how is st. thomas for musicians?

Strangely enough, I think living in Alaska is the perfect training for living in the USVI. All the difficulties are the same, high prices, lack of selection, difficultly traveling. And the bug situation in Alaska in the spirng tops anything you will find in the Virgins. Good Luck.

No expierience personally with Alaska.... so won't address that, except to say that you are definately already used to the limits of island living. Musicians - there are several bands in the USVI, many local ones and several continental folks that have formed bands for hobbies or to perform. You would need to seak them out and really make it happen the way you want. Bands perform at wedding receptions, parties, bars, resorts - so there is a market for their performances - yes. Heavy alternative - limited but it exist. Rock - alternative not too heavy yes over on St. Thomas' in Havensight area there are 3-4 bars that have this sort of music and bands. They cater to tourist but more so to locals both local-locals and folk from the states- locals... 🙂 hope that is understandable. A 7 hour drive on St. John - You will loop around the island about/over 7 times if you were driving all the way out to the end and then going over your tracks and around the island. St. Thomas maybe 5 loops, St. Croix is larger more driving range and distance, maybe 3 times. LOL - if you get my picture nothing is so far away as a 7 hour drive. Shopping there is K-mart, grocery stores, Cost U Less ... and there is a shopping mall - small one on St. Thomas and St. Croix too.

NO SNOW. LOL 🙂 Weather is usually no lower then say a cool 75 but more often then not stays around 78-85....

Read through the moving section on this site - top of the page - Moving Guide and also order a Settlers Handbook from http://www.vitraders.com it is a great resource to get you started learning about life in the islands - and advice on moving.

--Islander

Hey Tony and Sue: They have clothes at Safeway???? 😉
Re: Isolation...I don't personally get that feeling here. You can always see land from shore and go to another island on a boat without too much trouble. When I went to Hawaii, I felt isolated, knowing that the next land was a gazillion miles away. Some people do get rock fever, again, not all.
Re: shopping for clothes..well, no Safeway, Gap or Macy's, but there are stores downtown like Local Color, White House/Black Market, Cosmopolitan, etc. Also L.L. Bean delivers! You can leave your mukluks (sp?) behind. You won't need a lot of clothes!
Re: Music...for the 20s group, Off-Shore has a lot of bands. I think the whole music thing is personal networking. Good luck.

I suppose it doesnt matter if its land or sea that seperates you from everything else huh? I got used to being on okinawa for 4 and a half years, and that place was nothing like what i think the scene is like there. the more i think about it the more i think im going to go, ive only lived in the lower 48 for about 7 years of my 36 so why stay there now. time for another adventure. How is the vibe between the races by the way, my mom seems to think we are going to be in the middle of a race riot kind of thing. im used to a mixed culture. is there a heavy rap music thing going on there? thanks for anyones reply. tony and sue

thanks for all the info! just out of curiosity, are you the one who wrote that book or is it just really that good??? everyone, including yourself seems to always recomend it! Im thinking that the islands are more varied in just about everything than here, you guys have people coming in all the time, no one really comes here in the winter and only the older generation comes for summer. seems like they all think that this is the place to come after youve seen everything and youve got nothing else to see in the world! would you say that the islands are a place to live for a long time or something to just experiance? whats the best and the worst thing there in your opinion? If i just move there without coming down to visit first would i be in shock at the way people and things in general are? I know thats hard to answer because you dont know what im thinking its like, but look at it this way, is it a nice place or does it feel dangerous? I went to cancun and got hassled by the police and no amount of nice scenery could make up for it. it was beautiful but deadly, do you feel like your still protected by the u.s. law or is it feel like a lord of the flies thing??? ha ha ha...lord of the flies....thanks for all replys guys, tony and sue

yes, its sad when you have to look for the latest fashions at a grocery store. everything we get seems to be about 6 months behind too, as far as the latest..well, anything! people in alaska all seem to be hiding from something, thats why they have come to the end of civilization, to get away from someone of something, alot of times i think its themselves....oooo, how deep of me..! anyway, i dont want to escape from the world any more just experiance what ive always thought would be a nice part of the world to exist in. like ive asked others, what do you think is the best and the worst thing there? thanks for everything, tony and sue

and another thing by the way, im already used to the fact that noone realy comes here for concerts, do you guys get any current artist concerts? any concerts? do you have to go to miami? am i going to go another 12 years without seeing someone from this century of current music? im going to move to seattle or the islands what do you think? ( i know theres much more music in seattle, im just think about whether im going to be in another place without live entertainment again) thanks for all replys! tony and sue

Tony and Sue: There are a lot of people here hiding out, also. There are concerts- in the past few weeks Lucky Dube and Maxi Priest have both played. Should you move here without visiting? My opinion, no. But I know of several who did and are still here. It is about your expectations. If you expect the VI to solve all your problems and make you happy all the live long day, you will be sorely dissatisfied. If you come with a good heart , patience and curiosity, you might make it.

