Moving to VI with 7 pets

Honestly... no. Your prices for a 1-2 bedroom are pretty far off base is you're talking STT. For a 2 bedroom with room for your pets, you'll be looking at 2K plus. On STX you MIGHT find a one bedroom for that but still unlikely that a landlord will be stoked about that many pets. Finding homes with yards on STT is near impossible but more likely on STX. Usually fences are not very well maintained so that'll likely be your responsibility to fix them. Do you dogs bark a lot? Thats another big issue. Barking dogs really piss of the neighbors... I am gonna loose it with the dogs down my hill.

General consensus here is NEVER buy right away but in your case you might likely be forced into buying something with that many pets... especially 4 large dogs. Cats are usually ok. I hope they are inside cats. I have a friend selling a house in STT and they had like 6 large labs. Its $675 I believe in Mahogany Run.

ALSO:
Make sure you have $$$$ for pet deposits (in addition to first last and security) AND $$$$ for flying all of your animals off island if it doesn't work out for you here. You need to come here specifically to find and secure a rental and then fly back and work out the rest and bring the pets down.

I personally would advise you move here with no less than $20k AND have a $5k O-s**t fund for flying back with your pets. We also have heart worm, LOTS of fleas and ticks so make sure they're all on preventative before you make the move. They also need to be microchipped AND wear collars. In the lucky event that you do find a place to rent that does have a yard and they do allow your large dogs, they often find their way out and they need to have proper tags to get them back to you. Roads are VERY dangerous here for animals (and humans).

Barking dogs really piss of the neighbors... I am gonna loose it with the dogs down my hill.

Yeah, tell me about it. We have dogs across the street, a few hundred yards away. At night when it's quiet and I drop a fork on the floor they start barking. Have to keep the windows closed on that side of the condo.

You might want to investigate airline policy and transportation costs for moving 7 pets, weight, size, breed and time of year restrictions apply.
Forget moving in summer and if temperature is too cold on ground in winter, you can forget that, too.

It cost me $200 to travel with 1 dog from the VI to Tampa because I couldn't fly with dog to Orlando due to fact that only Airbus service on American was designated between Miami and Orlando. The price would've been the same but Orlando was closer to my destination.

AIrlines have a policy of no more than 5 animals per flight. 1st come, 1st served. No reservations for pets. Animals can't fly on any Airbus planes so be sure to ask questions regarding your flight itinerary. Get there early!

All animals will require a health certificate and rabies vaccination prior to travel and is only valid within 10 days of travel by your veterinarian.

Dogs traveling in cargo must be in specified kennel size, have zip lock ties on all 4 corners of the kennel as well as all 4 corners of the kennel door.
Animals traveling in cabin are also required to have zip lock ties if they meet the weight restrictions for in cabin flight, under seat.

All animals flying cargo must have a Ziploc bag containing food and a water bottle attached to top of kennel.

Do due diligence or you'll find yourself left hanging, even worse...your pets.
While I've had 5 dogs and 3 cats, I've owned my own property. I'm not sure I'd be willing to rent to someone, unknown, with that many animals. That's a lot of poop to be picking up on a daily basis. I've always had fenced property for my animals. That's not the norm in the VI, whether STX, STT or STJ.

Neighborhoods aren't like they are stateside. You've got roaming dogs, speeding drivers who don't give a crap about running over an animal, if your pet intrudes or is a nuisance, some won't hesitate to hurt or poison them.

You also need to have all your pets on Heartworm and flea and tick prevention.

I understand about barking dogs. I've never understood why people allow the constant barking. My guys only bark when someone comes on property to alert me. Then it's done. I would never allow them to indulge in mindless barking and luckily they don't.

Anyway, good luck to you.
You need to do some homework, tho.
Not easy.

My advice is to stay where you are at if you insist on having 4 large dogs & 3 cats. You will find it almost impossible to find a rental property that would allow 4 large dogs. Never mind the problems & cost you are gonna have with trying to transport all these animals by commercial airlines.

You most likely will be limited by the airlines as to how many pets can travel with you at one time.. For starters, a seperate reservation must be made for a cat to travel in an airline approved carrier that will fit underneath the seat in front of you & will cost $125 one way. Most airlines only allow you 1 pet in the cabin per trip.

I am sorry if I came off as blunt; just trying to point out some things.

