Potential Move to St. Thomas

Is anything cheaper here to offset the inflated costs of other living expenses, especially housing?

What is the Zika status?

Rum is cheaper. Property taxes not so bad, yet. Everything else, more.

Zika http://viconsortium.com/health/territory-sees-sharp-increase-in-zika-73-pregnant-women-have-tested-positive/

And of course no personal healthcare policies, you need to get insured through employer.

Have you started the process of getting your VI license yet? It can take months for the Board of Pharmacy to act.

You still pay local income tax to Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Your choice location of where you decide to rent a home will be dictated by the location of your job and your choice of children's school.

January is normally a busy month for tourism both by air and cruise ship arrivals, do a few runs to check traffic patterns between the two at the times you'll need to be on the road. You'll want to live close enough to both work and school so that you're not spending the majority of your time commuting or stuck in traffic.

If you're working at the RLSH hospital, south and northside are good locations to live but Montessori is located on east end. If you have 2 cars, it'll be easier to get around to work, school and for wife and kids to have some relative freedom while you're at work.

You definitely don't want to live on the west end of island if kids go to school on east end, for example. Plus no quick run to the store if you need something from the supermarket.

Good luck.

Montessori has a bus for those who don't live in the neighborhood- which happens to be a great neighborhood. 😉

The Department of Health is putting out weekly reports on Zika: http://doh.vi.gov/

The income tax we pay is a mirror of the federal tax, but the money doesn't go to Washington, it stays here. There is no local income tax, nor is there a sales tax. But, there is a gross receipts tax which is added into the cost of everything you buy.

A lot of activities with your children will be low cost. There are beach gatherings, etc.that are organized by schools, churches, and other social groups.

There are not many things that are cheaper here but the way of life does offer some advantages.
Your clothing expenses are likely to be less because of the seasonal clothing needed in Maryland. Coats, boots,sweaters, etc. that are usually the most expensive clothing in your family wardrobe, especially for growing children, are not needed. Adult dress clothing that usually requires dry cleaning are not as commonly worn or required as in many stateside social situations.
You won't need an expensive highway capable vehicle - reliable basic transportation is fine - not a lot of 'keep up with the Jones" attitude here. Gasoline is more expensive but your daily mileage is usually much lower than Maryland driving.
No cold weather expenses - whether it be snow tires, down jackets, heat, snow blowers, blankets etc.
If you settle into a simpler lifestyle overall here and aren't determined to maintain a consumer driven stateside facade in housing, furniture, clothing, automobiles, food choices, and all the expected conveniences, etc you can pretty much offset the higher costs of many products and utilities.
Private schools are pricey but do offer a good college oriented education if you stay that long. hopefully being in the medical field you will be able to find Insurance available from your employer. Barring some specialties, medical care here is good.

Patience - Tolerance - Adaptability - Positive Attitude - well these are all free and can't be bought but are the most important things to possess for Virgin Island living.

If you do end up living here for long enough your children will grow into more interesting and diverse adults than the typical suburban teenagers and Mom and Dad will have found many new interests in our less conventional island world.

You will likely get much more practical suggestions here on the forum - living in fairly convenient commuting work/school areas, school advice, negative anecdotes, cautionary explanations etc --- .and they have value but you must distill them for your expectations.

I have lived here much longer than the year you mentioned - I raised a family, bought a home, worked in a few industries, traveled throughout the Caribbean, am enjoying a semi retirement with part time activities, formed many friendships, seen a lot of changes here, enjoy the island life immensely and overcome numerous stumbling blocks as any one my age has, some were island specific - hurricanes, power outages, customer service deficiencies, product unavailability, frustrating problems and unnamed others.
It is not for everyone is a common refrain and a truthful assessment - many pitfalls easily discourage newcomers - it may not be a lifetime commitment but a few years only for many - I wish you luck in your research - having a job offer is a huge advantage not available to most people planning this move, but life here can be the most satisfying family experience or just too frustrating to sustain - you will never know unless you try it and come with an open mind and attitude.

Patience - Tolerance - Adaptability - Positive Attitude......you forgot the most important thing "a sense of humor"

Very good Exit Zero

Loved the post Exit.

mike

Thank you guys for the responses!! Glad to get some honest and open feedback. Also, glad to hear the rum is cheap to help quell the other frustrations!

Regarding my pharmacist license - I have submitted my request for reciprocity through the NABP. I suppose I am waiting on the VIBOP to process.

