Moving to US Virgin Islands

WOW!! Those are the type of people I NEVER want to be around. Smh.

I definitely see people who live in that bubble once they transplant here. Most of them are what I would call upper class. I guess what I should have said, and what I really mean, is that most of the lower or middle class people who transplant here tend to have a much higher success rate if they integrate in the local culture. I would also take a leap and say that most of the 'newbies' that visit this forum would fall into that middle class area.

My own personal experience living on St. John has been vastly improved by becoming more integrated with the local culture. Since meeting and marrying my husband, I have gained a huge in law extended family. It has it's complications at times, but they are far shadowed by the enrichments they have brought to my life. And my 'island life' experience would be so much different if I hadn't integrated myself.

You can't fix stupid or bigoted most of the time but there's nothing intrinsically either when it comes to describing the chili cook-off (and I can only speak to the St Thomas event) as a Caucasian affair. The chili cook-off has always been jokingly referred to as such pretty much from its inception and by both blacks and whites. On islands which are are over 75% black with whites the tiny minority, it's a pretty sure statistical bet that any gathering is going to be predominantly black - doh. 😀 The cook-off IS the only event which is quite remarkable in defying those odds. When I first went to it 30 years ago (I think it was the 2nd annual), two things struck me right away. (1) the sea of white faces and (2) the preponderance of deep Tayxas accents! It's just an anomaly.

beachcomber-i just dont know what to say.

You can't fix stupid or bigoted most of the time but there's nothing intrinsically either when it comes to describing the chili cook-off (and I can only speak to the St Thomas event) as a Caucasian affair. The chili cook-off has always been jokingly referred to as such pretty much from its inception and by both blacks and whites. On islands which are are over 75% black with whites the tiny minority, it's a pretty sure statistical bet that any gathering is going to be predominantly black - doh. 😀 The cook-off IS the only event which is quite remarkable in defying those odds. When I first went to it 30 years ago (I think it was the 2nd annual), two things struck me right away. (1) the sea of white faces and (2) the preponderance of deep Tayxas accents! It's just an anomaly.

(tu)

OT you explained it much better than me. I'm not the greatest writer when trying to explain things.

Now from what I hear there is the Slider and King of Wings events that are geared more toward the Caucasian persuasion. Maybe someone can chime in about that because I've never been to them?

@Julie, in my opinion and from what I see, it is not just the upper class that live in that bubble. I see a lot of the young workers in that bubble (low class to low middle class) and mid-middle class men and women workers in that bubble. Also middle class. JMHO & from what I have seen and heard with my own eyes and ears. Many intergrate, but I would say not most of the above.

@speedy, I don't understand your last post. Please explain.

What difference does it make who goes to King and Slider?

People, look at the food that surrounds these events. Maybe the majority population is not that fond of chili and sliders?

Many don't know what a slider is.

Many don't know what a slider is.

Big Macs for little people.

Little Macs, though Big Macs are small by today's standards.

Either way, not a fan of sliders nor wings and I make excellent chilli.
Not a fan of being around very large crowds of people, black or white, come to think of it.

The bubble.... yes, a lot of the transplants live in it, then they leave. The people that I see on St. John that move here and stay here (get married, have kids, get old) usually are the people who integrate themselves. For some reason, the people I know that have transplanted here, there seems to be a invisible mark at year 10. If you make it past 10, then you aren't going anywhere. But the vast majority don't make it to year 5.

The black/white stuff makes me nuts. They are just words I know, but it just gets under my skin. The people I associate with tend to say 'transplant' instead of 'white', and usually don't say anything in place of 'black', but if they do, they say 'local'. I've pondered a lot about why some events are attended mostly by transplants or mostly by locals. Some are easy to figure out, others not so much. I find myself not going to many events because I socialize so much with my huge extended family that I don't feel the need to do much else.

BeachComber not being mean to you at all, not making fun of you. i guess on stx i have never heard certain events being called white events. i just found it interesting. nothing more, nothing less.

I am, so far, living in what appears to be a bubble on St Croix. I think a lot of it is dependent on the exposure that goes with your tastes and interests.

We bought our house years ago because we liked it and its location. Never thought to ask about the diversity, because that didn't come into play in our previous location. Turns out it was, and continues to be, almost exclusively white. It is also now full of more recent transplants. So meeting and socializing with the neighbors, who also have little interaction with locals, is quite in the bubble.

So where to next? Meet locals through work and activities. My husband and I are partially retired. We both make extra money on-line at home (him in engineering, me running web sites). So workplace buddies are out. My husband lives to play golf. He's run into very few non-whites who share that interest, and those who do, don't play regularly. I recently signed up to volunteer with a local non-profit. So far, I haven't seen a single black volunteer turn up. So how do you expand relationships with people who don't share your same interests?

Husband and I do hang out at a few local watering holes and beaches, and locals, including blacks, are there and quite friendly. Yet, when it comes to inclusion (You snorkel? You play cards? You like jazz, blues, art?, Love Carnival and Jump-Up? Hey, so do I! Why don't we meet up and . . . . ?), it's always the white people who suggest plans, or accept ours and follow through.

We only recently became full time residents, after 7 years of spending only 5 to 6 months a year here. Now that we're really here, we will be able to immerse ourselves more, and meet more people, and hopefully will get out of the bubble. We really want to. But so far, I can understand why so many transplants give up and stay in it.