Moving with Pets

Do you have a specific island in mind?

Your research is spot on - the majority of rental properties DO NOT accepts pets. Finding one that allows a dog, while not impossible, is a challenge and even more difficult if you have 2 dogs. Once you decide to make the move it will probably be easier if you came a brief visit without the dogs while you search for a suitable rental that will accept pets.

Unless you have a very unique skill that is in high demand it is extremely difficult to find employment "on-line". Most employers in the USVI's won't even consider your application until you are actually on island. The reason is everyday hundreds, if not thousands, of people say the want to move to the Caribbean but never actually show up. Employers have know this for decades and don't want to waste their time following dead ends.

A $15,000 nest egg will certainly help you get started but money goes away fast in the Caribbean. Since everyone's lifestyle is different there's no cookie cutter answer as to how much you'll need. Most people will advise you to have about 6 to 12 months living expense in hand to tide you over until you find adequate employment and get fully settled. You'll need a good portion of that $15,000 for start up expenses (first & last month's rent plus 1 month security deposit, the cost of a decent car, if you don't ship your own, and deposits for utilities, etc.).

Buying a home is much the same as on the mainland - you can purchase what you can afford.

I can't give you specifics on the cost of shipping your truck other than to say it will be a few thousand dollars. You have to first get the truck to a port like Miami than arrange for it to be shipped to the USVI's. The topic has been discussed hundreds of times on this forum. Search the archives by using the search feature on to bring up recent threads that will answer all your questions.

While you are at it, there's a wealth of "relocation" and "work related" information at your fingertips. Use the in dropdown menus at the top of this page and read to your heart's content. Search the forum archives for any topic and you'll find 1,000's of threads. ever topic imaginable has been discussed in detail a great many times.

Good luck pursuing your dream.

Thank you so much for your help! I will definitely check that out!

You should plan to rent for a year or two until you are sure you want to commit to long term living on island and where you want to be. It can take months or years to sell real estate on island. If you need a mortgage it will have to come from a local bank as offshore banks will not provide. Also, banks will not grant mortgages for several of the condos as their HOAs do not maintain adequate reserves for insurance deductables or other things the banks want to see.

You should plan to rent for a year or two until you are sure you want to commit to long term living on island and where you want to be. It can take months or years to sell real estate on island. If you need a mortgage it will have to come from a local bank as offshore banks will not provide. Also, banks will not grant mortgages for several of the condos as their HOAs do not maintain adequate reserves for insurance deductables or other things the banks want to see.

Flagstar still offers mortgages here. But I agree, it's wiser to rent for a while. Even if you decide to stay, you might not like where you live once you're here, and that lengthy sales time makes it difficult to move somewhere else on island.

We rented a house for a while and liked it so much we eventually bought from the owner. Having lived in it for a year, I was comfortable with all its little skeletons.

I sold my rental house to my tenants as well.
They'd lived there for almost 3 years by then.
Same thing with knowing all the quirks and loving it, the neighborhood and location.

Easiest RE transaction ever, except for buying home in FL.
They used Rick @ First Liberty.
Problem some buyers have with getting mortgages locally is banks want local job history which many won't have due to just moving here.

Don't buy a home in the Islands until you have been living here for at least 5 years. I know TV makes Island life look so appealing and it can be intoxicating. But it is also very challenging that most people can't handle after a while. Most people don't last on Island longer than 2-5 years before heading back to the states.

You are going to have a major problem transporting one large dog much less two of them. Most airlines will only allow one pet per-customer and as a few on this board have found out that a lot of the airlines don't allow animals to fly in cargo any more. You may wind up having to go with a charter flight, which can run you $2500.00 if you have a group flying with you and if not and it's just you and your dogs could run $10,000.00. I had looked at this when I was considering moving down with my two birds.

mike

Actually They will allow 3 with 1 person as that's what I was planning on flying with originally before I lost Rascal and Sheba, within months of each other,just recently. Now I'll be traveling with just Hershey to FL. I was planning on the big dogs in cargo and at 12 lbs., Rascal could've gone in cabin with me.

$125 per dog in cargo. American Airlines.
Can only fly during cooler temperature months, not at all during heat of summer. They only allow 5 dogs per flight total so get there EARLY as they won't take reservations for dogs. First come, first served. If you can't get your dog on same flight, it'll cost you $200 to change ticket and try again.
Need a vet certificate within 10 days of flight. They specify kennel size, etc.
There are weight and breed restrictions but luckily Labs aren't on it.

American is the only airline that flies dogs out of the VI. Or at least STT.
I'd imagine they do in STX as the rescue organization fly dogs up to states to homes from there.

I'd suggest you speak with an airline representative prior to booking your flight because they don't necessarily land your dog at your destination.

I wanted to fly into Orlando but have to go to Tampa as I can get the dog and myself (hopefully) to Miami or Tampa but not Orlando as it's not a hub.

United and Delta fly dogs but whether they fly into the VI, I don't know as
I didn't check but they don't fly them out because I did check. Spirit and JetBlue don't fly pets at all that I'm aware of.

Good luck.
My tenants had to do a charter flight with a couple others to help defray costs because they brought their 2 humongous Great Danes with them.

Correction.
It's $200 per pet to fly if not in cabin.
It's $125 if pet small enough to fly in cabin.
I called Lisa at STT Humane Society to get some information from her as they regularly transport pets stateside to rehome.

They are always looking for travelers going to different cities in U.S. to be the travel companion for dogs. They get everything ready and do the paperwork, pay for transport unless people wish to donate that.
You're met on the other end and the dogs(s) head to new homes or rescue organizations.

If you're interested call Lisa or Reah at HSSTT @ 340-775-0599
STX Shelter and Jamison does this also out of STX
STJ shelter as well.

Pets cannot go in the hold of any Airbus jet. That's the restriction issue.

Boeing equipment is the key to pet moving.

If you cannot get out of the VI, you can charter fly your pets to San Juan for more options onto the mainland.

If you cannot get out of the VI, you can charter fly your pets to San Juan for more options onto the mainland.

So presumably the reverse would be true for the OP trying to bring pets into the VI.

WOW Alana, great information, your post should be a sticky in the moving section for those looking to move with their dog(s).

WOW Alana, great information, your post should be a sticky in the moving section for those looking to move with their dog(s).

Except the airlines will change all the rules again next week and we get to start all over.

So true!
They are a major, mercenary PITA!