Right now, I am having a difficult time with the housing affordability. Seems like you either get a condo for 400,000$ (with 600-1,000$/month condo fees) or have to spend close to a million for a single family. At least most of the single families have apartments to rent to help with the mortgage. Everything in between seems to be a bit run down. I am not scared to renovations, but from what I hear, it would take a while to do any renovations. The pharmacy owner I have been speaking to suggests renting for at least a year before I decide on where I want to live or even if I want to stay down there. Any thoughts?

You can PM if you want but which pharmacy?

Patience - Tolerance - Adaptability - Positive Attitude - well these are all free and can't be bought but are the most important things to possess for Virgin Island living.
.

I'm about 2.75 out of 4. HA! I am certainly adaptable and have an overall positive attitude. However, I can be impatient and intolerant of certain things. One of them is timeliness. I guess I will have to work on that if I am to move down there.

Definitely rent for at least a year! As you heard, you'll want to know *if* you are going to stay and *where* you would like to be if you do stay.

Intolerant of timeliness works well. 😉 Very little timeliness here...

The real estate market certainly has plenty of family homes for less than a Million dollars that do not need renovation. Maintenance is a constant here however.
I wonder if you will find anyone on this forum who disagrees with the owner of the pharmacy about renting before buying a home.
Island Time is not a myth - although the most beautiful watches are sold on Main st. very few people actually have much care about being on time. Soon Come is a much used phrase describing timeliness.
If you are here on island now working with a real estate agent looking for a home to buy and the ones you have visited don't measure up to your expectations unless they are in the $1,000,000 range I have to believe that island life may not suit you. What area have you seen?

I have just been looking on SeaGlass properties. Is there a different real estate search engine I should be checking out? I didn't mean to sound snotty when I was talking about the homes. It just seems like there isn't much on the market between the 500-700k dollar range in single family homes. What areas do most permanent residents live?

There are certainly plenty of condos available for under $400K, some that have been nicely updated. All depends on what you want. Use the MLS. I look at http://www.teamsanmartin.com. Chris Hanley should have it on his web site, there is also Island Life real estate. Doesn't hurt to start looking but I agree you should rent for a year before buying unless you can afford to be stuck with a property that may take months/years to sell if you decide to move back or elsewhere.

There are tons of threads here explaining that you should rent at least a year before buying or you could get stuck when you leave. More leave than stay that move here. I lived here during the 90's. Kept in touch and vacationed may times and finally, after family obligations moved back 4 years ago. I sold two houses in the states and still do not know where I'd like to buy, if ever. But, plan to stay till my end.

Do the banks still want 20% cash down on home loans?

Do the banks still want 20% cash down on home loans?

Yes. The mortgage companies I dealt with LY all wanted 20%. You just need to shop around as their fees are all over the board. At the last minute I had to switch due the horrible company I was dealing with couldn't get anything done. When I did, the Chris got what took 2 months for the other company in less than a week and the fees were half of the first company. I never thought to compare fees as I figured they would be close and the VI was going to be expensive anyways, but I suggest you really get all this upfront before committing to a mortgage company.

Well if we're going to start talking about mortgages be aware that banks will not give mortgages to some condos if the HOAs do not meet certain requirements for insurance, reserves, etc. That's been discussed before as well.

Do the banks still want 20% cash down on home loans?

Yes. The mortgage companies I dealt with LY all wanted 20%. You just need to shop around as their fees are all over the board. At the last minute I had to switch due the horrible company I was dealing with couldn't get anything done. When I did, the Chris got what took 2 months for the other company in less than a week and the fees were half of the first company. I never thought to compare fees as I figured they would be close and the VI was going to be expensive anyways, but I suggest you really get all this upfront before committing to a mortgage company.

Boy I really need to proof read my posts sometimes, I can't even follow this one.. lol

Thank you guys for the responses!! Glad to get some honest and open feedback. Also, glad to hear the rum is cheap to help quell the other frustrations!

Regarding my pharmacist license - I have submitted my request for reciprocity through the NABP. I suppose I am waiting on the VIBOP to process.

Right now, I am having a difficult time with the housing affordability. Seems like you either get a condo for 400,000$ (with 600-1,000$/month condo fees) or have to spend close to a million for a single family. At least most of the single families have apartments to rent to help with the mortgage. Everything in between seems to be a bit run down. I am not scared to renovations, but from what I hear, it would take a while to do any renovations. The pharmacy owner I have been speaking to suggests renting for at least a year before I decide on where I want to live or even if I want to stay down there. Any thoughts?

