Moving Questions for a poor person

About the comment that he might be on drugs and trying to get away from them...I have never heard of a serious drug addict that has two grand saved up. If that is the case it's probably just a little bud that some adults freak out about.

I take it that Chris didn't move here "in about a week" as he/she has not posted about it ?

You're 22 and have $2000 to your name, and your uncle is giving you a plane ticket so you can go work as a waiter for six months on an island where you don't know anybody and will blow through your life savings. --If my 22 yr old approached me with that plan and my brother offered to pay for her plane ticket, I'd kill him.

I hope this nice uncle will also take them in when the prodigal returns broke and tan.

Chad,
A trac-fon is a brand name for a pre paid disposable phone. The idea is simple in that one can be purchased at, say, Wal-mart, activated online where a fon # is assigned based on where you intend to use it, and minutes purchased, at again say Wal-mart, as you need them. No roaming, no contract. You have a reliable, cheap fon that can be used as an emergency fon once you become established - keep it in the glove box.

That being said, may I have the honor of offending an inordinate # of posters by offering a valid yet chauvinistic (ie "gentlemanly") piece of advice/caution? Regardless of modern conventions, women crave, instinctively, to nest. They seek a mate that can provide for their security and that of their children. You are proposing bringing a young woman, unseasoned by the hardships of life, to a rock in the middle of the ocean where pay is low and costs are high. You are doing this during a worlwide economic downturn with the only safety net for this woman being your uncle...another man...not you. Dude, you're begging to have this girl drop you like a rock for some hunky Carribean stud that will save her from her shortsighted penniless boyfriend. Crassly put: Ro-mance without Fi-nance is a Nu-sance.

Chad, I'm off island at the moment, so when I say "we", well, I just mean "we". We want you to come down and discover that life is tragic like a hurricane or a theft, but beautiful like neighbors rebuilding or moving slow and loving it. We don't want tragedy in life, so we stridently urge pre-move-visits. It hurts us to see people build us up as a Utopia (which translates "nowhere") and find out that we are as human as anyone, and then leave angry. That's not what we're about.

It's only a six month adventure, but if planned and executed properly it could be the turning point in your life. Go prepare the way for your future bride by taking the stand to never willingly put her in jeapordy. If you are adventuring, then you are still defining yourself; man doesn't begin to become a man till he has had his heart ripped out and stomped on - and survives...but that's your lot, not hers.

This advice is free, so, take it for what it's worth.

From a fellow adventurer who left the island to find his bride...may your travels find you in warm waters.

Neil, yes he has arrived. I saw a post in the classifieds from him yesterday. You sound like you don't have an adventurous bone in your body. Too worried about growning up too quickly. 22 is still young. I'm 26 and about to move there very soon. Lighten up and live a little. Geez. You can't live your kids lives for them..

You sound like you don't have an adventurous bone in your body. /quote]

How could you have an adventurous bone in your body? If such a bone existed, it clearly would've fled the body years ago to go off on an adventure. 😉

 

Nice Scremped. Metaphor I'm sure you know

onionhead, maybe his bride-to-be puts adventure above finances, I know I did at 22.

CHRIS!!!
GO FOR IT!!!! As soon as I graduated from college, I saved money, bought a ticket and moved to the VI. My college roommate was there so I stayed with her about a week before I found a place. Called La CASA LOCO...in STX!! a rooming house where we shared a bathroom. I LOVED IT!!! Met awesome cool people worked as a bartender, waitress, teacher you name it I did it. Also traveled to other islands and did "Yachet Sunday" every sunday. I stayed for about a year and a half then came home to the states and have been a "little school teacher" for 23 years. single mom two boys, tough last few years. BUT ........I am so glad that I did it when I did! I did not feel trapped with my kids or job because I flew when I had the freedom to do it. I played on many islands and the memories make me smile everyday. My theme song when I get stressed is THREE LITTTLE BIRDS...it brings me back! Speaking of back..........
I plan on STX for my 50th B day...Hotel on the CAY!!! June 26-July 1..........................
Go for it!!! Don;t look back!!!
do it while you can
(and then move on to a real job) LOL

TracFone is a prepaid relatively cheap mobile phone. I buy one when I go back to the US for visits of more than a few weeks rather than use my more costly European model with its expensive roaming charges.

