Q's from a Lurker about beaches and teens

The beaches and water are just as good on St Croix as the rest of the VI and the Caribbean. They are uncrowded without a lot of tourists clogging up space and standing up on coral to wave at the shore. Since the island is bordered on all sides by the Caribbean Sea, the beaches and water tend to be a lot calmer all around than other islands. We also have a terrific range of diving that is much more diverse than STT or STJ--one of the best wall's in the Caribbean, the F'sted pier, wrecks, reefs etc... The other islands are beautiful too, but St Croix is in NO way inferior to them landscape, view and water wise. Please when you come down, don't go around saying that other islands are "nicer." We are very proud of our island and you might get a nasty look or two! And I'm saying that in the nicest way possible 🙂

There are a lot of churches on island--episcopal, catholic, baptist, Jehovah's witnesses--you should find a church that fits you.

The beaches on StX are smaller than many in the Caribbean. Sandy Point on the West End is very popular,but no shade. The resorts have very pleasant beaches.
The majority of the beaches are rocky underfoot with urchins or have eel grass just off shore which does not appeal to some people. Cane Bay is lovely, again rocky underfoot, but can get very crowded especially at the weekend. It is the home of the Wall, so is a magnet for divers.
You don't find the long expanses of white sand and palm trees that many of the other islands have. The water is truly turquoiseand beautiful. If you have access to a boat, then the beach at Buck Island is a must. Sandy, sloping into crystal clear water.
Some people love the beaches on StX, some people do not. C'est la vie. We preferred the long sandy beaches with plenty of palm trees for shade that you find on PR, Costa Rica, the DR, etc.

Good questions, Neil.

I don't have a whole lot of experience where STX is concerned and I've been there only a few times over many years. But I would definitely disagree with stxem's comments in very many respects. You've already been to STT and STJ so you're familiar with the topography and the beaches resulting from that. STX is a reef island, not a volcanic island and thus the topography is very different but of course most enchanting in its own way!

I also just might disagree with stxem's dismissal of the STT/STJ diving experiences in touting the same experience on STX. With all due respect to stxem, history tells otherwise.

But you have a visit to STX planned anyway so you'll be able to see for yourself, To be honest, I think you will enjoy STX very much and my gut sense is that STX will probably suit your family situation better than St Thomas or St John (not St. John's, no "s"!)

You've already read all the posts about education so there's no need to address that.

There is an abundance of "Christian" churches all over the Virgin Islands and I have no doubt that you will fnd something to suit.

Hope this helps!

I have vacationed in stt and stj extensively and I would pick stx beaches over stt in a heartbeat, but no other island that I have been too compares to stj so far. Love the snorkeling in the st vincents and bvi but its just so hard/impossible to find a ugly or bad snorkel beach on stj. Yes stx does have some rocky beaches but that just usually means that they'll be a good snorkel beach and there are plenty of sandy beaches they just may be hard to find because unlike stt all of our beaches have not been developed by a hotel/resort. So you can actually go to a deserted beach and not see anyone all day. Granted you're going to be sans pina colda but hey just pack up the cooler.

As far as your second request well the threads may be older but not much changes here. Especially not just in a year or two. What you've read on the older threads holds still.

Churches on the mainland all vary from county to county so that would be impossible to answer. Why not just tell us what you are looking for and we can answer if it is here. Are you looking for catholic, southern baptist, etc?

We moved to St X las October. We miss a few things from "back home," but God has blessed us greatly here with friends and church family. That said, our 15 year old really hates it. He goes to one of the less expensive private schools where he is a middling student, but he's decided he hates the ocean and all water sports! Can you believe it?? I think the problem is that he really misses his friends and the lack of stores/malls and no skateboarding places. My thoughts: plan, discuss, and strategize with your teenager. Make sure there can be an option for a trip back to visit her friends if she needs it. Make sure she has at least a modicum of her "things" so she can quickly feel at home here. Come on down!