On our way, the adventure begins in ernest and thank you everyone!

I just love a good plan.  I'm trying to retire the end of the year if they let me.

What have you done with your jeep for the past months?

The neighbor drives it occasionally so that it stays alive and well.  In the future I'll be keeping it on a battery tender when we're not there, plus have the neighbor use it once in a while.

who did you end up using to move your goods and vehicles?  Also did you purchase the container or just use it to load/unload.  I'm thinking of buying one as i can use it for storage when I get there due to the size of my home there.  Or did they bring one, you loaded and then they took it same day?  Thanks,

Best of luck to you and your new adventure. I hope you will not disappear from The Moving Center, as your voice is important to others thinking of the same move. Often newbies get info from here and we never get to find out how it all turned out. ? But I really like to hear about it...

Posted by: @daveb722

who did you end up using to move your goods and vehicles?  Also did you purchase the container or just use it to load/unload.  I'm thinking of buying one as i can use it for storage when I get there due to the size of my home there.  Or did they bring one, you loaded and then they took it same day?  Thanks,

We used Blue Ocean Transport and Ferral (sp) Trucking (recommended by Blue Ocean) for both our Jeep and Household Goods.  We rented the container (as we thought that was easier) and I will update everyone on the success of this after everything is unloaded.  Blue Ocean has been very professional and easy to work with, so I do recommend them.  The container was scheduled to be at our home north of Boston for 4 hours but our movers took closer to 8 hours to pack and load everything.  We've hired some movers to unload on the island, which I expect will be much quicker than the loading.

Posted by: @east-ender

Best of luck to you and your new adventure. I hope you will not disappear from The Moving Center, as your voice is important to others thinking of the same move. Often newbies get info from here and we never get to find out how it all turned out. ? But I really like to hear about it...

Not to worry, this site have been very helpful and I will keep everyone updated on our progress and status.

@jaldeborgh

Thanks, I may pick your brain in the next few months via private message as my wife and I contemplate our move finally.  

Posted by: @daveb722

@jaldeborgh

Thanks, I may pick your brain in the next few months via private message as my wife and I contemplate our move finally.  

No problem, I just need to figure out the private message thing, haven’t used that feature yet. 

@jaldeborgh

Congratulations!

We'll be there next weekend and we're scheduled to close on our house on the 16th (moving up from a condo we've had for a few years and will sell once we've moved).

Posted by: @rewired

@jaldeborgh

Congratulations!

We'll be there next weekend and we're scheduled to close on our house on the 16th (moving up from a condo we've had for a few years and will sell once we've moved).

Congratulations to you as well.  We arrived late this afternoon, had a great dinner and bottle of wine at Duggan’s Reef, then took a quick swim in our pool.  Tomorrow the container arrives so we’ll be busy mapping out where to put everything before the moving team shows up on Friday.  Exciting times!

Unloaded the container of furniture and other household goods.  Everything survived as hoped.  The Blue Ocean folks were as professional as ever, took about 4 hours to unload everything but we’re a long way from settled.  All the rugs and heavy stuff are in place, now it’s on to small stuff and things like where to hang the pictures.  Honestly, high class problems.

We met our neighbors, super nice and at a similar place in life as us.  All-in-all a good day, except the bones are a little sore.

@jaldeborgh

Ditto us as well! We are coming in Feb to start the process... look at places and land, see what will be best for our needs, start the transition process. Looking forward to updates to help us on our journey to be permanent over there too!

@rewired

would love any feedback and lessons learned as we are just starting our transition journey!

Best of luck to you!

Heading back to Boston for work and the holidays but will return on the 27th.  As I’ve mentioned my wife will stay through mid-April and I’ll visit when I can.

The move has gone well, we now have internet, a pool guy, bug guy, cleaning lady and property manager for the summers when we’re back in New England.  Good progress and people have been great  

We’ve found a little time to begin exploring and relaxing (boat parade and fireworks) but mostly it’s been organizing and running errands.  The food on the island has been fantastic.  

I just love a good plan.  I'm trying to retire the end of the year if they let me.

What have you done with your jeep for the past months?

We’re back as planned but we’ve been able to spend more time enjoying the island as our move is mostly complete.  We’ve met a few people and are starting to make friends, our neighbors are great and at a similar place in their lives, which is perfect for us.  We are still on the steep part of the learning curve but feel confident we have made the right decision coming to St. Croix.  Happy New Year to everyone.

Posted by: @fhpooiks What have you done with your jeep for the past months?

The Jeep was delivered roughly 6 weeks before we arrived.  Our neighbors, who also look after our house when we’re away, used it occasionally, which was perfect.  I’m planning to add a battery tender for the longer summer months when we’re off island. 

@baileysdom

Sorry for the delayed reply.  It was a busy couple of weeks moving and getting settled in.

If you're not sure where you want to be on the island, make several pre-move visits (PMVs) if necessary before you make a large investment.

We purchased a condo at St C (north shore near Judith's Fancy) and lived there happily for nearly 6 years, but found that we were driving to the west end of the island more and more frequently.  We had a significant amount of time (over a year combined in numerous trips) on the island to figure out that we belong on the west end...

The best advice I can give is below...

Get to know the neighbors! Our new neighbors called and offered to pick us up at the airport when we arrived, and we met more of our neighbors in 3 weeks on island this trip than in 5+ years of owning the condo (because many of the residents were renters).

Get out and meet people! Go to restaurants and bars (even if you don't drink) and talk to people. Ask them what they like (and don't like) about where they live and what activities are in the area. You will usually learn a lot more than you will from the newspapers and tourist magazines about the hidden treasures of the island and may learn about things that point you toward a particular area of the island. (By the way, it's also the best way to find a place to stay or a house to buy)

Be nice (and patient)! The island is about the same size as a small or medium size town on the mainland (50k residents, give or take).  You will make more friends and be more likely to be received well if you are friendly and don't expect anything (from buying a burger to building a house) to happen in the same amount of time as on the mainland. 

Best of luck and let me know if there's anything I can do to help!

@rewired

Great tips and reminders! We are doing our first "scoping" trip (aka pmv) in 17 days 🙂

Thanks again!!!

Quick update as I was on the island again the last week of February along with our 3 adult daughters (and their respective boyfriends/fiancé).

In total it’s been an amazing season, we love the house and location.  I’ve been away and working but my wife has had a steady stream of visitors, all of whom have loved the island.  The week with our kids was priceless with non-stop activities including Buck Island, Cane Bay scuba, Frederiksted sunset cruise, Point Udall hiking, lots of beaches and great food.  Honestly, all good (or better).

My wife has to come back to Boston a little early as she’s now scheduled for rotator cup surgery the 3rd week of April.  She’s unable to play tennis, which is her favorite sport and wants it done before our oldest daughters wedding in October.

As for taking care of the property and our Jeep while we’re gone, we are fortunate to have a property management couple, that live next to us, they will look after things, including occasionally driving our Jeep.  Really nice (and capable) people.

Finely, we have a solar system being installed just after my wife departs.  We have everything coordinated between the installers and the property managers so that everything goes smoothly.

We’re off to a great start, I’m still scheduled to retire in early 2021, now under a year to go, not that I’m counting.  The excitement continues to build.