Okay, so here I go

Allison,

If you work late you will likely need a car to get home. It is probably cheaper to sell your car and buy one when you get here. There are few bartending opportunities on the Northside and the Northside of the island is generally the most expensive area to live. You may be able to find a place to live in your price range (sharing) near your place of employment if you look in Red Hook. Have you been here for a pre-move visit?

Hi dntw8up-
Thank you so much for responding. No, I have not been there for a PMV. I have read what other ppl have posted about PMV's, in some ways I would like to visit beforehand to possibly set things up, but, from what everyone has said, you need to be on island to do so.
Are there really good bartending jobs in the Red Hook area? And is it safe? Also, I know that the landlords generally want to see you in person before they rent to you, but, I would feel more comftorable if I had a permanent place to live before I got to STT. I would be willing to send whatever securities and such ahead of time if I was able to find a good deal on an apartment...do you think that is a realistic option of mine>

Any advice on anything.... PLEASE!!! Thank you

Hello Allison.

Anything is possible but potential landlords and employers have had countless people express an interest in living and working here, expressions of interest that do not amount to anything, so they are disinclined to take anyone seriously that they have not met face to face. Reading posts about the pre-move visits of other people, people that you do not know, does not provide you with a realistic set of expectations for your own move. If you intend to come here without performing any first handle research then I recommend you keep enough money in a stateside savings account to pay for a ticket back home. Things may work well for you here but it would be horrible to have to stay here if they don't and many people find that their fantasy cannot be realized in everyday life and is best kept for vacations. There are places like Crystal Palace and Villa Fairview where you can stay until you find a job and a place to live. Safety is relative and if you're sensible then you will likely be fine. I don't know what constitutes a "good" bartending job because my disposition prohibits my working in the service industry.

dntw8up,
What do you mean your disposition prohibits you from working in the service industry?..sorry if I am being to nosy. I understand what you mean about not taking anything to seriously from ppl that I have never met.. thats one of the reasons I was so nervous to post on here in the first place.
To me, a "good" bartending job means working in a bar that is fun and has a good atmosphere, and the obvious.. help me to pay my bills!!!
How long have you been on island?

Allison,

No need to be anxious about posting here. I don't think it would be difficult to find work in a bar that would pay you enough for your living expenses if your expectations are modest. Sharing a house is usually less expensive than getting your own apartment but finding roommates with whom you are compatible is difficult for some people. The reference to my disposition is simply that I am not a social creature so I would be miserable if I had to work in the service industry. I have been on island awhile and expect to remain here unless I someday develop health issues that are better treated stateside.

dntw8up,

First off, I want to thank you for taking the time to write to me. I truely appreciate it. I understand that sharing a house would def. be cheaper than being by myself, I am very easy to get along with and I love people ( thats why I love bartending so much).. however, since I will be a "newbie" so to speak, I won't be comftorable living with people that I don't know right off the bat. Safety is def. a concern of mine. My expectations are very modest, although, an apartment with a view is a def. plus!! I am not coming there expecting to make a million dollars.. quite the opposite. I just want to do a job that I love doing (bartending) in an environment that I love being in ( hot, gorgeous carribean). As long as I make enough money to pay my bills and be able to put some money away on the side for later on in life and I meet great ppl.. I am happy.
Can you give me some of the differences in the different parts of the island? Good and Bad? And how long (est.) does it take to drive from one end to the other?

Allison,

The west end of the island is primarily residential and drier (cacti) and further from most businesses, though the university is out that way. The north side of the island is also primarily residential and is generally the most expensive (a number of gated neighborhoods.) The south side of the island has downtown Charlotte Amalie (tourist shopping) as well as Havensight and Crown Bay (cruise ship docks.) The East End is probably where you'd end up living and working as the majority of the resorts are in that vicinity (and thus many of the bars too.) There are some areas where you would not want to walk alone at night but you can ask about those once you begin looking for a place to live. These subjective generalities do not tell you much about St. Thomas so you will need to explore after you get here. Life on St. Thomas provides many different things to many different people and you will need to seek out your own niche.