Goint to try and answer all your questions in one post.

First: No race riots, like anywhere else there are prejudice people but they are not the majority. 85% Black West Indian population .... however it is still a cultural mixture as they come from different Caribbean Islands.... which were French, British, Dutch, Spanish.... so still a mixture. And you have White West Indians and White and Black folks from the states and Europe, there are some Asian, Arab, Indian..... so yes there is a mixture and we all for the most part get along just fine at work, play, residencial....

Rap Music - yes folks listen to it, never been to a club here that plays only rap, most places play a mixture of music.... sometimes they will have reggae night or alternative night... not familiar with a rap night. I would say RnB and Reggae are probally the biggies... then you have Zouk, Soca, Salsa listeners and they get played in the clubs too - the hits usually do that is. No heavy rap though.

Second: No I didn't write the book I and others recommend. It is a great resource for people who are thinking about, planning, moving.... to the USVI - really gives you a firm concept of what to expect in terms of schools, roads, government, history, people - that way you aren't way out in left field in terms of expectations. Like East Ender mentioned in you are open and not expecting paradise to wipe away all your problems then you will do fine - I add to that, that is you prepare yourself through correct planning and information then you can be realistic about the move and better prepared means you will not be as easily turned off by frustrations you might incur on island because you would have had some expectation based on good information on whats waiting for you in the islands.

As for living for a long time or just an experience - well certainly that depends entirely on you. Are you looking to make island living your life - lots of people do it, they move here, get a job stick with it, maybe open a small business, have kids, kids go to school here go away and their parents are still here - enjoying island life. Then there are others who want the freeways, options, 10 grocery stores, 10 pharmacies, 8-9 malls... all within a couple blocks from home and they dont do very well here. So its both, you can come to experience if thats what you want or you can come here to live and make it say your home spot to explore the Caribbean should you feel the need to be more adventursome. I worked with a young guy from up north can't remember the state; he moved here with his girlfriend, she hated it - that didn't work out, she left, he stayed, he said he had an idea of what to expect and was open to the things he would experience, long weekends he goes to other islands to explore, takes week trips down island - enjoys it... thinks he will stick around 5-10 years (hes been here already about 3 years) then see what he wants to do. The thing he dislikes most is not being able to visit family as easily. Then I worked with another guy who came here because he thought the islands would end a writers block he had, that everything would be cool in the islands, paradise bla bla bla..... he stayed for ummmmmm maybe 3 months - hated it, said he was stressed and all this other stuff. Depends really on what you want and expect.

Best and worst.... best - weather, weather, weather can't say that enough. Today for example is just like yesterday and the day before and probally tommorrow too will be the same..... sunny, breezy so it is not too hot, sky is blue, trees are green, iguanas are running around looking for water, beautiful :-). The water - ocean.... beaches..... spectacular! Quiet streets - what I mean by that is no big freeways, highways... driving 60-80 miles an hour passed a zillion other cars doesn't appeal to me. Things don't work on the fast track.... slowest is St. John then St. Croix then St. Thomas. You can walk in St. Croix up to a store owner and start a 20 minute conversation with them - and there interesting and interested in talking with you (this is not so much the case on St. Thomas - people move a bit faster but not much).... I have had the experience so many times in the states - were folks just say hello good bye... but then again all depends on how busy you are. More space here in my opinion - the homes (some) are not within 5 feet of your neighbor.... there aren't too many developments where the homes are all the same and right next to each other.... Not so great things - education system, goverment...

Your level of shock when you get here depends on how much research you do as I mentioned.... get the Settlers Handbook read it cover to cover, ask questions about what you read, get the newspaper, maybe some vacation magazines so you can see the vacation side of things - which is here for locals to enjoy as well all year round.... get the information about the islands - and then at least you will have a mental picture based on good info. rather then what you think or assume it will be like.

