Moving blind to STJ with 3 cats

Read this forum, use the search feature. That will probably answer most of your questions. I remember how chaotic the last couple of weeks were before we moved. Packing and storing a three bedroom house, the e-bay, craig's list, yard sale... My number one pointer, make sure you get enough rest during this month before your move. and good luck!!

Exactly how "blind" are you planning to be on moving? Have you done a PMV? Do you have a job lined up? Are you prepared to lose all the profit you're making on the house sale very quickly or do you have other income to fall back on?

To answer your immediate questions, I can only address the pet issue. Finding a temporary place which will accommodate 3 cats would be rather akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Finding an apartment where you can have 3 cats might be a better bet as in maybe finding a pair of needle-nosed pliers in a haystack.

I'm only going on what you've said in this thread and haven't looked back on anything you've previously written but just from this thread I see a multitude of red flags based on emotion rather than practicality.

The WORST thing that any newbie can do is ship down a whole bunch of personal possessions, furnishings, whatever. Island life doesn't suit 95% of the people who move here every year. The attrition rate is huge. However, it's a bonanza for locals when newbies go daft shipping down all sorts of stuff because, when the move doesn't work out, the cost of re-shipping back to the mainland is so prohibitive that all that stuff gets sold DIRT CHEAP at house sales. 😀

If I were in your shoes I would put the house sale money in the bank, find yourself a place locally which suits you and the felines, settle in and then take the time to properly research a move to the US Virgin Islands. I wish you all the very best but caution that this isn't a move which should be undertaken without an enormous amount of research.

Here is a great tip for moving blind with three cats to STJ: Don't do it!

Put your things in storage, do a pre-move visit, and come down to find a rental that will work for you and all three cats. Plan for two weeks to a month to accomplish this.

You will be coming at the peak of high season, so expect to pay a large premium for whatever you do rent. If you sign a year lease, you will not be able to look for something cheaper come this summer.

Once you have a place, go back for the critters and to ship the basics of what you can't live without. (Many rentals here come furnished, so you likely won't need much.)

OK, obligatory advice dispensed. Now, if you are determined to go ahead anyway:

Call the Westin and see what they say about the cats (and let us know!). Sometimes lodgings that allow dogs won't allow cats due to allergy issues.

Here are a couple of cat-friendly rentals on STJ from Craigslist:
http://virgin.craigslist.org/apa/2728891558.html
http://virgin.craigslist.org/apa/2728881981.html

The second one is actually a pretty decent place; I've seen it in person. If you can arrange a short-term lease there, it might work very well for your needs.

Good luck!

Another tip for bringing cats here -- make sure that in addition to the required rabies and distemper vaccines, they also have feline leukemia shots and heartworm prevention medication. You may need to have them tested for heartworm before putting them on the preventative. The FeLeuk may be optional if they will be 100% indoors and never escape. The heartworm prevention is not a good idea to skip, as mosquitoes are everywhere and heartworm is a big problem here. More common in dogs than in cats, but it still happens.

I think FDR and Old Tart have given you remarkably good information. I went back and skimmed your earlier posts, that go back over 3 years. No where did I see that you have spent any time in the Virgin Islands. To me that is one of the most important things to do, it it doesn't guarantee that you will stay, but it gives you a better idea what to expect. There is something about living here for a while, going to the store, soothing your 'bug' bites, spraying for crawly creatures, dealing with the island way and paying huge electric bills that you can't understand unless you have done it.

The best scenario in my opinion would be to (as they have said) store your stuff, get someone to watch your pets, come on over now for at least a month. You will be glad you did it that way.

Wow! Now I fully understand the complaints from others about how unhelpful and discouraging this forum can be. Perhaps it is the use of my word 'blind' which immediately has people jumping to conclusions about me and my situation. By blind I mean 'I do not have a job lined up nor housing' -- because it is my understanding that both of these are nearly impossible (and unwise) to do remotely.

I have been reading these forums daily through RSS for 3 years and doing other research. I feel I have a good idea of expenses, lifestyle, corruption, insects, poisonous trees, potholes and farm animals in the roads, crime, and cultural attitudes. I know I am going to have huge electric bills: I've run the actual numbers per KwH of my bills. I know people will suck their teeth at me (though no one has yet that I have ever noticed.) I don't expect to camp on the beach and pick my breakfast from the trees while living on mana from heaven.

I have been to STJ and STT and have been on a PMV doing PMV activities and even looked at real estate with a generous agent who was willing to show someone properties all over STJ even though I made it clear I was not ready to buy at that time.

I am not making an emotional decision (well, maybe it is emotional as any chosen change of location is, but its not spur of the moment emotion.) I have been seriously weighing this choice for 5 years, dreaming of it for 10. Now the stars are aligned to make it reasonable to do, if not ideal due to the move falling on high season and the fact I have pets I'm not willing to toss on the streets. I also know that for me the only way to know if I'll like living somewhere is to -live- there and let the irritations build up over the years. I have safety padding money in case it turns into a nightmare and I have to get out NOW abandoning everything in my wake and to serve as funds to tide me over during a potentially long job search in economic down times.

What is really disappointing to me is that in all the common sense discouragement, no one addressed my specific questions about Flemming or VICargo/CaribeTrans. I was also hoping for some insider non-advertised information about who takes pets on STJ for the month or two I'd be housing hunting. After the responses I'm left feeling there is no point in posting and I'll just return to lurking.

