I Want to Move to USVI

You have two huge resources here at your fingertips. Top of the page drop-down menus with tons of great information; and the search engine where, if you type in something along the lines of, "move to usvi with children" you'll find links to pages of threads on the subject which cover the questions you've asked.

Briefly, looking for a job before moving here is a thankless task. Employers aren't interested in people who aren't yet living here as so many think about it with few actually ever making the leap.

The public schools have their ups and downs and many newcomers opt for private schooling which is available on both main islands and which is expensive.

Health care is a huge consideration. There is currently no affordable individual health insurance available here and the territory doesn't subscribe to the Affordable Health Care Act.

Being without a car on any of the islands is really not doable. Public transportation isn't dependable and only runs limited routes. We have school bussing but not in all areas.

Good luck with the researching!

You're going to need a car, no matter what island you choose, especially with kids so put that in your budget.

Thank you for your responses. i have spent a significant amount of time in Jamaica and never had a car. im pretty use to limited bus routes and living within local communities. i will definitely not be using private schools. i really want to be living mostly where locals are living. its my preference but of course i need to think about access to work. Can anyone tell me about what St. John is like?

With all due respect, the experiences you have living elsewhere may not transfer to living here. Adaptability is key to moving anywhere new but making assumptions based on an expectation of similarity usually leads to disappointment. In any event, as has been stressed continuously on this forum, making a PMV (pre-move visit) is essential particularly when children and schooling are involved so you can get a first-hand glimpse of what living here is all about.

St John is the smallest and most expensive of the three major islands with the greater portion managed by the National Park Service. You'll find a description of all the islands in the first drop-down menu top of this page.

Your questions make it clear that you've never been to the USVI's. They are far different than Jamaica and California so you'd be wise to make what we call a Pre-Move Visit (PMV) to each of the islands in order to get a feel for the differences before you actually move. By the way, there are three main islands, not 2 as you alluded to in your initial post. St. Thomas is the most populated and has the most job opportunities, St. Croix is more rural and St. John is the least populated, the most expensive island and the one with the least number of job opportunities.

You'll definitely need a car to get around unless you live very close to where you end up working. Public transportation is not at all like you found in Jamaica.

Just so you know, unless you reside in one of the few high end gated communities (and I'm guessing those will be out of your budget range) no matter where you live you'll be "living where locals live".

As Old Tart said, finding employment before you move here is extremely difficult, if not impossible unless you have a very unique skill that is in very high demand (think brain surgeon). Administrative Assistants, staffing agency recruiters, secretaries, clerical worker positions, food service workers, bartenders, etc. are filled by people already on island - and there're lots of them looking and more coming everyday so competition is strong.

Keep in mind that wages here are probably going to be less than they are for comparable positions where you now live in California and living expense will be higher than you are use to paying "back home". That's the Catch-22 of living and working in the Caribbean.

Good luck following your dream!

If you decide on STJ to attend public schools past 6th grade will require a ferry ride to STT and you will have to live in Cruz Bay proper to have no car.

As Exit Zero points out, one of the drawbacks for kids on St. John is that at a certain point, they have to go to St. Thomas for public school. Julius E. Sprave school is a k-8th grade school. After that, kids have to make the trek to St. Thomas for public high school. We have one private school that goes through high school, Gifft Hill School, but it can cost $14,000 plus a year per student.
Public transportation on St. John is very spotty, and having a car when you have two kids is probably going to be a necessary unless you feel like trying to hitchhike all of the time. There are also less job opportunities on St. John. Clerical jobs don't tend to pay a lot, and there ones that seem to come up pay even less.
You will want to make sure you look into health care. If your employer her doesn't offer it, you aren't going to get it. Even if you do get it, most of the plans I've seen are expensive and not all that great. It's an ongoing challenge for us unfortunately. On St. John, we have limited facilities as well. One clinic, a handful of private, but for anything serious or specialized, you have to go to St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, or somewhere in the states.
Like Old Tart suggests, read, read, read, the other posts on this site. Even most of the older info still applies. Happy researching!

Bring $60K for set up and school for your kids. Working from home while employed on island - highly unlikely. If you can work remotely for a stateside based company, that is more realistic. I work from home, I have my own design biz but it would never support two kids. It supports my travel addiction at least lol.

You should schedule a PMV asap or spend the next 5 years researching. As OT mentioned I would start with the drop downs menu. I would also search "private schools" "PMV" and "how much money". Every single question you have can be answered by searching the forum. So much great info here but it takes a little legwork.

You need a car. Period.

FWIW I met a fairly recent transplant (6 mo) and her two kids. The kids hate it here and they said the school makes them feel like they're not getting the education they would get in the states. They were 10 and 14 it was interesting perspective - pretty smart kids too. Personally, I love it here. I cant even imagine living anywhere else. I did a PMV - researched and had a 4 inch binder with information that I accumulated (I'm a bit OCD) and brought 10K which was gone in 2 months for cars, rentals, groceries, household goods. Still here 3 years later. Lived on STT and now STX but prefer STT. I could not live in STJ although I have great friends there and love to visit for the day.

If you can get a job with ICMC you will have health insurance and tuition for your children.;)

Thanks for all the advice. 😉

East Ender what is ICMC?

Mexicana,

ICMC is the company, International Capital & Management Corporation. I had several clients (when I lived on STT) who worked for them and enjoyed their jobs/careers. Icmcvi.com is their web address.

My tenants relocated to work for them.
That was 4 years ago and they're still here.
Good company and corporate sponsors for many events.

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