Island Living

Hello All,
It is interesting to me to see all the posts about living in the VI. The only single truth that I can find is that everyone has an opinion. There are so few people with the same description of living in the VI. I have one thing I would like to say on the subject. Generalizing is never a good idea. When people are talking about the local people and how they act, their attitudes, the way they live, etc. - it make me think a little harder about trying to be more accepting of people - even the ones with opinions of the local people. My point is this: no two people are exactly alike (even twins!) and locals who have lived on this island have a few similarites, but no two locals are exactly alike. If you find yourself saying that all locals are rude then maybe it isn't the locals but rather your own attitude. Just as true if you say all locals are friendly - most likely you feel that way because you have a good attitude. Either way, you cannot assume that all locals are the way you have perceived a few to be - just as you cannot assume that any group of people in the world are a certain way. If you want to live in the VI and be happy, you either adapt to the world around you or you don't. One of my personality traits is to be a very adaptable person. I do hope that I like living in the VI, but I firmly believe that life is what you make of it. If I don't like the VI, it won't be because of the people, but rather my expectations may have been skewed. No matter where you are in the world - people are people. The environment may be different and certain 'rules' of etiquette may vary, but still people are just people. I don't think I could ever adapt to a country that has a goverment that doesn't let me have my freedom, but having that experience may make any inconvienence I have in the VI meaningless. If living in the VI didn't agree with you then maybe it was because you couldn't meet your comfort level, which is okay. I hope you do find a place that does. If I leave the VI it will probably be because I couldn't earn enough money to live on.
Well, sorry to get so philosophical. I am not perfect and I don't aim to be, but I do want to be a better person and have many wonderful experiences in my life. My attitude has a lot to do with being happy or not. Much less than my environment does. However, I find it much easier to have a good attitude when I am in a place that is warm compared to snow and ice. I wish everyone well on their life journey. Hopefully they find that the time they spend in the VI to be wonderful no matter how long. Not too many places on this earth that I have found to be this beautiful, but that is just my opinion.
Teresa