Need Info

If you have ever been to STJ, then you KNOW that anything less than a 4X4 is going to limit your transportation. Some of the roads are seriously vertical. You CANNOT get around on a bicycle other than to your next door neighbor, at most. You can try a motorcycle, but you are likely to wind up dead within a week if this is your major means of transportation. It takes most new arrivals 2-8 weeks to get used to driving on the left. If you are on a motorcycle and experience a few "fender benders" during the learning process, you aren't going to come out entirely whole.

Insurance can be less expensive than the mainland if you only pay for liability and uninsured motorist coverage. If you want collision and comprehensive, the total increases dramatically. Parts are hard to come by and tend to take 10 times as long to order. This is a timeframe my new mechanic has found to be the case. He moved from the US Mainland this fall and has found it next to impossible to get parts within the 1-3 day timeframe he was used to prior to his move. He ordered parts for my SUV and it took 4 weeks for them to arrive from his preferred vendor in an express mail situation. There is as yet no sign of a second order placed two weeks ago.

Comparing the USVI to Alaska "bush" delivery for consumer items is laughable at best. Nobody is going to deliver. We don't have Sam's Club or Costco. We don't have most (99% of) consumer stores you are used to shopping at. On STJ, you will pick up all your own purchases. On STT or STX, you can at least get furniture and appliances delivered to your residence. Fresh fruit/veggies/meats are readily available, but not as fresh or at the same price as you would expect to pay on the mainland. Plan on paying an additional premium for the fact that they are delivered to an island 1000 miles south of Miami. If you had to drive groceries 1000 miles to deliver them, what would your additional surcharge be? How about if your truck were a boat? There is plenty of beef, poultry, salt fish, etc. available. You will pay more than on the mainland to get it. "Locals" tend to eat a lot of saltfish, rice, kidney beans, goat, and other foods that were common in diets of their ancestors. Transplants from the mainland and elsewhere have a diet similar to what they grew up with. Some specialty items are just harder to find on-island and you may need to fill a suitcase with some things any chance you get if you visit the mainland.

There are no Walmarts on any of the USVI. The KMarts are here indefinitely until they are replaced by Walmarts or similar stores. They are some of the highest grossing KMarts in the history of the company since there really isn't any competition for them here.

The "ferry" to Puerto Rico is an airplane. You may purchase tickets on American Eagle or Cape Air or Seaborne. This typically runs $150 to $250 round trip, depending on time of year and load ratio. Even if they had a passenger ferry on the water, you would pay probably $150 round trip and spend most of your journey vomiting all over the place.

From STT there is a ferry to the BVI's. It's fairly cheap and readily available. From STJ or STX, you would first need to travel to STT to make a journey to the BVI's by ferry. As a way to travel between islands, this route does tend to kill a whole day each way so be sure you have the free time to enjoy the journey if you go this route. That being said, a day at the "Baths" on Virgin Gorda can be a fun time.

For anyone interested in spending time in the USVI, the number one thing to focus on is having REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS. Life in "Paradise" is not going to be half the price of life in some small town in the middle of nowhere. Consumer items are not going to grow on palm trees, other than coconuts! (and maybe Dates, if you like them.) Anyone who expects everything for nothing is going to be disappointed. Give yourself a reality check and then come and visit and you may find that the islands are wonderful.

If you explore further in the moving center under "what to expect" you will find 30-40 first hand accounts of people (me included) who moved to the Virgin Islands over the last 4-5 years. These will be most instructive.

Your questions do seem rather, forgive me, uninformed. One thing we tell EVERYONE is not to move here without spending time first, a Pre-Move visit. You are correct, we all have different experiences and expectations. You need to come first and see if yours will be met.

Good luck.

On St. Thomas you can come over & visit Price-Smart and Cost-u-Less to stock up on necessities. Both sell very good fresh beef.

There's a huge Home Depot very near Cost-u-Less which isn't always stocked with everything they should be stocked with but it's there.

It is much easier to get lots of items that weren't available 10 years ago down here plus with catalog shopping & ebay & the internet, life isn't as "basic" as in the past. Good luck!

You should come for a visit. I do know of one person who moved here, never having visited, and is still here 20 years later. However, 20 years ago people had a very different set of expectations. They just wanted a warm place to live. Now everyone wants high speed internet, Wallmart and pad thai! (;)) Please come and check out the surroundings. You'll either have a great vacation or an introduction to island living! Welcome aboard...

I actually did move here 17 years ago after having a job interview but I was used to Caribbean living from my years of residence on another island. I didn't have TV for ages & didn't miss it but I confess I've gotten spoiled also.

LindaJ: : My questions not only seem uninformed, they are! That is why I am seeking information here. I have read all 44 of the "moving stories". I found them very informative. I also did the "search" of the board. What I am trying to do is gain as much information, from as many different sources, as I can.

I am painfully aware that a pre-move visit would be a prudent action. However, I may have an opportunity for a job that requires me to make a decision to accept the offer without the luxury of the PMV. Time constraints make using this board and other resources the only means of gathering information to assist in making my decision. As one who has lived all over the world, I am pretty adaptable and understand that every place does not have high speed internet and a Walmart. I really appreciate any and all information that will contribute not only to me making a decision, but also make me more knowledgeable about the VI.

Trade: Thank you for the tips.

T

Regarding four wheel drive on St. John...I live here, and I can tell you that having it will make life easier. After a rain, I can't drive up the driveway at the Marketplace, where I work, unless I put my car in four wheel drive. The same is true for my driveway at home, and some of the other steep switchbacks you'll find here.
I moved here a year and a half ago, having never visited the Virgin Islands, and I wouldn't change a thing about my move. No, it isn't for everybody, and there are lots of conveniences you may be used to that you will not have here. I see everything as a tradeoff, and consider myself fairly easygoing when it comes to the nuances of island life. To me, the small island feel and the beauty are worth it.
Good luck.

t: I was just addressing the question of expectations. If you don't need or want Wallmart, then you will be fine! It seems that people who come and leave quickly are those who were expecting, I don't know what, but something they couldn't find here. If you can adapt to the way things are, you are miles ahead! good luck! 😉

Quick note about the ferries:

There is a ferry between STT/STJ and Puerto Rico, it runs twice a month on a limited schedule (departs STT/STJ on Thursdays... returns on Sunday).

There are ferries from St. John to the BVI.

You can find the ferry schedules, prices and information for within the USVI and USVI to BVI on our sister site at http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/.

--Islander

I say to go for it. There's room for one more!