and how long ago.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0903_030903_bajaskull.html

i had just recently learned american indians might not have been the first people. interesting

thank you ms411

I've been reading like crazy for weeks 😉 My house is getting messy....I missed the double post though. Thanks for clearing it up.

Just my two-cents worth...

First of all, I am a Crucian, currently working in Florida. There are a lot of things I could say about being a Black man in Florida, but I'll refrain from doing so. I will say, however, that I can't wait for my contract to be done so that I can return home to beautiful St. Croix and our warm, friendly people.

People like to pretend that racism doesn't exist and shouldn't be considered. However, many of the comments that you'll see here, especially from people like 'wanderer', are tinged with subtle racism. Some people cannot accept the fact that they are in a place where their lifelong privileges due to skin color have suddenly evaporated...that is the cause for a lot of the discomfort.

Some people come here and, in an attempt to preserve the feelings of privilege, gravitate to neighborhoods that have lots of people who look just like them, thereby bringing to the island the same exclusionary practices they enjoy on the mainland. They will do all they can to minimize their exposure to 'us'. This does not go unnoticed.

St. Croix is a place that embraces diversity. People who are comfortable around other humans who don't look like them will find it easier to live here. It is not a perfect place...perfect places do not exist. It is a place that has been spoken of in a negative manner more than any other island in the Caribbean, it seems. St. Croix has nurtured countless families, who have then moved on and forgotten all about her. Those of us who choose to remain here deeply love our little island, and we welcome others to love her too...but beware of the agendas of people who criticize too much and spout statistics. Bring a good attitude and see for yourself.

Well said, JRF!

Great post, JahRustyFerrari!

Great post JRF! Thank you! I am in Florida and hope to join you in ST CRoix! Not in my ivory tower. 😉 have a great day.