Hi Allison
The drive from the Northside to Red Hook is about 25 minutes. About 15 to 20 minutes to town. If you want to live on the Northside you will definitely need your own transportation as it's very difficult and expensive to get a taxi and public transportation doesn't come up here (I'm a Northside resident).
You'll probably want to look on the East End for housing and job opportunities. The East End isn't just Red Hook, but that's part of it. You will definitely be able to find a serving job, but a position bartending will be a bit more difficult to come by, but by no means impossible. Just be willing to get yourself in the door by first being a server if necessary.
You'll be arriving when some of the seasonal people will be heading back north which can be good as far as filling an open position or finding a place to live. Studio apartments in the East End area are generally tiny and around $700 a month, but many are within walking distance to public transportation as well as a lot of bars/restaurants and stretching it a bit, resorts or hotels.
I know a few people who live on the East End and either work there or take the safari or taxi it to work. It is possible to live here without having a car. I don't have one, but I'm lucky to have a personal chauffeur!
You also might look into Frenchtown for prospective employment or a place to live. There are several restaurants there and it's adjacent to town where restaurants are only outnumbered by jewellery stores.
Good luck.

dntw8up,

okay, so it sounds as if the eastend is def. where I want to focus most of my energy in my search. I am assuming that theses places that I don't want to walk alone at night are primarily particular streets and small sections of the eastend? Or are there "towns" that are just not good period? I know it prob. seems that I am asking the same questions over and over, I am just trying to get as much of a feel for the area, without being there. As with everywhere else, you don't get a true feel for things in less you actually live there, however, I just want to try and steer myself in the right direction. You had mentioned earlier that the villa fairview would be a good temp. place to stay until I found something more permanent..how far is that from the east end and do you know of anywhere else I could stay that is in the vicinity of the Red Hook area or eastend?

Allison,

The areas you might wish to avoid are scattered around the island. There aren't any "towns" but rather there are "estates" and even within estates there is some neighborhood variation. If you stay at Crystal Palace or Villa Fairview you will likely meet other people who are relocating and you'll be able to compare notes. The benefits of a pre-move visit are impossible to overstate.

Katetastrophee,

Thank you for your response. I have worked in the rest. industry ever since I could work, so if I have to serve for awhile first, that would be fine! Are bartending jobs really harder to come by? And if so, why? Also, so you really think that I would be okay without person transportation if I live in one of those area's... the whole car thing has me really torn. I have read things from all perspectives, and I still can't figure out what I should do.

It's easier to find a server position because there are more servers in a restaurant than there are bartenders. Even if you work in a resort where they may have several bars and restaurants there will still be more server positions available. Most of the larger resorts are constantly hiring servers. That's true nearly everywhere, not just here. Bartending positions are a bit more coveted and turnover is probably lower.
When I first got here I was supposed to stay at Villa Fairview, but ended up staying at Crystal Palace. Both are owned by the same wonderful man and are both in town. I met quite a few people while staying there and through them met many more people and also found a job and my personal chauffeur (aka "the boyfriend").
As long as you have a healthy bank account, a big sense of humor, a bit of patience and a willingness to behave yourself to some extent then you should have no problems. I came here all by myself and things have worked out really well for me.
If you feel you must have a car, it's possible to get a longer term rental. A friend I met down here and I rented a Corolla for $600 a month, but we had to agree to renting it for 3 months. That, unfortunately, was one of the few things that didn't work in my favor since the friend left after one month of renting the car leaving me with the financial burden, but you live and learn.
If you have any other questions or concerns feel free to PM me.

I absolutely understand the server/bartender thing! I guess, like everywhere else I will just have to get my foot in the door! You say you went there by yourself as well..? How old were you whe you did that and can you give me any advice? (personal exp. and what you did to prepare for your move?). Also, what would you consider a healthy bank account to set myself up for the move? If I do stay at the villa fairview.. which seems to be the thing to do.. is it fairly easy for me to get around from that basepoint to look for a job? I am asking this because they say that you should reserve a spot there 3 months in advance, and I am planning on moving in 3-4 months, so, I would need to reserve a room very soon.
Again, I thank you and all who respond to me so much!! You are helping me more than you know.

Allison:

Private message me...maybe I can give you some pointers on living on the East end.

