Job Transfer

You came to the right place to ask your questions. Many web sites ignore the people who want "moving" information. The people here care about you and making your possible move easier. First of all take a big breathe and let it out slowly. There is a lot of information here in the "older topics". Do a search and take a look. Order the "Settlers Handbook" , available at the top of this page. It will give you instant perspective.

Any move means big changes. This move will have more changes than most. Hurricanes, water, culture, housing,transportation...these will all requre some modification of your current assumptions. BUT It may all be worth the effort.

Your specific concerns can be addressed, but you must come down and explore before you really begin to understand.......b

There might be some condo complexes that run credit checks, but many of the places you should check out are apartments under peoples' houses. In these cases, most will ask for a deposit (maybe as much as 2 months' rent), but will probably not run a credit check. So be prepared with as much as $3-4k just for the first month's rent and deposits. But I would not be too concerned about your credit risk, at least not for this reason.

A cat might be an issue for some potential renters, although it will not limit your choices nearly as much as a dog. Still, when you're calling around, ask this question first, it may save you a lot of time.

Good luck.

Pretty much doubt also that yyou will be able to ship your car out of the country, especially being upside down! Check with your lending institution, as you will need their permission to ship the car.
Ronnie

Boy, I don't have a clue about paying for cars upside down (the ink doesn't seem to want to flow!!) I have heard of people getting unpaid cars shipped if someone gave them the title- like someone at the bank trusted them that much!

There are some condos that allow cats but not dogs- Mahogany Run comes to mind.

Since I suspect you are with an EDC company, they would have a better idea about IT jobs. That is where most of the high tech jobs are...

Yes, Ronnie, I did not think of that.

Thanks for all of the insight everyone. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

~S

Upside down means you have refinaced the car to the point where you owe more than it's worth. It makes it difficult to sell or trade then.
Rommie

Exactly. I was hoping everyone caught that. =)

Wow, I changed my name on that one! Do you think you can sell the car before you leave?
Ronnie

Well, there are a few things to consider:

If my boss is willing to pay to have it shipped then I will probably keep it.

If I sell it before I leave, then:
a.) I would owe more than it is worth
b.) I would not be able to finance another car as my credit is bad

I will have to check with my bank who financed the car to see if I will be able to ship it as they hold the title. Also check with the shipping companies as I do not hold the title. They may not be willing to ship it. I didn't even think of that situation until you mentioned it.

I would certainly hate to see an opportunity of a lifetime pass me by because I have bad credit. =(
As I've said before, I've been aggressively paying it all off for over a year now and expect to be out of debt in about a year (with the exception of the car loan - which is not and never has been in default).

~S

East Ender,

What do you mean by an "EDC company"? Please forgive my ignorance!

~S

It sounded like maybe your boss had started a company under the Economic Development Corporation rules in which the local government attempts to lure businesses and their tax money to the VI...

Sadie, the shippers wil not ship unless you have clear title or a letter from the lending institution. Maybe if your boss springing for the shipping, and you are so valuable, he will pay off the car and you pay him back instead of the bank!
Ronnie

sell the current car, take a loss, and [like most everyone else on this island does when they first move here] but one of the island beater mitsubishi mirages or '84 toyota corollas that smokes a lot, the passenger door doesnt work, only half the windows work... but at $300 you cant beat it, and dont have to borrow a penny 😉
good luck!

Thanks for all of the suggestions and insights.

~S

I requested price quotes for the car shipping. I was surprised, but it's really not that expensive. Only like $1500. I still have to contact my bank and hopefully they will release the car. My only other thought is to see if he is willing to pay off the car and deduct the payments monthly from my paycheck. It's worth a shot. I don't think selling the car and taking the loss is an option. There's no reason why this move will not allow me to maintain my lifestyle. I've worked too hard and come too far in the last couple of years to let that happen. I'll be visiting STT in 3-4 weeks. I'm stoaked!

