Moving to St. John...(living on a boat)

You'll need a car if you will be working and anchored anywhere besides Cruz Bay.
There are many Vacation Villas that have need of maids/cleaning services and maintenance. Can't say how much construction is ongoing in STJ at this time.

Moorings may be hard to come by. You'll have to check with DPNR and the National Park Service about where you are allowed to anchor and for how long. Or if allowed to even put a mooring in place.There are rules and regs (and costs associated).

Check the bulletin boards at Conections in Cruz Bay, just up from the passenger ferry dock. You may find info there you'll need. Off season is slow (May-Nov.) but many work staff for bars and restaurants are seasonal and transitory. Most people already will have jobs lined up for high season by mid. Nov.

If you plan on living on boat year round and have insurance on the boat, you need to check if it extends thru hurricane season and allows you in islands during that period. Some don't.

Thank you Alana33.

I will look into Conections in Cruz Bay. I appreciate your input. I have read several times that finding work won't be a problem... this is good news!
I also read that I will not be able to ship my car there unless it is paid off. THIS might be a problem. I will have to investigate further.
THANK YOU AGAIN!!

As far as "island living in general" is concerned, have you read all the information here on this site? If you go to the top of this page, start from left, "The USVI overview" and you'll scroll down on each heading to find a wealth of information right at your fingertips.

About finding work not being a problem.........depends on the time of yr. you arrive.
In Jan. most places have staff in place as already into "High Season."
Have a cash stash to see you thru if you can't find an job immediately,

You car has to be paid off or lien holder won't let you ship to islands and you cannot register a car without a release (IN TRIPLICATE) from the lien holder. (get as many originals as possible)

Check with National Park Service and DPNR about anchoring and mooring as since STJ is mosty National Park there is a limit to number of days one can anchor in certain places.
Maybe someone else can address mooring issues with regards to permits if they are still allowing.

You can go here for more info on mooring/anchoring http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/more_info/marinas/ I know finding a mooring on St. John can sometimes be difficult.

Even if you can get all the things that you need to ship a car down that has a lien on it… it will cost about $2,000+/- to get it here and registered. And the island is pretty rough on cars, so if it's a nice car that you don't want to see get beat up, you might want to just sell it and look for an island car once you get here. You can get a beater for about $3k, but $6k will get you something pretty good. You probably don't need a car when you first get here. People hitchhike all over the place here. It's slower, can be limiting at times, and never is fun in the rain, but it's doable. If you want to clean villas, having a car would be a huge plus to your employer (maybe even a requirement).

Finding a job shouldn't be too difficult if you come in season. Networking gets you a long way here. When you start meeting people and putting the word out you will hear about the jobs that never get posted before they are filled. Just getting out there and giving people your resume will help a lot too. For your boyfriend, same thing applies with the networking. It's pretty easy to pick out the guys who are in the construction trade when they hit happy hour after work. He can get leads on jobs by talking with them. Having his own tools will be a major plus. And since we have a lot of masonry construction, having a hammer drill, chipper, that kind of stuff would be important along with other carpentry tools.

Go back and read other posts on this forum about relocating here. There is a ton of information to read and sort through. Good luck!

THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS!

The information on anchoring is very helpful! Along with the info about buying a car verses bringing mine. From what I am gathering.... I will have to sell mine and buy one there. Right now it has a lien on it and it is a nice car...so it would make sense to sell it here.

I am slowly getting around to see all the other topics on this site. But as one said earlier(in another post) sometimes its a bit better to get a personalized answer.
THANK YOU ALL !

While many "first time" poster feel "its a bit better to get a personalized answer" to their questions the truth is every question you have and hundreds more you haven't even thought of yet have been asked and answered scores, if not hundreds, of times on this forum. So in addition to the "personalized" responses you might get DEFINITELY DO search the archives and use the links at the top of this page to glean as much information as you can about living on in the USVI's - it will make your transition much, much easier and go a long way to preventing your DREAM of island life from turning into a NIGHTMARE!

Good luck with your relocation.

While many "first time" poster feel "its a bit better to get a personalized answer" to their questions the truth is every question you have and hundreds more you haven't even thought of yet have been asked and answered scores, if not hundreds, of times on this forum.

And even if those questions were asked and answered 10 years ago, most of the answers remain a constant and are as relevant today as they were then!