Relocating to ST John

Your budget for a rental will work on any of the islands. It will get your the most on St. Croix, and then St. Thomas. St. John is higher, but $1,600 is a good budget to work with. I can speak mostly about St. John, which is small, pretty laid back, and mostly national park (undeveloped). Everybody seems to know everybody. Some people like that, some people don't. There are a lot of jobs in the restaurant and hospitality industry. So if you have any experience in either, it should take long to find a job. Generally speaking, it's pretty easy to find a place to live here in the off season, and harder to find a job. Once we reach November, there are lots of job openings. And for both housing and jobs, it's easier to find them once you are on island. You will find some listings online, but many many more once you get here since most people don't post them online.

Thank you so much stjohnjulie for the reply. I am a little curious to know about life on both St John and St Thomas (I know St John has a lot less to do and you must take a ferry to St Thomas to do certain activities, even grocery shop). Any opinion about a person in their 20's that wants to give it a shot and move to either island? Are there other people in the same situation as myself? Any relevant feedback or tips are greatly appreciated, thanks.
PS do you know any good websites that show long term renting options? I looked at a couple websites, but they were very limited.

There are tons of 20 something transplants on St. John. It's super easy to meet people here too.
As far as finding places to rent on St. John online... you aren't going to have the best of luck there. You can occasionally find a place on craigslist, but they are usually not the better options. The better options usually come word of mouth. Next best place is at Connections located in Cruz Bay. They have a board where people post housing, jobs, items for sale, services, etc. There is one long term rental company you can check out too. Scenic Properties 340-693-7777. They do not have an online posting as far as I know, so give them a call. I highly recommend that you don't rent anything until you see it in person. A lot of people stay some place short term while they look for something long term. A cheaper short term on the edge of town would be Samuel Cottages. Will you be shipping or buying a car while you are here? It will make your options as far as living a lot broader. Places close to, or right in, town are generally a bit more expensive.

The housing market on STJ is horrific right now, there is nothing available. I see kids pouring into connections all day long desperately looking for housing. DO NOT move down here in high season and expect to find a place to live.

I would probably plan on renting a car on the island if that is an option. I've heard the high season is extremely hard to find something, so I am trying to plan a good time as far as moving. Thank you for all the feed back and tips, I greatly appreciate it. If there is anything else about the three islands you would want to share as far as moving and living feel free to share, thank you!

Your budget opens up a lot of options for you. People looking for places in the $800-$1200 range that want to live by themselves are the people who have a harder time. Right now there are quite a few places on the board in Connections in your price range. Things will start to dwindle as we move into mid December. Then you will see places to start open up again in June. Although it is harder to get a job in June. September and October are good times to find a place to live. October and November are good times to find jobs. Lots and lots of jobs on the board right now. Lots of people looking for cooks of all levels.
Renting a car on St. John would probably not be a very good option. There are a very limited number of vehicles on St. John to rent and it is not uncommon for every single one of them to be booked during high season. You probably aren't going to find a break on price either. Renting a car would be a hefty expense that you couldn't recoup. If you bought a car, only stayed 6 months, you probably could resell it for close to if not the same as what you bought it for.