Moving

A lot of folks left the islands immediately after the storms. For some it was temporary, others permanent. I don't know if anyone has stats on how many. I know I have not seen any big increase of condos for sale on the MLS since the storms and the inventory is still way down from the peak after the refinery closed.

Windstorm/earthquake insurance is expensive, usually about 3% of the building value each year. The job market for folks in construction/trades doing storm repairs is pretty good right now. Tourism is rebounding so those jobs are getting back to normal on STX. Maybe not as much on STT since there are some large resorts still closed there.

Your furniture may or may not be suitable for island life so that should be a consideration for moving it. Needs to hold up in high humidity, heat, even termites so needs to be mold resistant and no particle board. Good furniture isn't cheap on the islands so if you have good hardwood furniture you may want to bring it.

I am not on the island yet. So I can’t help you a ton but for insurance the house I’m purchasing was roughly 2% of homes value and obviously you pay that each year.

I’m bring my furniture because it’s new and I have a family of 5 and buying all new stuff for 5 people would be costly.

I work remotely, but my wife is a nurse has been able to obtain that job pretty easily.

IMHO, leave your stuff in storage for your year of discovery. You can figure out if you want to stay, and if you do stay,where you want to live. Then figure out if your stuff will be appropriate for the climate. It took me 4 years to bring my stuff down. Didn't want to make any rash decisions, you know. 😉

Lots of people have left, and I suspect more will over the next several months. This is going to be a long-term recovery, and many are finding that difficult to deal with. The job market always depends on your skills. Nurses? No problem. Teachers? No problem. Do you have special skills that are needed here?

Lots of people have left, and I suspect more will over the next several months. This is going to be a long-term recovery, and many are finding that difficult to deal with.

I'm just starting to see some of this on STJ. People who don't want to chance being here for next hurricane season.

Quite understandable after what everyone has been thru and the continuing state of our infrastructure, roads, constant power outages, outrageous and rediculous grocery prices, lack of building supplies and the ongoing, very slow recovery efforts.

Lack of individual healthcare insurance, affordable schools and good education for children, internet outages, shipping delays and just trying to get things done sometimes takes multiple trips.

People moving here need to know that it takes resilience and at this point in time, they'd best be ready to deal with it all.

Double edged sword.
The beauty and the beast of hurricanes.

My husband and I are considering moving to ST X in the next year or two. We are retiring, hoping to find a small place we can buy outright and fix up (he built our 5,5000 sq ft house in VA, so is quite able to do major renovations). He has stonemasonry skills. I'm a self employed graphics/web designer and I can teach my skills. 3 Jack Russells.

Any advice or suggestions will be welcome.and feel the island is diversified and large enough for us not to get island fever.