Chris, I'm also from MN, although I've been living in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia for the past 6 years. You are getting excellent advice from our frines in this forum. Maybe I will see you when I'm in STT in February.

Neil, yes he has arrived. I saw a post in the classifieds from him yesterday. You sound like you don't have an adventurous bone in your body. Too worried about growning up too quickly. 22 is still young. I'm 26 and about to move there very soon. Lighten up and live a little. Geez. You can't live your kids lives for them..

"Don't have an adventurous bone in your body?" "Lighten up?" "Live a little? "
Hmmmmm ...Let me think about that from my FREAKIN BEACH CHAIR today. 😀

Seriously brooking, when you can pay for your OWN plane ticket here and back -that's an adventure.
Letting your uncle pay for your plane ticket to a six month vacation is living "a little" off of someone else. Add to this that the $2000 will be gone in a month, and some might say that's not exactly "growing up" as you say.
Nice work if you can get it.

Don't want to get into a pissing match with you brooking, as I'm sure you're a great person.
Just pointing out that there's a different perspective here as well.

Agreed, everyone has an opinion

curran17, you are so right. I'm somewhat of an adventure junkie, and I've travelled all my life. Now things are a little boring, but I have so many good memories and absolutely no regrets about what I have done. I always joke with my friends that one day when I'm back home and sitting in the nursing home recalling stories of my life, people will probably just think I'm crazy or lying or something!

P.S: NugBlazer, you sound exactly like my uncle right now! He has always been an adventure seeker and kind of my life guru if that makes any sense. I am not doing this for him though. This is my idea. He just supported me by helping me with the plane ticket as well as giving me a nudge in the right direction (well I hope it's the right direction anyways).

You have a great uncle. He is doing right by you. And, FWIW, I live in Minneapolis half the year, so I TOTALLY hear you on the cold thing. 😉

Uh, nugblazer where are the naysayers on this thread???

Uh, Trade, read the first two responses in the thread. Phrases like "That's not a lot of $$." and "From where I sit, it does not seem possible." don't exactly sound like ringing endorsements, you know what I mean? And, additionally, I was refering all the people who are NOT on this board whom may be trying to dissuade him.

Uh, Nugblazer, $2000.00 ISN'T a lot of money to move here but in your hurry to find something to complain about you obviously didn't read the rest of what I said namely,

You can live on a waiter's pay but will likely need more than 1 job. You could stay reasonably in somewhere like www.villafairview.com but most other places will require first, last month's rent & security & if utilities aren't included you'll need to pay deposits for those.

It can be done for sure - arrive - get a place for a week - cheap - get a job!! - network yourself into a roommate scenario - save money - bum rides - get an island car - save money - get a better living situation - find a better job or a second job part time - don't party til dawn - keep your nose clean - save money - get into your own apartment - get a better island car - after a year or so you have a good overview of what you might want to do here or you decide the island is not for you and you go to the airport and chalk it all up to experience.

I think what all of us "naysayers" are trying to put across is, that with only $2,000, it will not be all beach and beer.

Please do us all a big favor and let us know how it works out. Often we here the beginning of the moving story and not the end. Good luck.

Nugblazer, please... you selected a portion of my post, but left out the rest. Please permit me to quote:

A Davis
You can either save more $$$ (at least 6-10K to be comfortable) before coming, or stay with someone so you don't have to worry about living expenses. But, with your adventurous spirit and the little safety net your uncle has given you, I can see you moving forward with your plans to come here, and either getting on famously by lucking into a decent, small apartment and a gig (high season is about to start, so higher demand for service personnel) ... or not, and going home with lots of good memories and the possibility of another, more strategic move later (or not)...

You're young! Won't rain on your parade. And as you will find when you get here, "rain don't stop the carnival"...

If we leave out the reality, we are not helping the young man, and that's what he came here for.