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This board helped me so much to prepare for life on St Thomas, and I haven't written recently, so I thought I'd offer up my thoughts to those of you considering a move. My boyfriend and I moved here from New York - we are both teachers - and came here for many of the oft-cited reasons: the sun, the beaches, the Caribbean! We work in private schools and both received our job offers before making the decision to move (otherwise we would not have done it).
The Up-Sides of Life on STT(tu)
Crystal clear water, beautiful beaches - every weekend we are snorkeling/diving, and feel like we're on vacation 😉
Beautiful weather (barring the storms! But hey it's better than 35 degree winter nights)
People are extremely friendly, helpful, polite
Close proximity to other beautiful places (St John, BVI, etc)
Still a short plane ride away from the states
Safari taxes are a cheap way to commute, and are reliable (I take one back and forth to work everyday from the East end to Charlotte)
Some good shopping, if you have the $$
Many amenities and products of state-side life (when compared to other Caribbean islands)
You can find friends of all ages and interests
Good racial diversity
Many fun restaurants and bars
The Down-Sides of Life on STT
Litter and general condition of many neighborhoods
Extreme disparities between the rich and poor
Expensive groceries, gas, products (compared to New York) and lack of local/fresh products like fruit, meat
WAPA!!
Recycling? (Yes there are programs for your aluminum cans - but what about plastic? paper? cardboard?)
Crime (We haven't experienced this, but hear from many co-workers how their cars or houses have been robbed)
Arts community? (I'm still looking)
Our Expenses
Groceries - we shop at Cost U Less, Plaza Extra, and Marina Market and probably spend $500 on groceries each month
Water bill - approximately $120- 130 a month (yikes)
Electric bill - um, we haven't gotten our first one yet - and we're a bit scared!!
Transportation - we do not own a car, but use the Safaris to get around - $2 will take you from the East into town
Rent - we rent a very nice, fully furnished apartment on the East end with a great view of St John, top floor, large balcony, 2 bedroom, 1 bath for $1800 a month (as nice as it is, the rent is too much and we are looking for something cheaper)
Phone - we use AT&T, which has been great on the East end
Internet - we use Choice - we've had a lot of problems with them - we signed up for their fastest package at $75 a month - our internet rarely goes out, but we are paying for 5 mb/s and currently only get 1.5 mb/s download speed, although sometimes it goes up to 4 mb/s, so who the hell knows
A few words on some miscellaneous things...
I take a daily brand-name prescription (a fairly common one), but the K-Mart pharmacy only carries the generic. Talked to my NY doc and he said it was fine for me to switch to generic - but just be aware that some medications may not be readily available. As for pharmacies, I've been very happy with K-Mart so far.
I've been a teacher for a few years, and have never met so many students with as much integrity and character as I have met at my private school on St Thomas (PM me if you'd like to know more). I can't speak for every school experience, but I can offer you some insight into a few schools' cultures.
Speaking of schools, mine is in need of resources desperately; but there are dedicated teachers there who really love their students and just had the misfortune of being led by a weak administrative team for the past few years. A new administrative leader has been brought in, and she is really turning things around.
The drinking culture is alive and well here, especially among those who have settled here from the states and are young. It gets a bit tiring.
Animal lovers/owners - the Humane Society of St Thomas is a good place. They really need donations to move into their new facility. They are trying. If you move here and would like to add an animal friend to your life, check them out. I visited there and was surprised at the clean condition of the kennels; the dogs and cats are well taken care of, despite lack of resources.
I don't claim to be an authoritative resource on life on St Thomas, but I hope this info helps someone. I am still in the process of finding my groove here, making friends, and figuring things out.
Please PM me if you'd like to chat.
😎
Cheers!
Cat
Posted : October 7, 2010 12:20 pm
Cat:
Wow....what a nice description of your experiences on STT.
Thanks.
F.I.
Posted : October 7, 2010 12:43 pm
CAT,
Welcome and sounds like you are settling in nicely. You might try Drs Choice Pharmacy by Kmart. They have helped me out many times with hubby's meds which were going to take Kmart days to get if they could.
Call Arts Alive in Tillet Gardens to get started in the Arts community. Try any of the little shops there and they can hook you up. It is alive and well.
