Looking to relocate to St John

I am in the beginning stages of planning a move to the USVI, and am starting to look closely at ST John. I have previously lived in St Maarten, so I am somewhat familiar with island life, but any specifics in regards to StJ would be great! What areas of the island should I look at for renting an apartment ? I am looking for a studio or 1 bedroom apartment for a single person. What should I expect to pay? I am hoping to find something under 1000. Any advice in regards to employment would also be appreciated. I have bartending experience and figured I would try and find something in that area to start. Any info is good info!!

I've spent time on both St Maarten and St John, and they are just two different worlds. For one thing, the population density on St Maarten is about 30 times that on St John!

Yes, and that is one of the main reasons I am looking at St John. I have family in St Maarten, so I could easily move there, but as much as I love St Maarten I do not want to live there again. Too much going on. That being said, jobs were somewhat easy to come by, especially being lucky enough to know people there, and that is one concern I have with St John...

We're in high season now and, as difficult as it is to find a job on STJ any time of the year, it'll be harder if you're planning on coming soon as seasonal workers are all in place. You need good solid bartending skills and references to land a position. If you have marketable skills in other areas your employment prospects will be much better on St Thomas.

Unless you live and work in Cruz Bay you need a car. You may get lucky and find somewhere to live for under $1K but ...

Have you visited St John before? And if you haven't done so already you should absorb the mass of information contained in the drop-down menus top of this page.

I've been to St Maarten/St Martin many times and there's very little comparison at all other than the weather!

If you can swing it, make a PMV (pre move visit) to St Thomas/St John and spend a couple of weeks to get a basic feel for island living in this neck of the woods. Good luck!

I spent 10 days in ST Marten recently. Absolutely enjoyed the action, restaurants, grocery stores, people and anchorages.
It seemed to me as a busy place to live but I see that as a plus. Traffic jams were horrendous so I walked and biked a lot more.
Groceries and dining seem to cost 20% less than STT/STJ with much better verity of goods and products. STJ seems remote, isolated and rural by comparison.

If you can easily work in St Maarten, may I assume you are not a US citizen?

There are jobs to be had here. Usually how it goes is that you start off at someplace that wouldn't be your first choice, gain experience, local connections, and hopefully a good reputation and move on to another place that is more desirable. High Tide, Margarita Phils, two places to definitely throw out a resume and fill out an application. They always seem to be hiring and both places have a reputation for hiring newbies. But there are tons of other places you can fill out applications as well. Just fill them out everywhere and also check the board at Connections (a block straight up from the ferry dock). There will be housing, jobs, things for sale, services, posted on the board there. And if you can cook, that would be good because they always seem to be in demand here.

Finding a one bedroom for $1,000 is going to be hard. Housing this time of year is harder to come by. Good housing, even harder. A budget of $1,200-$1,500 would make it easier. Electric will be $100-$200 a month depending on what you are running and how conservative you are. Internet, cable, will be another $100-ish. Not renting in town will open up possibilities. Having a car would be ideal, but if you have the time and patience, you could hitchhike, which is a very common mode of transportation on St. John. But it isn't so convenient if you are in a rush or it is raining. Scenic Properties is the only long term management company on island, so you could start by calling them 340-693-7777.

As far as areas to live?? On St. John, pretty much anywhere is good. If you work in Cruz Bay, and you don't have a car, living in Coral Bay is not ideal. And the other way around. They might only be 8 miles apart, but travel time from one to the other is about 40 minutes and you can't rely on the bus.

I have a friend who is living part time on St. Maarten and has made the suggestion that I try it out as opposed to the USVI. I figure as a US citizen it would be harder to go to St. Maarten. I see some here who have been to or done both and are saying there are big differences. It's more rural where you are? Does that go for just STJ or for all three USVI?

I figure as a US citizen it would be harder to go to St. Maarten.

http://www.ekvandoorne.com/en/publications/882-american-dutch-friendship-treaty-us-citizen-rights-in-st-maarten

I have a friend who is living part time on St. Maarten and has made the suggestion that I try it out as opposed to the USVI. I figure as a US citizen it would be harder to go to St. Maarten. I see some here who have been to or done both and are saying there are big differences. It's more rural where you are? Does that go for just STJ or for all three USVI?

St John is where you go to die. St Maarten is where you go to make babies.

Big differences between STT and STX and STJ. STJ is definitely more "rural" than the others, mainly just because of it's smaller size and most of the island being national park. STX and STT both have their rural and urban areas. STT is more mountainous than STX so in that regard it's somewhat similar to STJ. That just means it takes a a lot longer to get from A to B. A lot more people on STX and STT than STJ.

St John is where you go to die. St Maarten is where you go to make babies.

You come up with a lot of doozies but this is a winner. There should be a disclaimer in all your posts along the lines of, " I briefly visited the US Virgin Islands and, although I give advice to potential residents, my advice and comments are for entertainment purposes only."

I have a friend who is living part time on St. Maarten and has made the suggestion that I try it out as opposed to the USVI. I figure as a US citizen it would be harder to go to St. Maarten. I see some here who have been to or done both and are saying there are big differences. It's more rural where you are? Does that go for just STJ or for all three USVI?

St John is where you go to die. St Maarten is where you go to make babies.

Well, I'm all done with that I hope.

I figure as a US citizen it would be harder to go to St. Maarten.

http://www.ekvandoorne.com/en/publications/882-american-dutch-friendship-treaty-us-citizen-rights-in-st-maarten

Thank you. Seems less difficult than some other non-US islands. Will have to read up more on this. Still leaning to USVI.

French side seem to be more exciting to live.

French side seem to be more exciting to live.

The "new rules" allowing US citizens to work in (Dutch) St Maarten don't apply to (French) St Martin.

St John is where you go to die. St Maarten is where you go to make babies.

You come up with a lot of doozies but this is a winner. There should be a disclaimer in all your posts along the lines of, " I briefly visited the US Virgin Islands and, although I give advice to potential residents, my advice and comments are for entertainment purposes only."

(tu)