~S

As for apartment credit checks.... not likely like everyone mentioned. Apartments here are not the typical apartment complexes like in the states... many are owned by the home owner and the apartment might be on the second or first floor of the house... many landlords request first month, last month and security deposit. You might stay in a bed and breakfast or short term rental so you can look around at places that suit you.

As for the car comments... absolutely if you enjoy driving a certain type of car no reason to change that... as for island cars... $300 I have not seen often LOL unless they are truly in deplorable shape and often might be more of a headache then really worth... many used cars are pretty pricey in conparison with what they would go for in the states. One of the those 8,9 year old Mirages might go for $3500... And if you are buying them from the owner you have to pay all up front. As for having really nice cars here... yes they will get dings anywhere (and I know someone else got commented about saying this) but cars here seem to be magnets for small damages... two days after I got a car several years ago I somehow reversed into another car, about a month later a grid over a man hole in the street was not screwed down and when my tire went over it, it flipped up and cut a big hole in my door, several days later a little girl in a car parked next to me opened the door so hard and slammed it into my car - denting it.... the next year a non-english speaking man (it really irritated me that he didn't speak english) ran into the back of the car while flying down the road (he did manage to keep saying it wasn't his fault - in english!!) then there was the day my car got covered in paint because folks accross the street decided to paint their store with one of those spray painting things and the little dots were all over the place.... ahh I was happy it was a really good looking but used car I had bought from someone who was desperately trying to sell it because they were leaving the island on short notice. Anywhoo back to the main topic... if you want a certain type of car - go for it, bring yours down if you can... or try to figure something out about selling it ... maybe use the money you were suppose to get for shipping to pay off some of it in addition to what it sells for... eekkkk or about getting the boss to pay it off??? definately don't let the car keep you back from making the move.

Good luck on your planning and with your pre-visit comng up.

I don't agree with there being lots and lots of jobs for computer folks. The university sometimes is looking for computer administrators, so does the government - which is difficult or tricky to get into... some EDC businesses on St. Croix often are looking from time to time... and there are some folks who set up their own computer assistance/help/set up/repair businesses....

--Islander

Islander,
Thanks for all the info. Especially about computer jobs. "some folks who set up their own computer assistance/help/set up/repair businesses.... " I am just wondering how difficult this would be to do and if there is a market for it. My boyfriend has several computer certifications and will be obtaining more before he leaves as he'll have to fly back into the states to do it otherwise. Do you think the market is there for it and just not a lot of computer companies? I realize these might be more detailed questions than you have the answers for. Also, someone told me to have him go to the labor board or labor pool (not sure which term is correct). In the states, one in this kind of business would not go there. Do you think this might help?

Thanks.
~S

Many of those I know that sort of do free lance work, or started their own little business.... are folks who lived here a bit and instablished themselves... made friends so word of mouth helped to spread their name and ability around to others... I think it would be some what difficult for someone who wasn't here for a little while networking to do it without heavy advertising to get the word out. The labor dept. is a good place to look because gov't jobs would be listed there, university jobs might also be there, some private businesses post their jobs there also. Many of the jobs listed are often manual labor work as I have noticed but no reason not to try there as well to see if there are any office jobs listed that he might qualify for... does't hurt to look at all the avenues.

The people that I know that did computer studies at UVI when I attended... today some work for the government, three work for UVI, two have their own little business while working a day job, a few left for the states so not sure what they are doing...

Here is what you might do so you can see what types of computer businesses exisit here... go to http://www.viphonebook.com and search the yellow pages for computers... you will see that there are only 1 and a half pages of computer stuff and 3 pages of full page ads and these few pages include dealers, networking, repair and service, software services, desginers and consultants, training.... and most of these businesses are small busiesses.

Does your boyfriend have a degree - maybe teach computer at a school - if he is interested? take up another job while networking and meeting computer folks, call up some computer businesses that are in the phone book and ask questions about what they do, market and stuff so you can get that information from people in the business.

--Islander

Great! Thanks Islander! You have been quite helpful.

~S