Pamela
Posted : October 7, 2010 1:43 pm
Welcome, Cat. When you say you haven't found an art community yet, can you please be more specific as to what you're hoping to find?
Posted : October 7, 2010 1:58 pm
Good to hear things are going well.
Would you mind mentioning your age and life experience?
That seems to be a factor in how well people make the move and make the adjustments.
Posted : October 7, 2010 2:19 pm
I loved your report. Thanks! This is the kind of info that those planning the move need 😎
Posted : October 7, 2010 2:21 pm
Great post! Thanks for sharing your experiences.
In a real pinch keep in mind http://www.canadapharmacy.com/ I used them once for something that wasn't available here. It was kind of a hassle and they needed to contact the doc a few times but it worked out. For an ongoing prescription they might be the way to go.
My prescript would have been $400 on island if they had it!!!!! 😮 Canada sold it for $34 and it actually shipped from the UK. HMM??
Posted : October 7, 2010 3:51 pm
Cat: Thank you for your report. Have you tried Chelsea Drug Store in Red Hook? Very excellent customer service and convenient to us east enders! Art stuff- you need to keep your eyes open for openings (Mango Tango has them frequently) and music (Reichold Center, Tillett Gardens) and movies (the series at Antilles right now) and plays (UVI and Pistarckle- does Rocky Horror count as art???) Seek and ye shall find. Okay, not like New York, but for our little community, there is stuff to do. 😎
Posted : October 7, 2010 10:36 pm
Also, go to "Home Again" at the Duffy's Love Shack shopping plaza. You can buy tickets there for the Antilles School (current) movies and the winter season concerts. We enjoyed them last year. You may also be able to sign up for their e-mail notices.
Posted : October 8, 2010 1:19 pm
FI: I don't think the Lockhart Company would be pleased with people calling their Red Hook Plaza property "Duffy's Plaza":D
Posted : October 8, 2010 1:26 pm
OK...it's the RED HOOK PLAZA........
but I still like" Duffy's"
F.I.
Posted : October 8, 2010 3:50 pm
Topic starter
@Neil -- I am 26 and my boyfriend is 29. We are both avid travelers and love the outdoors. I guess in the end we are also pretty flexible people.
@EastEnder -- Tried Chelsea first, they don't take Horizon (my current insurance - my Cigna doesn't kick in until Nov 1). I will probably switch over there in a month. They are really friendly and extremely helpful.
@ms411 -- I am a coffee house/museum/studio lurker, a writer, and an artist. Haven't found a place where I can sit with a cup of coffee after 4pm, read, listen to music, work on my laptop (Beans and Bytes = closed by the time I get off work, anyone know their weekend hours?). Anyone know of any writers' groups? Maybe I'm just whining about being away from Manhattan.
As much as I'm having fun here, I can already feeling the inevitability of the ticking clock...How long will we stay? I don't know. Two years seems to be our time frame -- just long enough to enjoy island life, just short enough to not be dragged down by it (read: bankrupt).
Since the water isn't safe to swim in, we're going to STJ tomorrow to poke around. Any suggestions on restaurants/shops/areas to see?8-)
Posted : October 9, 2010 3:28 am
Skinny Legs for a CHEESEBURGER. My favorite thing to eat / place to go, on St. John.
Great, now I'm hungry !
Posted : October 9, 2010 3:59 am
It is very frustrating that so many places close by 5. Barefoot Buddha across from Havensite is a good place for coffee/laptop on Sat. You should check with Dockside Books in Havensite. They usually have info on book clubs and any writing groups.
Also, there's a Rock Lounge for people who want to do spoken word, etc. They supposedly had a session last night at Frenchtown Deli (a possible BBW alternative?).
In subbase there's the Seven Minus Seven gallery. It's behind the Mexican restaurant. There's usually always something going on there, though usually at night.
Posted : October 9, 2010 11:40 am
I also was thinking of the Frenchtown Deli. They have Scrabble, the Rock Lounge, and other get-togethers. Not real convenient, although you can walk from town.
Posted : October 9, 2010 1:23 pm
I'm not sure Freetown Deli still has Scrabble. I went one night, and nobody knew what I was talking about. It would be nice if somebody started it up again in Havensite area.
Posted : October 9, 2010 9:25 pm