I am left with one last glimmer of hope for the help -- Thank you fdr for reminding me about heartworm, it is not an issue where I currently live and I made a note to make sure to talk about it with my vet.

Good afternoon artifact,

I'm glad to hear you have done our homework and have the necessary funding. It will make it easier.

If you consider my post to be unhelpful, sorry. It's likely more help than you will find anywhere else. It is not an easy thing to move here with three cats when you don't know anyone or already own property. My post is as insider-y as anybody off island could hope to find.

It is very tough as a newcomer with animals to find a rental. I did it by coming down without my cats beforehand. If the Westin doesn't allow cats, and you can't find or afford a couple of weeks at a villa rental that does, the only other option would be to stay at a hotel on St. Thomas while you are looking for housing, which would be a long commute. There are no secrets we're keeping from you; it's just really difficult to do what you want to do!

I've not used any of the cargo services, so I can't address those questions. But we are not very "stuff"-oriented down here -- whatever you are bringing, you probably won't need or even use more than a third of it. You may not believe it now, but it happens to almost everyone who ships a container!

If you are interested in that second apartment link, send me a PM -- it really might be a good option for you to get started.

Good luck to you!

Good afternoon, artifact,

I too wish you good luck and am sorry that the time and trouble I took to respond to you was met with such negativity. Another good example of "no good deed goes unpunished"!

It's been almost 30 years since my belongings were shipped here so I'm not able to be of help where that question is concerned although there are many others with up to date experiences who will no doubt chime in at some point. And I know of nobody either on STT or STJ who will take on three cats either temporarily or permanently. I recently moved with four felines in tow and, despite my general good standing in the community, it wasn't at all easy to find a place which would accept them. Cheers.

Welcome & Good luck with your move to St. John!

I researched a lot before moving down via this helpful message board and sense of the feel of the island I had during a PMV and many vacations to Stt.

I realized the old furniture I had in the states was not worth shipping down and also most of the other "stuff" I collected over the years. So I had a yard sale and what I didn't sell I put in an aution house to sell for me for extra money to have for my nest egg. Other items family or friends wanted, I gave to them for free. And the rest left over was donated to my favorite charities.

As fdr said, we are not "stuff" oriented. So, stuff that I knew I needed, I packed in boxes and shipped via USPS and used my baggage (filled right to 50lb. mark).

When I arrived I bought a few new furniture items and went to yard sales for good buys for stuff that I needed for my place and Kmart sales sure came in handy. As the years go by my place is filling up with some odds & ends, but nothing fancy at all. It's comfortable for me.

I made the same mistake as Captain Jay, in a way. I wasn't going to ship my car down. I looked & looked for a pretty decent car and it just wasn't happening. So, I shipped it down & don't regret it. I know my car. I used Crowley. It worked out. Being your from Oregon, I would look into them, cause they ship out of New Jersey, which is closer to you than Florida, if you decide to ship.

Sorry, I have no experience with shipping a cargo container and with moving with animals.

I hope you find this post somewhat helpful. You did receive good advice according to the title of your post. Maybe some were confused with the "Blind" and gave advice with that in mind. JMHO

Good Luck & Welcome 🙂

artifact I wish you the best of luck, and your little monsters. (I have 3 cats too)

What has been said about a lot of people not making it more than one year living down there is true. Be careful of what you ship - for instance, if I had something dear to me, say pictures, I would rather have someone stick them in their attic up in the states. Seriously, all the 8mm film we had from years of vacations were destroyed by the climate on the islands. The climate is very harsh on everything - it is even worse than salt covered roads up in the north east during the winter.

artifact I wish you the best of luck, and your little monsters. (I have 3 cats too)

What has been said about a lot of people not making it more than one year living down there is true. Be careful of what you ship - for instance, if I had something dear to me, say pictures, I would rather have someone stick them in their attic up in the states. Seriously, all the 8mm film we had from years of vacations were destroyed by the climate on the islands. The climate is very harsh on everything - it is even worse than salt covered roads up in the north east during the winter.

I did the same thing. Important items that I knew the weather down here would ruin, I left in the states with a relative. So when I visit them, I get to visit my stuff too...lol.

artifact,
Sorry this thread isn't all you were looking for, but you put up your post, and you take your chances.....BTW, I haven't seen anything inappropriate with any of the responses you have received. All good advice.

Regarding shipping companies, I know that Flemming is still in business, but I don't kow specifically about car expediting. Have you called them? Also, as far as I know, VI Cargo is up and running. Again...a phone call to them will verify that.

http://www.viphonebook.com . This may be helpful.

Moving to the VI with pets is certainly doable, but will be a little tougher to find a place to take 3 cats. Again, as has been suggested, if you can come without the cats, find a place that is suitable, then bring the cats, that's good advice. Something that has not been suggested yet that may be helpful...perhaps you could arrange with a vet/boarding facility on STT or STJ to board the cats for a week, while you find a place. It may take more than a week, too.

Good luck!

Good thought, Linda! Our new pet boarding facility should be open by then. If not, though, there is no pet boarding facility on STJ -- would have to find something on STT. Of course, that's definitely not an ideal transition for the cats, especially for the two being shipped as cargo (since animals in an airline cabin are limited to one per passenger, at least two will be going that way if artifact is traveling alone).