OK, my two cents

Would be more than happy to tip a glass or a coffee and say heh! Just keep us posted.
And of course one of the best ways to meet a good bunch of us is if vinow is hosting a get-together when you arrive!!!!

I concur with the wine guy. Be prepared or at least have a plan--unless your under twentyfive.

In 100% total agreement with Wine Guy!!! Moving here (well, there...as I am not "here" right now) is not an easy move to make. It's expensive, time consuming, frustrating at times, and it's DAMN HARD to make a good living on the island and live in the manner than many statesiders become accustomed. I'm not saying that it's a bad move to make, but it's no easy task.

If you are young and single and have no one else to be responsible for other than yourself, you can probably throw together three or four bags, ship some boxes and be done with it. I did that at first when I moved down there....I was 22 years old when I first moved to St. Thomas. But, even I learned that to make it a permanent move, it takes commitment. I watched my entire circle of friends that I had the first year I lived there all leave within two years, mainly because they got bored with island life, were too broke to stay, or it wasn't what they expected since they moved there sight unseen. If that wasn't depressing, I don't know what is. Had it not been for wanting to go back to school, I never would have left. It was a hard decision to leave then, and what held me back at firs was "do I really want to make this move AGAIN?" But, once my husband and I bought a house, made some friends that have lived there for eons and plan to stay until they DIE, NOT going back when I was finished with graduate school seemed crazy.

PLEASE research the move, have a good hard plan, especially if you don't like living hand to mouth, and the fear of financial ruin scares the bejeezus out of you. It's a great place to live, but I can tell you that the party scene, and living in crappy apartments with several roommates gets old pretty fast. Besides, you'd hate seeing your circle of friends completely change every year or so.

By the time I moved back, I barely even spoke to newcomers that came down for just the tourist seasons. I know it sounds horrible, but I just didn't have the energy to invest my time in a friendship with someone that would be gone in 6 months. It's too depressing. I wonder if some of the other long timers feel the same way in that regard....when you're that isolated from the rest of your family, good friends are all you've got, and it sucks to see them go.

That said, I can't wait to move back next year, and at least this time, I know what's involved, and know how to make it for the long haul. I'd be happy to take up on that drink when I get back...

Hey, my sister and I are moving to St. Thomas for three months. We leave in about one week. I can't wait. This is our first trip to St. Thomas.She is a travel NICU nurse. I jsut finished high school and I just want to relax by the beach and fish and whatever. We will be staying in Crystal Cove . It sounds like there is plenty to do close by where we are living. Are there a lot of people --esp. female--my age--18--on St. Thomas? How is the fishing at this time of year on Crystal Cove? I like this message board--any advice is appreciated. Any jobs working with horses on the island?
James

I am an old man of 69 and have learned the hard way that you gota have a working plan. I am going to be over there at STX on Sept. 8 and this will be my last move as I am following a life long dream. I have been planning this move for about 6 moths and the board has helped alot so keep checking and plan carefully and you should do fine

I just spoke with a co-worker who grew up on St. Croix. She wasn't very encouraging about the move my fiance and I want to make.

Okay, so here's what I know: *I know that the cost of living is higher than what we currently pay. *I know the "waiting" for things (driver's licenses, banking, grocery shopping) to take place can get frustrating. *I am aware that goods and services may not be plentiful at times (fresh water, the brands I normally use, etc.). *I know it takes a lot of money to move there. *I know that jobs are scarce & don't pay nearly what I'd get in the states. (That's okay, I'm EXTREMELY flexible & don't have to work full time.)

Here's some things in my favor: *My fiance has travelled the world and lived on small islands before (once for a period of 4 years) *I am a project planner - planning is my thing and I believe we have a solid plan, which includes visiting for 1-1/2 months prior to boxing up our belongings in the states.

So, what else can anyone tell me that I don't already know before I even waste my time scouting this out? I was really upbeat about this and now I'm getting discouraged. Oh, VERY important; how's the high-speed Internet connection?

Thanks,
Bou'ya

I have DSL with Innovative, and it is fairly reliable. It's quite fast, but can get slow at times, but not very often. It's worth it in my opinion.

Okay, so here's what I know: *I know that the cost of living is higher than what we currently pay. That depends on where you are from. When we moved here from Orlando, FL there was not a significant increase in anything but fresh veggies and fruit, water to the apartment.

