Moving in January from NYC

W/O transportation, Live at the hospital.LOL.
You really should get a car. STX doesn't have a good public transportation system. Yes you might find a place that you can ride the bus to and from work, but that's about all.
Check with the hospital to see if they can arrange housing. There were some other post recently about the hospital owning some apartments.
Good luck.

I'll point out that Amanda asked about STT, whereas Terry responded about STX.

Sorry about that. I hear though that STT is as bad about needing a car.

I disagree about NEEDING a car. Its been a little while, but I worked downtown on STT for about a year w/out a car... and I lived on Water Island. If you enjoy walking and aren't intimidated by a few local cat calls (actually they're more like hisses) and you're in a well populated area (and its not dark!) then I think you'll probably be fine. I can't speak much to the best area near the hospital in which to live but I always got around pretty well without wheels. The little Safari Style taxis are always an easy and cheap ride, and if you need to get to somewhere off the beaten path or later in the evening make pals with one of cab drivers or even a gypsy driver if you're daring. The guy who used to drive me was so cool, I could always rely on him to drive me down to the dock to catch my ferry if I had to work late. So although I disagree that a car is a necessity, it will make living on the Island more safe and convenient. Most people I knew who walked/cabbed eventually gave in and bought some kind of beater (island car). Good luck, you're in for an adventure!

thanks for the responses! how easy is it to purchase a beater? how much should i expect to spend? insurance?

also, do you know where on the island the hospital is located? are there optimal places to live?

thanks again,
amanda

An island car in good running condition wil cost you about $2K and the hospital is located in Sugar Estate which is at the bottom of Raphune Hill.

If you're working at the hospital on a 3-month stay, aren't you hooked up with a travelling nurse association which offers a bunch of perks including accomodation? I can't imagine that anyone NOT working with same, not to mention bringing along the boyfriend and looking for "temporary accomodation" while seeking alternative accomodation for just a couple of months, is really real.

Cheers, dear!

Amanda - tried to respond to your email, but it got returned, so figured i would post my reply here.

Jan is a great time to be here - I'd def recommend it. Red Hook/East End is where most of the traveling RNs live - it's kinda it's own little town - grocery, bars, resturants, shops. Also on the safari route (our vesion of public transportation) which is a $1 or $2 ride into town (where the hospital is), so you'd be able to not have a car. Only draw back is that it doesn't run after dark, so depends on what shift you're working. I would not recommend living right near the hospital. Usually the traveling companies will find housing for you - either at Secret Harbor or Bolongo Bay (resorts with condo housing). Bolongo is not on the safari route - you would need a car.

Finding a house on your own I'd check the Island Trader (I think it's islandtrader.com, but you can google it with virgin islands and it should come up). There's a few temp places listed on this site, or get in contact with me a few weeks before you come; I may know people who have an extra room that you could use while looking for housing or have one myself. That's what I did when I first moved down here - actually house/dog sat for a few weeks through someone I met on the message boards 🙂

Hope it's helpful!