Moving to STJ in two weeks

Good morning Jeremy,

All of this will fall into place for you quickly when you are on island. Unless you have a good local connection, there really isn't much you can do until you arrive. I understand you're excited, but unfortunately this part of the journey just requires patience.

Day one on island, go to Connections and start calling everywhere you see advertised for apartments, Jeeps, etc. Having a local callback number will help, so if you don't have a local number for your cell, consider getting a GoPhone with a local number.

Go in person to the watersports outfits, armed with your resume, and ask how to apply.

Then, start your networking. Pick a few places to hang out where you feel comfortable, don't get too drunk, and be friendly with everyone you meet. St. John is small and everyone will know who you are before long, so make a good first impression.

Many, many people start arriving for season this time of year, and there are so many flakes every year that plan to come down and don't show up, that it's really hard for a newbie to make arrangements to do these things from off island. Once people know you and have verified that (a) you do more good than harm and (b) might stick around for a little while, you'll get a lot of help.

Good luck to you!

Hi Jeremy,

FDR has good advice. However, I have been here for 3 months and don't have a local phone number. It hasn't been a problem. About half the people I know have stateside numbers. I wouldn't worry too much about getting an additional phone.

Good luck!

It's true, it's not a problem for most transplants, who generally tend to hang out with other transplants. If you manage to become friends with some long-time or bahn-heah residents (or want to rent an apartment from them), you might find they do not call back stateside cell phone numbers, as it costs money to do so from a landline and not everyone has a cell (or has cell service at their house).

More subtly, a stateside cell number is often taken as a sign of somebody who is not really a part of the community, no matter how long they have lived here. I know quite a few people with stateside numbers who have lived on STJ for years, but it usually is NOT their only phone number.

More subtly, a stateside cell number is often taken as a sign of somebody who is not really a part of the community, no matter how long they have lived here.

I would like to second this statement. You are either on-island or off-island...

I guess I'll get rid of my Yankees cap too then. Wouldn't want to offend anyone.

There are a lot of Yankee fans here. I believe you are either missing the point or you forgot to put a 😉 in your post.

Don't some islanders call statesiders "yankee"? I heard it in passing.

Yankee's are the ones that think saying yes mam or no sir is an insult instead of a sign of respect. 😉

Yankee's are the ones that think saying yes mam or no sir is an insult instead of a sign of respect. 😉

(tu)(tu)(tu)

beachcomber: There are the freshwater yankees, locals who move to the states and learn "to yank" -to speak 'merican dialect. But the NY Yankee baseball team is what I was talking about.

Yankee is a term used for stateside black continentals. Continentals are those from the states, So if one says continental, they are usually referring to a white statesider. If they say Yankee, they are referring to stateside black person. A freshwater Yankee is one of us that has moved away and when back sound like the real ones.

Now as the Yankees baseball team. Lots of fans here. Goes back to where everyone was either a Dodger or a Yankee because those were the only two teams you could listen to on radio. One station had Yankee baseball and the other Dodgers. With the advent of Turner,(WTBS), Atlanta Braves became the preferred team of Dodger fans as they were able to see all the games.

East Ender: I knew you we're talking about the baseball team 🙂 because I am a fan of that team and so are some of my local friends.

I just heard the term in passing and Ronnie explained and cleared that up for me. Thanks, Ronnie.

I also heard what you said "to yank", "yank", "yankin" - speaking in Stateside dialect/English.
And "yankeefy" (sp) - an islander that moved to the states for a long time then moved back to the islands and now use many stateside qualities.

G'day,

May I interject a smidgeon?

I thought yankees are those who live north of the Mason - Dixon line and, especially, New Englanders.
I am not an historian, I might add and you might have guessed.... 😀

Swans,

Yes, you are right about your definition of yankees, but that is concerning American History. I'm talking about local dialect.
Some Southeners still call the Northerners yankees. Just like Granny on "The Beverly Hillbillies", some Southerners think the Civil War is still going on. 😉

🙂 Just for fun and kind of cute, I found that White may have added a bit more toward the historical side of "Yankee" in his writing of the following:

A humorous aphorism attributed to E. B. White summarizes these distinctions:

To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.
To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.
To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner.
To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.
To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.
And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast.

some Southerners think the Civil War is still going on. 😉

Beach, surely y'all are referring to the War of Northern Aggression? 😉

More subtly, a stateside cell number is often taken as a sign of somebody who is not really a part of the community, no matter how long they have lived here. I know quite a few people with stateside numbers who have lived on STJ for years, but it usually is NOT their only phone number.

I was just commenting on this. You don't wear your cell number on a hat.;)

No, you don't. But when you go to give your number to someone, they might say "oh" if it's a stateside number. And then not call it. And then you wonder why they're not calling you. That's why.

What do the New York Yankees have to do with the southern states and the civil war etc? And, if someone won't speak to you because of your phone number, then they're not worthy of your friendship.

WGAF, you can keep your stateside cellphone number and get one of those cheap cellphones (to Go, etc.) where you don't need a contract, for a local phone number for jobs interviews and for anything that deals with local business.
You can give "soon to be friends" your stateside cell #. A lot of plans now have free mobile to mobile or something like that. Or unlimited texting.

I was just asking about local dialect, which was answered by Ronnie and EE. I did add into the other posts, which I should've not written. My mistake, because I am not a historian or even a history buff. Sorry. Have a good day y'all 🙂

No worries. Just my 2 cents.

And, if someone won't speak to you because of your phone number, then they're not worthy of your friendship.

WGAF: From what I can gather you don't live in the USVI, and apparently have only had one relationship with a business in the USVI that ended rather poorly. So, let me try to break this down for you. Most businesses and all Government Offices use land lines that limit local calls to the USVI. If you expect a call-back from any of them, and you have other than a 340 area code, you will get ZIP / NADA not gonna happen.

You are thinking in terms of friendship based contacts, which would probably be non-business related with individuals with cell phones that have nationwide coverage where a local call can be to almost any area code. Big difference with communications between drinking buddies with an AT&T cell phone, and a business using Innovative land lines where you want them to give you a paycheck, or in trying to coordinate a time and place for hook-up of electricity and such.

Well. That's a lot different than saying you're not part of the community because of your phone number. Everything you have stated regarding business related calls makes perfect sense.
Thanks for "breaking it down" for me. I'm such a tard sometimes.

What do the New York Yankees have to do with the southern states and the civil war etc?

No one is referring to the New York Yankees. A Yankee is term that's been around since then 18th century. In the South it is not a compliment. On the island it can go either way.