F.I.

I PMed you.. any info. would be great. Thank you so much

hey allison im from nj (atlantic city area) and i lived is stt and bartended in my early 20's i lived on the east end (red hook area) and loved every minute of it. email me if i can be of any help.

Hi lip!!!

Of course you can be of some help to me!!! Anything you have to offer would be great. I currently live in Central Jersey, but, I spend my summers in Pt. Pleasant.
What did you do to prepare for your move: money you saved, setting up housing/job? I would like to try and set some of that up before I go, however, based on what everyone has said on this board..I am not sure how easy that is going to be. Any suggestions? You said that you lived on the eastend, Red Hook area, which is where I am pretty sure would be the best place for me. I want to bartend in a fun, resort like atmosphere and be able to live close to where I work (at least in the beg.) If you can give me some ideas of what that area is like and maybe tell me a little bit about some other places that would be great. My biggest concern is safety. How safe is it for a 24 year old woman moving to STT by herself? Anything that you think your experiences could offer me would be great! Thank you so much!

Allison

well you need to save enough money to get a vehicle and an apt. i would say 2k for the apt and 2 k min. for a vehicle. and then have enough money to live until you get a job. as in nj the best bartending gigs are locked up. but being a female you have a good advantage as far as getting employment in the restaurant business and working your way behind the bar perhaps starting as a server. you definatly want to be on the east end or north side but i do prefer the east end. i would definately try to get someone to go w/ you or find roommates. there is safty in numbers. speaking of the safety thing stt is in my opinion pretty safe. sure there is crime but where isnt there? i mean there were like 20 or so homisides last year (mostly local to local and strongly drug related) but philadelphia had close to 400 and im sure you wouldent not travel to philly because you were afraid of the crime. you will find many americans and euros your age and you will have the time of your life. my time there was among the most special i can recall and if this helps i recently bought a home on the east end.

Allison,

I received your PM and will get back to you within the next few days, even though so many of your questions have already been answered!

Ahh, always nice to see some more jersians relocating. I'm from south jersey, by AC as well, moved here 15 months ago with 4 friends. 2 of them have left but we all had a great time. Heres how to do it....move down on a wednesday towards the end of the month. stay the night in a hotel for 60 bucks. thursday pick up and island trader and find an apartment and hunk of crap nissan pickup truck that you don't think will last 2 weeks, but somehow will keep running a year later. move into apartment and wake up every day around 9, look for a job til 10, then sit on the beach drinking rum for the rest of the day. keep this up for about a month, or until you run out of money. seriously though, my girlfriend and i are moving out of our 1 bedroom apartment thats 2 minutes from red hook at the end of may. its 1000 a month, nicely furnished, AC, no view but you can hear the ocean. finding a place to live is easy, now getting cable tv is another story. but you'll figure it all out as you go, just gotta get here first. good luck

Adam-

Thank you for your input!!! Def. sounds like a plan, although, I don't exactly want to run out of money before I get a job! The apartment sounds great! I will def. keep in touch with you before I move. Why are you moving out of it? And what bars/rest. are nearby that I could possibly find a job at in May? Thank you for your response!!

Allison

Allison,

Adam's right, most of the time. I moved down with him. It's not as difficult as it sounds to make the move. It's a great time and if your not careful you may learn a thing or two also. There are lots of bars and restaurants in the Red Hook area as well as some hotels. There are a lot of bartending jobs at the hotels. The thing about the time of year your planning on coming down, you may find that people who came for the busy season are packing up and leaving. This leaves apartments available, cars for sale, and jobs open. Don't forget to schedual beach time before your working like a dog.

Pat

Pat,

Thanks for the input! I will def. need the beach time. I was very concerned about the time of year that I will be moving, however, some of you have reasurred me that ppl will be leaving, therefore, I will hopefully be able to get into an open position. I have been seriously looking at the east end.. how is Duffy's Love Shack? That seems to be a fun place to work. Am I wrong in this? Can you give me insight for anyother bars/rest to consider working at?
Thank Again to all of you,
Allison

Allison,

The owners of Duffy's sold their STJ location and their STT location is on the market. Your best bet is to see what's available when you get here in May.