financial concerns

They'd probably need to know what your lifestyle is like now. What you make isn't as important as what you do with what you make today.

You can probably figure this out if you piece together the feedback about expenses. Power seems to be the killer. Food is probably going to give you some sticker shock and I think people on the island will tell you that you might want to change your diet if you're a steak guy today. That's more of a lifestyle thing. Meats are not great - price aside.

Are you corporate? If so, you might get an increase for going to STX. My company recently downgraded the zone for STT . Prior to 2007, STT used to be in the top zone for Cost of Living (along with NY, San Fran, etc)...but now they employees have been downgraded and they're all suffering. Better check into that.

You'll probably get less house and less comfort for your $. What kind of house do you live in today and what kind do you expect to have in the islands. Some $100k+ earners are owners of really high mortgages. Others are living well below their means and investing. Others pay for costly private schools ($25k range) for their children. Others have boats, exotic cars, etc. Others just spend as they wish, but keep the monthly bills to a minimum....living more of an ad-hoc life.

$110k is in that gray area. You're not rich....but you earn too much to get any sympathy from anybody! 😉

See what I mean? Your lifestyle may change - or may not - based on finances.

Thank you for your response. I realize it is a loaded question and I am just starting to consider the move. If we decide to do it we want to do it before my son gets much older. I don't need the fancy cars etc. I would hope to afford a three bedroom/two bath house. I don't have any problem discussing the rest of my financial picture but since I am sort of new to the board I want to be sure it is appropriate. I am not looking for sympathy (I don't deserve it I just to be able to provide for my family. WE would be looking at a reasonable private school--right now we pay around 8,500 for school.

We love to eat out and being from KC we of course like meat and barbecue. On the other hand I grew up on the beach and think it could be great for my son.

To rent a three bedroom house figure on at least 1800 and up for a good neighborhood. $500 for electric, coming from Kansas you're going to be hot here. Figure on the same about of tution for the school. Or are you talking about buying? In stx you really need more around $350k to buy a middle class home (not anything fancy usually but should have a view), so your mortgage will be high and your insurance will be roughly 3% of your home cost. My guess is that your expenses will be much higher then kansas city and the 110k will not go as far but you could definitely make it. We dont know what your costs are in Kansas so its hard to say if you will be as comforable here if as you are there.

I didn't mean to imply that you were asking for sympathy. I use that line becuase I understand the nuances of being middle class and having that gray area income.

You really should invest in at least one or two serious PMVs/

Always a good point. I know several agents that complained they didn't know how bad the schools were, how expensive it was here, etc and not one of them came down to do any research. If you have kids I would definitely recommend coming down and seeing what it would be like, make an appointment to see the schools your interested in. Check out some rental houses in the paper to see what you are going to be getting for your money, grocery shop, wait 2 ours at gallows bay post office for a package while the "ladies" take a coffee break 🙂 Just kidding...sorta.... At worst you get a family vacation, at best you really get a feel for what it is like to live in the vi and will feel more confident about your decisions and hopefully have less doubts and regrets.

Hello rkuchar,

You could try writing up a budget for yourself and see if that helps. You've been given some price information, you can find some additional estimates/ranges for costs of living/utilities at https://www.vimovingcenter.com/cost_of_living/. If you want to buy a house then you might pull up the MLS and get an idea of what is available and the price range. If you click over to the Real Estate section of this site you will find some information and links to realtors; usually from their sites you can access the MLS. For tuition try the school section and check the websites for the private and parochial schools and you can get an idea of the tuition costs.

All the best,
--Islander

Unless you work for the feds and are guaranteed $110,000, I would check to make SURE that you will make that when you transfer here. Also, find out about moving expenses BOTH WAYS.

And the above posters are correct that nothing should be done before you come down for a couple of weeks to check things out yourself. Living here is very different than visiting, especially with a child and a stay-at-home spouse.

A six figure income does allow a family of three to live pretty comfortably if you don't go over the top and max out your debt ratio by buying the most expensive house you can finance. As Betty said, there are some nice homes in good areas with ocean views that come on the market in the $350K-$450K price range. You can get a nice house in a good area without an ocean view in the $225K-$350K range if an ocean view isn't a "must have" with you. There are fabulous villas in the $600K-$1M price range for those who have pockets deep enough.

The two largest private schools are currently charging about $7K per year for lower school and $10K per year for middle school and upper school. That sounds in line with what you are used to where your son attends now, so no shockers there.

To get an idea of the type of house your $$ would buy you, you can search the St. Croix MLS.