General consensus on this forum is never move here looking to buy. Most likely you won't make it past the 1 year mark and you'll be stuck with a house which on STT can take years to sell. Best to rent IMO for at least 3 years before buying here. Some have bought right away and it worked out but tahts certainly the exception to the rule.

That's said if you have disposable money then go for it. Selling homes in STT and STJ is a long process. I know a few who are trying to sell, two arelready left and it's causing major financial burden.

Good healthcare and good schools? I'm not really involved in either, no kids and dr only if I'm near death but I'm told both are pretty terrrble from friends with kids. Many of my friends or aquantaices that I meet when I work at the bar send their kids back to the states for school and ive even been told by their kids that they didn't want to go to school here. Again I don't have kids nor want them at all but this is what I've observed.

Worrying about Zika and such won't do you any good here. Odds are you'll get some mozzy borne deal. If not malaria, dengue, chic, zika, it'll be the next on the list to pop up. I had Zika (not confirmed) but big rash and compounded on top of a cold from the states. Was pretty miserable and right shoulder is still a wreck but it's part of life here. As are spiders the size of your face and a general buggy life.

Not to be all negative lol, I love these islands and can't imagine being anywhere else but there are a lot of really annoying and inconvient things about island life. Juice is still worth the squeeze for me.

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Worrying about Zika and such won't do you any good here. Odds are you'll get some mozzy borne deal. If not malaria, dengue, chic, zika, it'll be the next on the list to pop up. I had Zika (not confirmed) but big rash and compounded on top of a cold from the states. Was pretty miserable and right shoulder is still a wreck but it's part of life here. As are spiders the size of your face and a general buggy life.

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Unless I missed something, the risk of mosquito-born malaria here is nil at the moment. We have enough to deal with without adding non-existent worries. Also, the odds of catching dengue, Zika, et al, while there, are not in your favor, given the number of cases reported vs the population. And a lot of that depends on your location, as well as the extent of the preventative measures you personally take.

I'll give you the bugginess factor, though.

"Good healthcare and good schools? I'm not really involved in either, no kids and dr only if I'm near death but I'm told both are pretty terrible from friends with kids. Many of my friends or acquaintances that I meet when I work at the bar send their kids back to the states for school and I've even been told by their kids that they didn't want to go to school here. Again I don't have kids nor want them at all but this is what I've observed."

Okay, I have to step in here and say, at least on St Thomas, we have good, basic healthcare. There are children and adults who are receiving good care. We may not have some specialty care, but pediatricians and internal medicine are well represented.

There are also some excellent schools. Montessori, Antilles, and All Saints come to mind.

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Worrying about Zika and such won't do you any good here. Odds are you'll get some mozzy borne deal. If not malaria, dengue, chic, zika, it'll be the next on the list to pop up. I had Zika (not confirmed) but big rash and compounded on top of a cold from the states. Was pretty miserable and right shoulder is still a wreck but it's part of life here. As are spiders the size of your face and a general buggy life.

....

Unless I missed something, the risk of mosquito-born malaria here is nil at the moment. We have enough to deal with without adding non-existent worries. Also, the odds of catching dengue, Zika, et al, while there, are not in your favor, given the number of cases reported vs the population. And a lot of that depends on your location, as well as the extent of the preventative measures you personally take.

I'll give you the bugginess factor, though.

Yes for sure I mean when I said malaria and its predecessors that there will always be "some" mozzy borne ordeal. I didn't mean it was happening now but has in the past and then dengue, then chick now Zika. Always something Mother Nature makes to cull our species.

In respects of schools, again I'm only going in what I've heard and the many friends in STT I lost to their kids wanting to go back to the mainland. I've only been to the Dr. twice in STT and both times it was a mess - first time they lost all my blood work. My fiancé had a bad experience also once and my friend who had a heart attack and had to go to the ER said the aftercare room was filthy and the sheets weren't clean. He refused to stay. He did say the surgeons and nurses were very nice. Stx hospital looks like it'll loose its certification soon. Plessan healthcare STX is GREAT but it's not cheap!

I also was assuming they they mean individual healthcare until they have jobs (we all know how long that can take) but if OP is working as a pharmacist then I'm sure their medical coverage would be decent.

I guess I just chuckled because of these topics being covered here so many times in a negative light and those being the first two things that were important to them. Maybe Hawaii would be better? I really feel like to live here you have to be self sufficient and not expect any type of higher end or even stateside amenities. If you get them, it's a bonus but overall it's pretty wild Wild West out here. *IMO!