*I know the "waiting" for things (driver's licenses, banking, grocery shopping) to take place can get frustrating. Driver's License - take a good book and relax. It will happen. Banking - I do all mine at the ATM and it is no stress whatsoever. Grocery shopping - so you have to hit a couple of stores to get everything on the list - scenery is nice and you don't have to do it all at once.

*I am aware that goods and services may not be plentiful at times (fresh water, the brands I normally use, etc.). Fresh water is always available except perhaps for a short time after a bad storm. Same as the states we just pay more for it and more aware of how much you use. Name Brands - you forget them after a while ....

*I know it takes a lot of money to move there. Doesn't it take a lot of money to move and set up your household anywhere? What extra do you have here - airfare? Shipping your car, maybe moving some furniture .... you would do those from town to town anyway. What does a move from Florida to CA cost?

*I know that jobs are scarce & don't pay nearly what I'd get in the states. Jobs are not that scarce. There are plenty of jobs for people who are flexible and want to work. The longer you stay here the easier it gets. Maybe the pay is not the same but looking at the want ads in my home town is very depressing as well. Once you get here, jobs, apartments, cars, etc. come through by word of mouth.

Think outside the box and this is a marvelous place to live.

For me, the worst part of moving here was having to fork out so much money. If you're not wealthy, you're going to take a bit of a hit. But in the long run, it doesn't really matter because if you work hard and keep your head on straight, you will earn it all back and then some.

Yes, you definitely need plans A, B, and C. I ended up having to use plan B, which fortunately turned out better, I think, than plan A would have.

I have only been on St. Croix for two months and I already know that I will never move back to the mainland. It's nuts there. For a long time I couldn't understand why so many people were speeding around on the expressways, risking their own lives. I think I've figured it out. They speed into work and speed back home again because they want to get in and out of the office as fast as possible because they don't like their jobs or the people at work. When your unhappy, you want to get the day over as soon as possible so you can get back home for a few hours and have some peace and quiet. When your happy, you slow down and really savor every moment. You don't feel like rushing. You become very patient. I wish the day were longer and that I could move even slower!

Granted, it's kooky here, but for me, it is far kookier up north.

Thank you, all so much. As I began reading your entries, I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. I don't know why this woman was so discouraging - maybe she has an agenda - but I'm feeling more comfortable about the prospects of living on one of the islands in USVI. Besides, I could definetly benefit from a less stressful life style.

Perhaps her comments were a blessing. Not only did they remind me to not burst someone's bubble when they're excited about something (even if I may know differently), but it also reminded me to update my recon plan! (After all, wasn't that the point of this string of messages in the first place?)

BTW, we moved from AZ to FL last year, and Phoenix was much more expensive. So, if things in VI aren't that much more expensive than in Orlando, I'm good to go! 😉

Oh, and Dominic, thanks for the tip on Innovative. My fiance trades for a living and couldn't do so without a high-speed connection.

Thanks, again!

Oh, BTW, I'm BOU'YA on another computer if you're totally confused about who just responded.

Kristin/Bou'ya

I'm not sure why there are a couple of posts about people not having money and living hand to mouth. What kind of job did you have? Did you just blow your money drinking like most of the young kids? I don't make a ton of money but I easily save money and can do practically whatever I want and I live in a great apartment in Red Hook. None of my friends are broke either....I think it's all a matter of making it work and being responsible.

I moved down here over a year ago sight unseen without much money and I don't plan on leaving any time soon. It's an island, you get used to it. If you like to keep things simple, you will fit right in. It can get frustrating at times, but didn't you ever get frustrated on the mainland? It's not for everybody, that's why I like it.

Matt

Dominic,

Innovative's DSL isn't available in all STX Estates (like mine!) Even though they told me I could get DSL when I went in to Innovative to get my phone, cable and Internet access set up, it turns out that the phone lines in my area run through somthing called a multi-plex whioch makes them incompatible with DSL. To Innovative's credit , their phone supervisor is sending out work crews to literally dig around for a line they can run directly to my house without going through the multi-plex. To their credit, they are giving me free dial up access while they work out this whole DSL thing.

We have had nthing but good experiences with these utility type issues, and understand that we are the big excpetion to the rule. WAPA connectred both our accounts (our house used to be duplex and is still wired as such) in two business days, our cable was live the next business day after ordering, and our phone was live in two days.

HC