Even for people who plan to rent when they get to the island, searching the MLS can give them a lot of insight about neighborhoods and condo complexes, etc. Many of the listings include quite a few photos that will show you what kind of houses are in which neighborhoods. Try to keep in mind that some of the listings may show one great photo of a property but that it doesn't necessarily represent the neighborhood at large. The MLS allows you to search for all propeties on the market in a specific neighborhood as one of the ways to bring up search results. Or you can search by price range, amenities, etc. Many of the condo complexes can be browsed at the click of a single link to make it as easy as possible for you to do your research. Feel free to ask questions if you need assistance or more information about the search engine or properties you find there.

where in KC? There are a lot (or used to be) transplants from KC. We used to live on Lake Lotawana. We lived on STT for a year and now we are back in the states. Getting ready to open a bar in Westport. It is very expensive to live in the islands. Everything has to be shipped in so you get the cost of that in your daily purchases. Electric is ridiculously expensive, etc. But, a lot of people make things work by cutting corners here and there. You don't need fancy cars there and you will be surprised about how many things you couldn't live w/out just are not important on the island. The "stuff" just doesn't matter. My suggestion just like STT Res said is to do a or several Pre-Move visits to get a good feel of how life is. You will fall in love with the weather, beaches and fresh air, but it is NOT easy living there and very frustrating at times with the lack of conveniences, lack of customer service, and how expensive it is. As many times as we say all these things on this message board, people really won't know until they live here. So, with that being said, if you move, keep things in storage back home and options left open. Don't burn any bridges at home and bring lots of cash!!!!!!!

I just have one thing to add to this post. If I had a 5 yr old - school wouldnt be a major issue. You could easily homeschool your child. It's not as hard as it seems & think of all the educational experiences you would find in the Caribbean.

It's just an idea 🙂

Jeniffer

"If I had a 5 yr old - school wouldnt be a major issue. You could easily homeschool your child. It's not as hard as it seems..."

I'm guessing you've never home schooled a child. As a parent who has home schooled for over a decade I contend that it isn't as easy as you think. They don't stay five forever and being the chief resource for explanations of calculus, physics, Shakespeare, etc. can be challenging.

Thank you for all of your posts

Kellymac-- we live in what is now northern overland park--I work downtown and love westport let me know about the bar you are opening.

As to some of the other posts--Home schooling is not really an option so we will need private school. I have visited Stt twice for short vacations--about one week. Of course we had great vacations. Somebody asked about my job and I do work for the feds. The job I was thinking about has passed but I hope there will be others so I am still thinking about a move--all the time really.

Just to add to the financial picture we live in a nice house 4 bedrooms 31/2 baths probably 3,000 feet and we owe about 200,000 on it ( with some luck we could get around 325,000 or so for it. We don't need that much space probably around 2,000 square feet. We have no other debts. Again the job transfer would be around 110,000 a year and there is no other income. I hope it is ok to share this much in other circles of course it would seem inappropriate but as you all know it is a big step.

It's doable.

Hey rkuchar. My husband and I just moved down here to STT from Michigan. We also had a 4 bedroom home there. Now for the same price as our mortgage payment in Michigan we are renting a one bedroom apartment here. I definitely don't regret moving but it's just something for you to think about. Going out to dinner here is a lot more expensive. We went out for chinese the other night and paid about $50 for a meal that would have cost us half that in Michigan. It's all just a trade-off for us - paradise (almost) or snow. Our combined incomes are roughly the same as what you'd be making. We're living comfortably - it just took some getting used to not buying as much or buying generic and not the name brand stuff.

thanks for the replies

Sherry If you don't minde me asking what kinda work are you guys doing there and did you have to move any kids?

Well my husband is an engineer in the tower/radio station business (so this is where majority of the money is from). I'm a secretary. No - we didn't have kids to move down here.

A piece of information - do with it what you want. Many of the upper income couples that came to StX during the EDC tax break boom were in a similar position - non working wife and small children. Many of them left quite quickly - mainly due to the wif'e unhappiness. Boredom, lack of family support, struggling with the minutiae on a daliy basis, lack of shopping, difficulties with the kids etc.

On 110K, you will not be as "comfortable" as you are in Kansas. You will probably living in quite a modest home and there will not be a great deal left in the budget for flying back to the States etc. Eating out will put a hole in any budget. You will need 2 vehicles.
The cost of living is high.
We moved to the Pac NW, to a reasonably expensive coastal area. I don't work - I used to in StX - and we have tons more disposable income. I guess we didn't notice how reduced our living standard had become.

where are the houses with a view or nice tradewinds that run like 78k to maybe like 125k ?
KIDDING, JUST KIDDING

Sherry, I live in Canton MI

It's going to snow tomorrow!. My hubby is down there right now waiting for me to sell the house....

Can't wait to get down there!

Marlene