Moving to the Virgin Islands (STX), UVI

Ok, I hate to be the first to reply to my own thread, but I found some more info.

My vehicle will be taxed $1330 calculated by adding road tax, personal use tax, registration, etc. My truck was made in the US so it shouldn't have to go to customs.

Does that sound about right? I still don't know how much it will cost to ship.

Does your vehicle have a lein attached? If so, you must get permission of lein-holder before anyone will ship it.

Does your vehicle have a lein attached? If so, you must get permission of lein-holder before anyone will ship it.

Yes, 1 through Honda and the other through Capitol One.

There are small efficiency apartments available at that rate. With some searching you could find something suitable. You will likely want to be center or west (f'sted) as that is more accessible for UVI. The rental rates appear to be cheaper west.

Can you pack up your own apartment? If you do you could then have it all trucked (by a FL moving company) to Miami where Tropical, Shipping, VI Cargo, or Crowley can all give you quotes for getting it here. Make sure and mark each box as personal items and have each box's listed contents. The cost from Miami to here is based on the volume so contact each shipper to get their rates. I find them all to be reasonable for different reasons. A local moving company in Tampa is your best bet for packing up your belongings if you don't want to do it yourself. They can give you a quote over the phone.

Employment? Well, what kind of skills do you have? Of course waiting tables, bartending, etc. are common. Your school schedule will dictate what you can and cannot do to some degree but many things are possible.

Check out Meowruff and Yearasta's recent posts on having just arrived here. One of them shipped a car and specified the total cost. Why are you thinking of bringing 2 cars? Oh... and don't plan on packing your car with your belongings to save on shipping costs. I don't think they allow that anymore.

I'm surprised you want to come to UVI to complete your studies. What are you studying? Just curious.

Hi David,
You will find that most apartments are furnished. Plus, it really is a good idea to come as unencumbered as possible, see how you like it, and then deal with moving down your car, furniture, etc., if you still want to.

Your car will still have to go through customs, there just will not be a import fee since it was built in the US.

Thanks for all the replies!

@ terry: Yeah I saw that after some more searching. It looks like it will be $150 to get it through customs.

@ Juanita: We are definitely going to come down for a few days just to get a feel of the island, but we are about 99% sure we are coming down regardless.

@ limetime2: We will most likely pack all of our stuff onto large palettes and drive them down to Miami to have them shipped. I've been going to school for computer science but have always wanted to study marine biology. My GF is going to school for nursing and she currently waits tables. I will most likely teach after college and my GF will of course do nursing. As far as taking 2 cars, from the looks of it we would owe more on our cars if we sold them than it would cost to have them shipped. It looks like it's going to cost around $6k to have them both shipped. Anyway, why did you say you were surprised that I would go to school there? Just curious... thanks!

To study Marine Biology at UVI, you have to go to St Thomas. The STX campus doesn't offer the program--or even just a biology major for that matter. Are you planning to continue in computer science? In that case, you should be able to complete the degree in St Croix--it is the only Bachelor of Science degree the St Croix campus offers. As far as I know, the Stx campus only offers introductory science classes (biology, chemistry etc) --anything beyond that is in St Thomas.

It looks like for a variety of reasons STT is a much better choice for us.

We might put our stuff in storage, move our cars down, and live in a cheap furnished place until we find a place to live.

Answering your question - for the reasons stated by stxem. The St. Croix UVI Campus is limited in what it offers. I do think it has a great nursing program though ... but I'm not sure of that since its been a while since I checked in at a college. 🙂 And... also because if you are already in a stateside college it would be more prudent to wait out a couple of years and finish school there than come here. Transferring credits is always a challenge... and really... a couple of years goes by fast.

If you would still like to come to STX... you could look into online courses. I know several people who have completed their advanced degress onlive through reputable online colleges. (I'm not talking the kind where you just send money and get a piece of paper in the mail).

Good luck to you.

Thanks for the info lifetime2.

We have decided to come to St Thomas as we would be required to move to St Thoma anyway after my GF finished her associates to continue her BS.

We have gone through a lot in the past couple years. We were living in KY (where I'm from) and went to school there for 2 years. Slowly the miserableness of KY ate away at us and we were slowly becoming miserable. 7 months of clouds, depressed people, etc. So we started looking into moving to FL. We contacted USF and on two occasions my GF was told her nursing credits would transfer. Well, it wasn't until she was in orientation (weeks before classes start) that she found out her credits won't transfer.

To make things worse, if she returned to NKU she would have to start where she was when she first got to NKU since she was out of the program for 2 semesters.

So now what??

