Moving to St. John - cell phone service?

AT&T has better coverage throughout St. John.

At&t has more coverage island wide, but they also have some strange dead zones. There are several dead zones in Cruz Bay. Sprint works well in Cruz Bay, but not as good in Coral Bay. You can roam on Sprint, but you have to make sure that you have free roaming unless you want to get hit with a huge phone bill. Both Sprint and At&t will international roam on parts of the north shore and Coral Bay...so watch out for that.

I have Sprint, and would consider At&t (because I'd like to have an iPhone!!) BUT, my store and office, both located in Cruz Bay, just a stone's throw from the ferry dock, are two of the odd 'dead zones' that I referred to.

You may want to hang on to what ever service you have now and get settled in before you decide which way to go. It would be a real bummer to get moved into a place and find out your cell phone doesn't work from home. There are also some places in Cruz Bay where Sprint doesn't work. One of them being a portion of the Gifft Hill area. The part of Gifft Hill I live in gets both At&t and Sprint.

Interesting, Julie! I haven't used Sprint in about three years. Everyone I know in Coral Bay uses AT&T (and complains mightily when their service goes out, every 6 months or so). I don't know anyone who uses Sprint and is happy with it.

I don't head out to Coral Bay too often, but when I do, I will have roaming service (I guess off of At&t towers). Sprint has good (relatively speaking!) service in the areas I frequent...Cruz Bay, Gifft Hill mostly. I guess that's why I say wait until you get here before you decide. Sprint works well for me, but I know it wouldn't be good for someone who lives/works in Coral Bay. At&t wouldn't work for me because both of my work spots (in Wharfside Village) are 'dead zones' for them. I also lived in lower Pastory for a time, and there is a Sprint dead zone there. It's not a big spot, but there is a little part of lower Pastory that doesn't get Sprint service. It's tricky!! Best to wait and see so you are stuck with a 2 year contract on a phone that doesn't work for you 🙂

Hey Julie - My iPhone works great in the kiosk and at Waterfront Bistro - I'll come test it in the store if you want when I am home next week 🙂

Pia

What about t-mobile?

What about t-mobile?

no

AT&T just bought T Mobile.

AT&T just bought T Mobile.

They have agreed to buy. It still has to go through anit-trust, SEC, and then close. So it won't be one for awhile longer.

Thanks Pia!! We can't take your iPhone on the Verace tour 😀

Thanks for the responses! I currently have Verizon, and their roaming charges are around $2 a minute. I will probably go with AT&T but 'll do a bit more research first. Now to find an apartment....

When are you moving? I know of a couple of places that are going to be open soon. What's your budget?

I'm coming down at the end of July, hoping to find a place for august 1. I'm hoping to keep my budget under 2000 including utilities.

Uh, duh! I went back and read your first post, YES end of July! You shouldn't have a problem finding a place with that budget. There are quite a few places up on the board at Connections. Definitely get here and go check them out before you sign anything or fork over any money. You should be able to find a pretty nice place for that budget. August is a good time to be looking for a place to live because a lot of people leave island around then or find new places to live. Good luck!!! Oh, the places I know about won't be open until a little later than you want.

Thanks stjohnjulie! I have been looking in the tradewinds etc too. Can you tell me where Connections is?

As you walk off of the ferry dock, just go about a block straight ahead and it is on the left. It's right across the street from the church, and diagonal from FirstBank. They have a board with things for sale, things for rent, etc. That is where most of the long term rental properties get listed. We also have one long term property management place, Scenic Properties, and you can call them at 340-693-7777 (they also list properties on the board at Connections).

Thanks so much Julie!

No problem! I was in Connections yesterday and there was a TON of stuff up on the board. So you shouldn't have a problem. The places that seem to go the quickest are the places that are in the $1000 range within walking distance to town. Hopefully you will be getting a car, because that will open your options up quite a bit.

THANKS PIAA!!! I took her cell phone on a little trip yesterday and found that 1/2 of my 400 square foot store in Wharfside Village has AT&T service, while the other 200 square feet does not. Oh, and it's a wooden structure 🙂 And my office, just behind and above where the store is has good service, that building is stone and concrete. So go figure.