Moving to St Croix

you are on the right forum.

are you asking about daily life?

people generally try to live close to where they work. some people like west better some east. i live in town and i do like it except at night . too bright lots of noise also with the dogs and chickens

read some of the past posts that talk about crime, health, schools, electricity, shopping,

after you read some of the back posts come back and ask some more detailed questions.

plenty of community groups will welcome more involved members - as retired teacher and mental health professionals you will both find worthwhile areas to put your energy.

Rent what kind of place that will give you a peaceful lifestyle and take your time looking around before you commit long term - furnished or unfurnished is a big criteria - location, breeze,view, beach etc. are all good considerations to keep in mind while looking.

Having a car is a necessity.

Are some homes furnished?? We would be looking for a furnished place. Is it easy to buy a car there??
Sharon

Yes, some homes, both rentals and sales, are furnished and some are unfurnished.

New and used cars are no more difficult to buy on St. Croix then where you now live. All you need is money. The only difference is you'll pay more for a car on STX then you would if you purchased a comparable car "back home".

You may want to consider PMV or short term rental before investing in car or long term rental commitment. This will also give you a better idea of where you want to live. Stay in a vacation rental for a month. You will have to stay somewhere before signing a lease, you definitely don't want to sign any lease without physical property inspection.

Scubadoo is right

Thanks. That's good info. What about pets? Could we bring them to the vacation rental with us? Also I've heard a lot about cisterns. Do most rentals have them? Due to rainfall etc is it better to live in the west rather than east side?

I've also been hearing about checking out different parts of the islands before renting. Do people mind sharing some of their views of different areas? I've seen some maps where St Croix is divided into like 6 different "areas".
Sharon

Just read some concerns about St Croix debt and what comes next. Could anyone fill me in on this topic? I wasn't able to find more info on the question.
Sharon

Thanks. That's good info. What about pets? Could we bring them to the vacation rental with us? Also I've heard a lot about cisterns. Do most rentals have them? Due to rainfall etc is it better to live in the west rather than east side?

Lots of places are pet friendly, check ahead though.

a Cistern is manditory for any structure built on STX.. so every building should have one.

The west end certainly gets more rain & is more of a "local" area, the east end is drier and more like suburbia.

The island is divided east/west by the major town Christiansted (or close enough anyway).

You'll have to drive around and feel out the areas, ask some locals... there's a lot of different types of areas to live in, gated community, neighborhood, hill in the rainforrest, fenced neighborhood near the projects etc....

Just read some concerns about St Croix debt and what comes next. Could anyone fill me in on this topic? I wasn't able to find more info on the question.
Sharon

Government is out of money and can't borrow more by it's normal channels. Not sure how much it will affect us normal people though.

Is there any public transport or will we need to get a car right away?

Pretty much get a car right away. Maybe a rental at first. Very limited public buses and expensive taxis.

Not sure who is answering my questions but where do you live? What do you like about St Croix?
Sharon

Everybody will have different answers. We are mid-island on the beach.

The beach. The diving. The sun. The people. The climate. The views. The food. The rainforest. The fishing. The boating. Jump-up. The rum. More mangoes in July then you know what to do with. Not too heavy on the tourists (we could use a few more actually) Did I say diving?

You won't typically hear simple life, lower cost of living, hurricanes, droughts, free range chickens, or Sahara dust though. America's paradise is not utopia and not cheap.

Is there any public transport or will we need to get a car right away?

public transportation on STX is pretty spotty.. a car is necessary (rental or otherwise).

What do you like about St Croix?
Sharon

Finally feel like an adult, the cops never mess with anyone and actually seem like a "mostly" positive influence.

Everyone is friendly.

It's always summer.

It's not crazy like hawaii or STT, it's a very low key place... there's little to no "keeping up with the joneses" here (aka competitive consumerism).

I've looked some for rentals. For a fairly nice place will we need to pay more than 1000.00?

It's not crazy like hawaii or STT, it's a very low key place... there's little to no "keeping up with the joneses" here (aka competitive consumerism).

Ha! Comparing STT to Hawaii is stretching a bit just because we do have more tourism 3 -4 months out of the year! Get over it!

We current.y live in central Oregon on the edge of a desert. I've heard East St Croix is a desert and more like surburbia?? I think we might like the west end. Are there specific "neighborhoods" we should look at? Any info on prices of rentals 2 beds one bath at least.
Thanks
Sharon

The east end is certainly more arid than west so relatively speaking is more desert like than the west end. But east is no Sahara or Sonora either. As LF said more locals in mid-island and west, and also more shopping, business/commercial. East end is almost all residential, upper end, villas, condos, a marina, no housing projects, lower density suburbia.

All these questions are why a PMV is important. No one here can describe a feeling to you and we all have different feelings about locations on island... and even different feelings about the islands themselves.

I always suck teeth when people mention STT being busy. Usually Cruzans that spent a few hours in CA on a 5 ship day 😉

LF: LMK when you and the wife wanna pop over... I will show you the real STT. 😉 Once you get out of town and north or south, its' very much like STX... just with a hell of a lot better views!

St Thomas is nearly a third of the size of St. Croix but has a higher population.
(before a single cruise ship is in port)

All these questions are why a PMV is important. No one here can describe a feeling to you and we all have different feelings about locations on island... and even different feelings about the islands themselves.

I always suck teeth when people mention STT being busy. Usually Cruzans that spent a few hours in CA on a 5 ship day 😉

LF: LMK when you and the wife wanna pop over... I will show you the real STT. 😉 Once you get out of town and north or south, its' very much like STX... just with a hell of a lot better views!

Tell them, Adrienne!
They have no clue!;)

St Thomas is nearly a third of the size of St. Croix but has a higher population.
(before a single cruise ship is in port)

But other than downtown on a ship day and weekends in red hook it doesn't feel like there are more people. It also takes about the same time to drive the island as STX because it so steep and hilly so it also "feels" similar in size. North, south and way east are great, just like STX IMO... especially north. I find myself alone on beaches in STT way more than STX, of course I'm not talking about Coki or Megan's lol. Actually our first Christmas here we had Magen's all to ourselves for half the day. Was kinda post apolyptic feeling as I had a beach view of Magen's from our house and I always watched the crowds shift like ants. Coki is glorious on Sunday mornings in August.

They both have pros and cons but I do get annoyed when people who haven't been out of CA... or even BEEN to STT talk about it without experiencing it. Even worse when they refer to it as New York. *-)

Isn't St Thomas much more expensive to live?

Isn't St Thomas much more expensive to live?

More then STX, I don't know about much more.