Move to yet ANOTHER city on the mainland and still not be where we want to or finish our degrees in paradise? I will likely be teaching while I get my masters so whether I choose Marine Biology (my dream) or Computer Science (current major) is somewhat moot.

david,
i don't know where you lived in ky but i can tell everyone who reads this message board you are incorrect when you say there are 7 months of clouds - actually i don't know of any place in the world who has dreary weather as you have described for over half of the year and trust me you will find happy and depressed people all over the world. i doubt kentucky has anything to do with how you feel - maybe you were misreable and the cloud just followed you. one of these days when you are older you will appreciate where you are from and hopefully be proud of that area no matter where you live.
i believe from many of your statements, on several of these discussions, you should continue to research and get yourself a little more organized, whether it is about any move or school credits.
if you are not happy with yourself you certainly can't expect where you live to give it to you.
good luck.

p.s. i am very proud to be from kentucky.

david,
i don't know where you lived in ky but i can tell everyone who reads this message board you are incorrect when you say there are 7 months of clouds - actually i don't know of any place in the world who has dreary weather as you have described for over half of the year and trust me you will find happy and depressed people all over the world. i doubt kentucky has anything to do with how you feel - maybe you were misreable and the cloud just followed you. one of these days when you are older you will appreciate where you are from and hopefully be proud of that area no matter where you live.
i believe from many of your statements, on several of these discussions, you should continue to research and get yourself a little more organized, whether it is about any move or school credits.
if you are not happy with yourself you certainly can't expect where you live to give it to you.
good luck.

p.s. i am very proud to be from kentucky.

I grew up in Northern Kentucky my entire life and the seven months of clouds is no misconception or exaggeration. And also, seasonal depression is very real and highly common. It is rarely treated but one of the treatments is sun exposure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_depression

This is something that is exclusive to areas with long cloudy periods. All my family and friends live in KY and also say that the long gloomy months are one of the worst things about living there. Everywhere you live had pros and cons and not being able to admit that where you live has no flaws is just a product of foolish pride. I am happier in Tampa, and the clouds didn't follow me. It is sunny year round and the temperatures are predictable and warm. That is just happens to be what makes me happy. I have friends that owning a house and building wealth is the thing that makes them happiest.

It's ok that the weather is not a counterpoint of living in KY for you, but it is for me. And I don't see how my age has anything to do with this considering you don't have a clue how old I am. For me, personally, where I live has a lot to do with my happiness. I was in the Navy and spent a lot of time in South America. It was some of the greatest experiences of my life. I am a conservationist and a lover of marine life. I have always dreamed of studying marine biology and doing research in the Virgin Islands. Now here I am, 10 years after I joined the Navy I am realizing my dream.

I don't know how you could possibly believe the place of my origin could contribute to my personal happiness more than the pursuit and realization of a nearly life-long dream. Why are you on these boards anyway? I'm just curious - you seem to have found it necessary to try to detract from my happiness - is it simply because you feel insulted for the way I feel about KY? I think I am qualified to have an opinion considering I lived there my entire life.

truebluefan, you said you don't know any place in the world who has dreary weather for over half the year - try the U.K. The people there are generally amazingly cheerful, but the long dark winters take their toll, and SAD (caused by lack of sunlight), is a very real disease. Some people just feel it more than others, so it makes it a priority when choosing a place to live.

david,
in almost 40 years i have never heard of anyone in kentucky talking about long periods of cloudy weather or seasonal depression. i am a little over an hour away from northern ky so my apologies - it must be different there. also i never said there weren't flaws - there are everywhere. i have lived in other countries (b/c of the military) and states, and whether it is an island or the desert, i agree there are pros and cons. i hope i always have foolish pride for where i am from. i also agree realizing your dream is a wonderful thing.
it is difficult to express what you are saying when you just type words. i am on these boards to learn more and seek the advice of those who know the ropes - just like you.
i did feel insulted because there are many people who have never seen the beauty of the bluegrass. you only gave them the thought of it being cloudy, dreary, and depressing without any of the positives such as rolling hills with horse farms, amazing restaurants, and several beautiful lakes.
my apologies if i sounded too harsh but i do believe a person has to find happiness in themselves before seeking it from some other source.

sabrina,
i knew after sending the message, that the statement of not knowing of a place having mostly dreary weather for over half the year would come back to bite me. i have friends from england and they have talked about the days and days of rain. my mistake

From personal experience I can tell you that you can face many many back-to-back months of dreary dark weather in New England as well as Seattle as well. SAD is a real and recognized diagnosis in both of these locations. Drs. we knew would prescribe 'light boxes' for the long dreary dark months.

i wasn't trying to say that SAD didn't exist, i was trying to say i have never heard of someone in kentucky experiencing those symptoms

Good to see you ignored the rest of my post truebluefan. If you have nothing else to add, I would appreciate you stop spamming the thread with useless posts.

go up a couple of post and you will see i did not ignore the rest of your post.
in fact, i apologized and it wouldn't hurt for you to do the same.

go up a couple of post and you will see i did not ignore the rest of your post.
in fact, i apologized and it wouldn't hurt for you to do the same.

I apologize for missing your posts. I don't know how I missed them!

And about KY, I wasn't insulting anyone. It's nothing personal, I am just happier by the beach.