location location location

Not to sound smug but you are going about it backwards. This is a prime example as to why it is important to make a pre-move visit or at the very least find a temporay place to stay while you scope out jobs and accomodations that will fit your budget. The only way to insure you will be able to live within walking distance of where you work is to first have a job. There are many nice places to live and there are lots on good places to work but they might not be anywhere near each other. If one were to recommend a certain residential area there's no guarantee you'd find employment within walking distance. Keep in mind that terms like "reasonable" (especially when it come to things like rent, distances and size of accomodations) have different meaning for different people.

Since I am in the planning stages any and all information is very helpful. I do plan on doing a pre move visit of course, and am just curious as to what the different areas are like.

I was fortunate to find a studio apt within a 1.25 mile walk to Red Hook and the various Markets, Post Office and stores there, 1 mile to food center and not sure how far in miles, but could walk to Secret Harbor and a small deserted beach.

I had friends that lived at Sapphire Beach Condos who could also walk into Red Hook, and of course the beach and marina were right there.

Now, if you're talking about work at one of the hotels, sprinkled along the perimiter of the island or out by the airport you may end up with a transportation problem, unless where you find a place to live is convenient to the Safari dollar ($2) taxi. Some of the hotels on the South "side" or those near Magens are out of reach of the very prescribed safari taxi's "route". My apt was but a long couple of blocks to the safari's and this allowed me to: get into Charlotte Amalie, and the Tutu Mall for shopping there at K-Mart, Office Max, the phone company and others.

I would suggest that during your Pre-Move Visit (PMV) that you look into acquiring an island car, as you will quickly find that having one gives you needed wings that will allow you to focus on finding a job and settling in.......trust me in this, I didn't have one for my first, almost 8 months on island, and man, when I got one, it was m a g i c a l, and such freedom! Can still remember the first time I was out "after dark" and not having to worry if the safari taxis were still operating to get me home!