Jumbie - St Croix

Unless you have money to burn and the patience of Job, I would heed the warnings by the other posters. Moving that many pets to the islands, and finding a place to rent, is a huge undertaking. There are, from time to time, pet friendly rental homes that pop up on STX. But not sure if you'd find a landlord willing to rent with that many pets. I love animals better than I love most humans, but a landlord takes a chance - on property damage and liability risk. It would be hit or miss, IMO, with a lot more misses.

When my tenants for my rental house which has a fenced yard, moved to STT to work for ICMI they brought their 2 very large Great Danes. They could only do so on a chartered flight with PetPropel. Very expensive, even with others sharing the cost of the flight.
http://dogfriendly.com/dognews/?p=2908

Before I would rent to them, I requested a letter from their veterinarian regarding the temperament of both animals as I definitely wasn't interested in renting to people with over 300 lbs., combined, of aggressive canines.

My lease also included a pet permission addendum document that outlined condition and terms for acceptance of their animals and dealt with such as any damage to property, whether interior or exterior, yard, yard maintenance, plants, fleas, ticks, poop and liability issues, to name a few.

Happy to say, dogs were sweet as can be, well behaved and tenants were, likewise. I lucked out. Not always the case.

Here's a link for American

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/special-assistance/pets.jsp

I really appreciate all the info. We are definitely thinking it might not be the best move at this point since it is unlikely we will be able to rent. We did look into flying us and the pets via private charter since we would not be able to get everyone on one plane, but that does not alleviate the issues of getting there without being able to rent. I definitely do not want to purchase since we have no experience living on an island. Thanks again for all the great info.

It's not impossible, just difficult.

Your kidding right? Do you have any idea the hassle it is to travel with one animal to the VI much less (7)? My wife;s family is quite liberal when it comes to renting their apartments, but even they have standards when it comes to pets. You owe it to your pets to stay where you are at and continue living out the life of responsibility you owe to your pets and keep the Island life a pipe dream.

Most couples that I know that came to the Islands together left separately and most never lasted more than 5 years before leaving the Islands to go back home because even paradise has it's problems.

A rental when you have 7 pets?

Forget about it.

We moved in October of '12 from central California to STX.

We brought 5 dogs and 3 cats and it wasn't easy, but possible and expensive.

We bought our home here and wouldn't change a thing.

Don't need jobs or want jobs and have great health insurance from former employment.

Many here decry the lack of health care, we on the other hand find it has been excellent for us.

Cost of living is somewhat higher here but "It is what it is" so we live without complaining as they are what we expected and prepared for.

Most will tell you to rent first then buy and we know lots that have done that.

Because of our commitment to our pets we bought after several years of visits and planning.

Good Luck

When my tenants for my rental house which has a fenced yard, moved to STT to work for ICMI they brought their 2 very large Great Danes. They could only do so on a chartered flight with PetPropel. Very expensive, even with others sharing the cost of the flight.
http://dogfriendly.com/dognews/?p=2908

Before I would rent to them, I requested a letter from their veterinarian regarding the temperament of both animals as I definitely wasn't interested in renting to people with over 300 lbs., combined, of aggressive canines.

My lease also included a pet permission addendum document that outlined condition and terms for acceptance of their animals and dealt with such as any damage to property, whether interior or exterior, yard, yard maintenance, plants, fleas, ticks, poop and liability issues, to name a few.

Happy to say, dogs were sweet as can be, well behaved and tenants were, likewise. I lucked out. Not always the case.

Here's a link for American

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/special-assistance/pets.jsp

A friend of mine had two great Danes as well and they were also very sweet and not normally aggressive, but that didn't stop them from attacking their owner all because he swatted his young daughter on the behind as she walked away for smarting off to him. It just goes to show you that no vet, lease or contract can predict just how an animal will act at every given situation. Animals will be animals first and foremost, which at best is unpredictable.

mike

Out of curiosity, did you charter a flight with all the pets?
So far that is the only real option I have come up with other than making many flights to move them all and that seems like it would be extremely stressful for all of us.

True, Mike.
But in terms of any resulting liability, if an incident did occur, I did my best to show that I'd done due diligence to prevent occupancy by aggressive animals. Luckily, I've never had to and have rented to many tenants over the years with dogs.

