How did you get here? STX, STT, STJ ... I'm curious to know

In 2006 I was living in Northern Maine. Through my employer I had an opportunity to take a position in STT. I was prepared to think long and hard about it......Looked out the window (saw snow) and made up my mind.....I took a PMV for 10 days at my employers expense, Found a place on the second day, spent the rest of the PMV exploring the inside of my eyelids on the beach. Very productive 10 days!! When I flew back into Presque Isle Maine, it was snowing (big surprise there). I still had the opportunity to turn down the transfer, However, while digging my car out of the snow at the airport, it occurred to me, I HATE SNOW!!! And the decision was made. When I arrived back on STT, I spent a month in temporary housing on the north side and finally closed on my place and have been here ever since. Not sure how long I will stay, but I do know that I will never live in the cold again....

Yes this is an interesting thread.
Marty, I might try to swim.
Lizard, I won't have time to read the book,but I do have the coffee pot on the way.

I am throwing 20 years of Federal service in the trash. It is a long explanation but 20 years of service only means you are to young to retire,so you have to stay another 5 years and by the way, for the remaining 5 years you work, we will only pay you 1 % for each additional year instead of 1.7 %. To young to retire and we will penalize you for staying longer,oh but it is Federal you say.
I guess you can say I have told them where to put their lips. Maybe the wife will get it some day.
The plan is June,unless I can make it happen faster. See you soon St Croix.

Juanita, LOL! That's probably the best way!

I dragged my boyfriend (who wanted to go somewhere closer to home and cheaper) to STX for vacation in February 2008, and in the process of researching what to do there, I met Terry from this board. He and his wife gave us fantastic advice on what to do, where to go, etc. We had a great week and came home wanting to go back.

I managed to get my job to let me go work there for a month in the fall of last year, and while I was there, I lined up a permanent job there. The boyfriend went along and loved it, and since he telecommutes, he's portable.

Only thing left is to convince the dog that she'll be happy there, and I don't see much trouble with that! She'll fly down with us on July 3... a one way flight this time.

I fell in love with St. John in 1985, when my family was living in Puerto Rico and we traveled down-island for vacations. It took 23 years to get rid of all the reasons why I couldn't move there.

I love this thread. It's so good to hear everyone saying wonderful things. I find so much negativity on this forum for STX. The STJ travel forum is filled with loving thoughts for the island and I was concerned about STX not being the same.

That said, we spent 3 weeks on STJ last year and the hubs and I decided it was time to go. We picked STX for various reasons and on several recommendations. Will be on island for our PMV in three weeks. If everything works out as we are hoping, we will come home and sell our house. We've already sold our cars and a boat, so we are REALLY planning on all being well. (Tho I am still a bit fearful of giving away my winter clothes just yet!)

Can't wait to meet you all and call that rock my home! :@)

It's a lot easier to have loving thoughts for an island when you're vacationing there instead of living on it! *-)

Been coming to the caribbean all my life...sailing vacations, family lived on STT for 7 years till Marilyn blew them off island....Left the coorporate job world in '06...the world of architectural flat glass..ugg......and went to school to learn photovoltaics! Began a new career...and within a year i had a plan to get to the islands, and get to work on my dreams!!. I talked my then instructor/boss into expanding operations! Crazy electric prices, strong sun and people that REALLY needed relief! Landed on STX for the first time in October '07, mainly because the main VI Energy Office was located here. Moved here permanently in Aug '08. Its been quite an expierence to say the least. If i had known about the impending world financial meltdown--aka the great recession that hit us, i would have waited. Its been tough...but NOW things are slowly changing. The new rebates/tax incentives, an economy that is creeping back and educating people about the great benefit of solar are beginning to pay off!! I'm still here and plan on staying for a long time, even if not all yer round...gotta get off the rock once in a while 🙂

Cory K.

Cory we will soon need to talk about,Solar hot water heaters .The move is only a leap of faith in ones,self abilities. If you have Rose colored glasses and visions of grandeur,you're going to be in trouble. Life is what you make of it.

oh juanita your so bad....;)

fdr: Very true, but there are a lot of locals on the forum.
Cory: Hope to be talking with you about solar when the time comes.

20 days ...

Wife and I decided in the late 90's that we wanted to change the scenery after our kids were out of the house.
Started vacationing at some likely new scenes and landed in St. Croix.
It just seemed like "the right place for a while".
How long will "a while" last? Dunno. That too is part of the adventure.

Have lived long enough and been through enough changes to realize that the best parts of our life have been the interesting experiences and people, --and not so much anything related to our bank accounts.

One piece of advice I give people contemplating a similar change: get out of debt or don't go into it. Debt hampers your flexibility in so many ways and can crush a dream.

Another piece of advice I give the same is to avoid buying a house until you're sure you want to be somewhere for a while, and definitely not within your first year on island. It will just pin you down. Many people are now financially trapped in their house both here and on the mainland. Explore.

Speaking of Housing,does anyone want to buy one in Albuquerque,New Mexico. She is on the market as of tonight.

One for sale in Eddyville KY as well....

fdr: Very true, but there are a lot of locals on the forum.

...almost all of whom have something to gain by tourists coming to the island. Tends to increase one's propensity for waxing poetic. Notice the absence of most of those same folks on this forum!