I think its a nice place. I don't think the majority of areas feel dangerous - there are areas that are not safe for various reasons; I have driven through and walked through many of them.... you learn when and where things happen and how to avoid them - I think like anywhere else. Been to Cancun without incidence - thought it was nice, very touristy, nice beaches... so perhaps you were someone in Cancun I wasn't. But this is an example that our experiences differ and they will. Some will think the islands are gastly and others a paradise. US law is here. The police force functions with a high level of who you know but it functions all the same, it has its issues.

Third: You can not compare the Virgin Islands to Seattle - no way no form. Wayyyyy different places, experiences, atmosphere. Concerts as East Ender mentioned, Lucky Dube and Maxi Priest were here. I have seen Barrington Levy here, Izhak Perlman (classic violinist if you didn't know), Beris Hammond (spelling is wrong I think) he performed at Reichhold, Kassav (one of the top zouk bands in the world), saw Tito Puente, 10,000 maniacs played a street concert one year for military vessel that was in town.... most of the concerts are going to be Caribbean music though both local Caribbean artist and world famous artist of the same music. And they generally are not in big concert halls, they are either at the Center of Arts, a large base ball field or something similiar. Live entertainment here I imagine would not be as frequent as Seattle - a big city.... but it does exist here. Are you looking for something every weekend or maybe every month or two, willing to hop over to a neighboring island to see a concert... some concerts are on St. Thomas, some on St. John, St. Croix, BVI... other islands get music concerts too if you are willing to do a weekend trip. Puerto Rico gets a fair amount but you are talking about a more expensive concert when you have to travel further. If its within the Virgin Islands then its fairly easy to get too.

--Islander

haha, the rap music is extremely heavy here, I mean they should call this Compton of the East or something....

Okay, on a serious note, sure hip hop is popular here just as it is everywhere, but so are many other kinds of music. You do hear more hip hop here than on other Caribbean islands in my opinion, but dancehall and soca are still in heavy rotation on the radio and at parties. There are certainly venues that cater to the rock scene as well, and I think Off Shore in Havensight features a lot of those bands. In my short time on the islands thus far I've been to a great reggae show (Burning Spear) over at Foxy's, on Jost Van Dyke, and an excellent classical music concert at Tillett Gardens in Tutu. During Carnival Shaggy performed at one of the larger venues down here (Griffith Park); I would say that's the largest show since I've been here. The Reichhold Center at UVI also showcases some great musicians and artists in their dramatic amphitheater. There are also some great shows over on Tortola, including an annual festival during Memorial Day weekend with reggae, jazz, and other genres featured.

Interesting comment you made about people in Alaska running from something... if you haven't seen it, check out the movie Insomnia will Al Pacino and Robin Williams, it reminds me of what you're saying. Wow, shopping for clothes at Safeway, that I can't imagine. The VI certainly has Alaska beat in a number of important categories then!

Tony: I am moving this to the top (note date) so you can review some of the questions you asked and the answers that were given. The Reader's Digest version of some responses is below. As you said, 70% of the folks you initially met are/have left. Yes, high attrition rate in 3-6 months, mostly because the culture is 180 degrees from anything you can imagine. I will add that anyone who is thinking of moving here should: 1. come for a longish visit, looking seriously at the question "Can I live there?", 2. read the on-line newspapers- www.onepaper.com (The Source) and www.virginislanddailynews.com, 3. ask questions here.

Should you move here without visiting? My opinion, no. But I know of several who did and are still here. It is about your expectations. If you expect the VI to solve all your problems and make you happy all the live long day, you will be sorely dissatisfied. If you come with a good heart , patience and curiosity, you might make it.

No race riots, like anywhere else there are prejudice people but they are not the majority

add to that, that is you prepare yourself through correct planning and information then you can be realistic about the move and better prepared means you will not be as easily turned off by frustrations you might incur on island because you would have had some expectation based on good information on whats waiting for you in the islands

I don't think the majority of areas feel dangerous - there are areas that are not safe for various reasons; I have driven through and walked through many of them.... you learn when and where things happen and how to avoid them - I think like anywhere else. Been to Cancun without incidence - thought it was nice, very touristy, nice beaches... so perhaps you were someone in Cancun I wasn't. But this is an example that our experiences differ and they will. Some will think the islands are gastly and others a paradise. US law is here. The police force functions with a high level of who you know but it functions all the same, it has its issues

Well put East Ender.