When I decided to make the move to FL, with 3 dogs (at that time), I figured I'd rent for a year, too. However, it was difficult to find what I wanted in a rental to accommodate, mine and my pets wants and needs. Places had size restrictions on dogs, how many animals one could have, indoor carpeting (a big "No! for me) unfenced or tiny outdoor areas for the dogs and, frankly, cost more than I wanted to spend on any rental.
I decided to just buy a place instead of wasting my money renting for a year and have nothing to show for it at the end of a year.
I'm happy I did although I lost 2 of my beautiful girls before I made the move so while I purchased the property with 3 dogs in mind, sadly Sheba and Rascal won't be joining Hershey in our large, fully fenced back yard.

I was only able to do so tho because it was affordable to do so here in FL.
In STT, I'd never have been able to afford to purchase anything comparable to what I was able to buy here. I'm definitely not selling my home there, until I've figured out if this is a permanent move or not.
I'd never be able to afford to buy it back.

It's definitely challenging moving with pets, especially a multiple number.
If it's really your goal, you'll have to work to make it happen.

The OP didn't mention what island they were considering but with that budget and that many pets, sounds like STX might be a better fit.
Depends too, on what kind of jobs you'll find.
Do some more homework, do a premove visit, check the Classified Ads on the forum list, contact a realtor. If you really want to make it happen, it can.
Just don't burn your bridges back home as "island life" isn't for everyone.

We moved in October of '12 from central California to STX.

We brought 5 dogs and 3 cats and it wasn't easy, but possible and expensive.

We bought our home here and wouldn't change a thing.

I moved down with 3 giant breed dogs... but there's so many animals on the island already....

Now I have 9 dogs, 16 (maybe?) cats, 2 pigs, 1 donkey & 26 horses.

This island does NOT lack for 4 legged creatures, large or small.

Out of curiosity, did you charter a flight with all the pets?
So far that is the only real option I have come up with other than making many flights to move them all and that seems like it would be extremely stressful for all of us.

It's possible for you to arrange 2 flights on separate days.
You could travel with 4 dogs, wife fly next day with 3 cats or a variation on that: 3 dogs cargo, 1 cat in cabin, next day wife with 1 dog and 2 kitties.

Of course, you'd have to secure a rental to go directly to, prior to arrival.

Something like this, perhaps?
https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?5,278256

You can ship your pets via American Airlines Pet Cargo. This is different that traveling with them as checked luggage. A bit more expensive but much easier that showing up at the gate and your pets not being allowed on board. Certainly easier and less expensive than making multiple flights.

You might think about driving your pets to Miami and shipping AA Air Cargo from there. You can book in advance to get your larger pets in the hold and, by driving, you only have one airplane to deal with.

With this strategy, you might consider shipping your vehicle on to STX from there.

https://www.aacargo.com/learn/animals.html

I looked at that on their website but while they had flights into PR, there was no mention of VI for animal air cargo so one would have to double check if you can get them into VI without transferring them all onto another flight or airline for the PR - STT leg and incur the same restrictions of a limit of 5 pets per flight, only.

I am planning on calling American Airlines to get complete info. I looked at the website too, but it doesn't seem to answer all of my questions. Thanks for the info.

One word of caution. Airline rules for pets change. Any solutions you find now may not be the case a year or two from now. You'll have to check back when/if you are closer to your move to make sure you're still OK.

I don't know that anyone in the states would rent to some one with that many pets. Definitely not here. Unless of course you can plunk down about a 20k deposit. I can tell you that the neighbors will not stand for the barking. I heard a dog bark last year every night for a week through the wee hours until one night a very loud bang. Bark no more.

I don't know that anyone in the states would rent to some one with that many pets. Definitely not here. Unless of course you can plunk down about a 20k deposit. I can tell you that the neighbors will not stand for the barking. I heard a dog bark last year every night for a week through the wee hours until one night a very loud bang. Bark no more.

I have rented from numerous people stateside with my 7 pets. My current landlord doesn't even require a pet deposit.
With that said, my pets are all indoors at all times unless I am outside with them. They only bark when someone is directly in front of "their" house.

Unless of course you can plunk down about a 20k deposit..

Hahaha, what do you think he has, a pack of wild bulldozers?

My dogs do nothing but leave some hair behind (the fosters... they are a different story)

Unless of course you can plunk down about a 20k deposit..

Hahaha, what do you think he has, a pack of wild bulldozers?

Hahaha. This is a brilliant mental image! My dogs are lazier than I am, which is impressive!