Actually, have noticed a few familiar names

Hi Scott/Zigmo - perhaps you'll find this thread helpful.

~Jill~

I've lived in, worked in, or visited some 35 countries. After 7 years in post-Soviet Georgia, I decided the time had come to retire.

I narrowed the search to Sarasota area and the VI. After spending some time in the Sarasota area, I decided it was too built up, too busy, too fast.

So the decision was STT and STX. I chose STX because of the lifestyle and elbow room.

I made the move two months ago and have loved every day in STX.

After reading the above posted messages, it seems to me that most of you are white. I wonder why VI where you are a minority?

Michael,

I don't know the races of our members. In my two months of living in St Croix, and several visits before moving, I have never noticed any differences in the way people treat each other here. Perhaps other members have had different experiences.

Having spent quite a bit of time in East Africa, I've often been the only white person my students and their families have ever met. At the other extreme, I just left the Caucasus Region after seven years, during which I may have seen one or two African persons in a year.

I chose VI for its climate and lifestyle. Color never entered into my decision, but I celebrate diversity and enjoy my contacts with all here in the VI.

Best wishes,

Edward

Vacationed STX in 1998 to visit friends, and just loved it. Were living in Houston at the time. No kids.

Jan 2000 got wind of a position with a contractor at the refinery. Applied and accepted an 18 month contract position that lasted 2 yrs.
Told friends and family "See ya in a couple years"

4 months in we (wife and I) responded to an ad for a house sitter position for Opera singer Martina Arroyo's house on the northshore.
http://www.martinaarroyo.com/ Martina and family soon felt like our extended family, even though we only saw them a few times a year.
Lived there and cared for "Songbird" for about 4 yrs.

2002 started Paradise Satellite selling and servicing satellite systems and never looked back. This business started after our own experiences with Innovative cable TV and the satellite dealer that dragged his feet getting our Dishnetwork service working. I saw a real opportunity for someone that will answer calls and respond when called with a knowledgable response.

Nov. 2004 bought a total fixer upper and still working to finish it. 2 homes in the states we continue to rent out.

Now have 4 dogs and 3 cats (all rescues) that roam freely in our home and fenced yard. Tina, Lucy, Kaydee, Cruz, Mango, Lymin, and Snickers. Pets that have passed, Gina, Booger, Sardonia, Chilly, and Mynew (as in My New Dog" ) 😀 Two of those we brought and the other 3 we inherited when Songbird sold in 2004.

Once in awhile the subject comes up, "If we were to move, where would we go?" and "how do you move 7 pets?":-o Haven't found the answers so here we are.

We feel welcome here. No problem getting along with locals. We find that being respectful goes a long long way here.
They don't want to hear "That's not how it's done in ____________!" Fill in the blank.

One of the best things is the weather. Doors and windows open 365 days a year.
Miss family and friends. Really envious when back in a stateside grocery store!!!

My sister moved to STX back in '98. A couple years later, I visited, and fell in love with the place. Now, I get the best of both worlds: I spend the summers here in beautiful Minnesota and winters in STX. Roughly six months on, six months off. Been doing that for almost ten years now. It's great because it's like I have two separate but equally full lives. I've got a house, car, hobbies, responsibilities, and best of all, lifelong friends in both places. And snow is a part of my life only when I feel like it, lol. Life is good!!

Participated in EDC program as of 2002. Good savings, easy living.

After visiting the Carib many times and all three US Virgin Islands, wife and I and one of our daughters moved here two years ago. Both my wife and I work here full time (are not rich and do not work in the tourist industry). Just wanted to experience a different climate, lifestyle, scenery, and culture --BEFORE we were too old or too sick or too broke to change things up. Sold our house in Ohio one week before the stock market crashed (thank you God).

Every place we've lived has had its warts. The nice thing about the warts here is that they are surrounded by palm trees and a beautiful ocean.

How long are we here for? Never had a firm grip on the answer to that question in any OTHER place else we have lived, so not worrying too much about it here.

We don't live there full time, but are starting too split it between STX and AZ.
We have been to many islands, Fiji, Tahiti, Bora Bora, and three other South Pacific islands, Big island of Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, Martinique, Turks and Cacaos, Roatan, and a couple of Bahamas. Never had any desire to live in any. Ok, Bora Bora is the most beautiful spot on earth, IMHO, but I couldn't live there.
Some, a week was enough. But we went to plan our 2004 vacation for Christmas and was planning to go to the Caman islands but they were hit very hard by a hurricane. Someone suggested the USVI. We had never even given this area any thought. I looked on the Internet and booked a trip to STX.
We stayed at the Divi and somehow thought we were close to town and didn't need a car to see everything. :S We also stayed there because the dive shop was right there on premises and going to their web site they said the dive sights were only a five minute boat ride from their dock.:X
Well it turned out that they had a small closet sized shop there and their boat was a half an island away. So every day they would come pick me up and drive me there.
We tried to rent a car but they were all taken. We took a taxi into Csted one day and then the last day booked a tour with Sweeney's' tours.

We loved the place, everyone seemed so friendly, the polite drivers, they may not be good - but polite:@). On the way home we were talking and I said that we needed to get a place there, so we came back in May and bought our condo.

How fun reading these stories... I am assuming a PMV is a "pre-move visit?" If it is not, perhaps I should know what it is, since I am seriously considering relocating...