retired military considering relocating to st. croix

I am not so sure the comments should be considered negative, they should be viewed as EXPERIENCED. I think the idea and dream of living on a tropical island makes people do things without enough thought. STX is a rough place in terms of living, although the gates and barred windows windows give a slight feeling of security.

Visiting is one thing, trying to make it through the day to support yourself is another. And besides the ocean view, what do you want out of it? The good economy? One of the higher paying jobs? The beautiful drive thru Christiansted, especially at night? It just depends on your needs and the price of the tropical cultures.
🙂

do or die i'll be there on my head.

Many of us post here who live quite happily on STX. We try to answer questions honestly, balancing good and bad.

And I do drive through C'sted at night a couple of times a week without incident.

I have lived here for almost two years now and don't regret making the move. Posts that might be considered "negative" to me serve as "reality checks". For many continentals moving here is a dream. Dreams are not reality. Once the ooohs and ahhhs of the beautiful blue Caribbean, the wafting breezes and swaying palm fronds begin to wain, you've got to earn a living, find a place to call your own and find your place within the community. The island will not change for anyone. If you fight it, it will chew you up and spit you out. It ain't "back home" either. You're outside of your culture and away from your family and friends. You are under the US flag but you are not in the US as you know it. Along with the fantastic weather, the beaches, and the bars there are indeed problems as there are anywhere. This board doesn't sweep them under the rug. Granted, at times it may seem that everybody's jumping on the bandwagon to "slam" St Croix however; people considering a move here (a major life altering move) need to know as much as possible about the good and the bad.

If you are willing to try new things and appreciate the differences, if you can appreciate the things to do here that we have on offer, if you can make new friends--- you can be quite happy. Down here you choose your friends wisely because your friends are your "island" family and you need to have that in your life even if you don't know it yet.
I'll be here as long as I'm happy and making money. So far, that is indeed the case.

Joy, I would encourage you to read as far back as you can, you'll see some quality stuff! Even the curmudgeons have some good stuff to share.

As a native islander, it must be hard to hear that some people think your island has big problems. But I'll bet you've already heard about them these 20 years from your family. In every place I've ever lived the "natives" were always sensitive to what the latecomers had to say. Sometimes the latecomers were right, sometimes just uppity. The VI has no corner on that experience.

Speaking as someone who DID "go back home" after 14 years of wandering, I can tell you that the place you thought you were going back to doesn't exist anymore. It has changed, the people there have changed, and you have changed. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try to go back home, just giving you an "eyes wide open" bit of advice.

Neil

Joy - there is at least one frequent poster who has expressly stated that she doesn't mention any positives about the island because she feels the positives are self-evident. She focuses on stating the negatives that might not occur to someone with a fantasy of moving to the islands. There is some validity to that... but I think that her approach probably loses her some of the audience she was trying to reach.

Anyone who has raised a child or who has employees has learned that when all you do is focus on what someone does wrong and the negatives you can think of and never praise them or openly recognize the good and positive things they do, that the child or employee will come to distrust and dislike you. They'll close off from listening to what you say. They don't want to hear only negatives and they deserve to hear the good along with the bad. When they stop listening to you it can be dangerous, because within all the negativity there may well have been some valid warnings that they needed to hear. Balancing the negatives with some positives, even obvious ones, may keep them heeding what you have to say so that they learn the lesson they need to be taught.

No matter where you live, there are bound to be positives and negatives. Some of the positives here actually aren't obvious to people who have never lived here and they should be mentioned as surely as the things people consider to be negative. What one person thinks is negative might be a positive to someone else and vice versa. Potential new residents have a lot of natural fears of their own about making such a dramatic change in their life. A little supportiveness might be in order. No matter what is posted on this site, some people will move here who probably shouldn't have and they will eventually leave again. Others who might have been very happy here may be scared off and live the rest of their life wondering "what if". Both of those situations are unfortunate.

There are many people living happily in the islands. Others face challenges they don't want to put up with or absolutely can't make ends meet and they find another place to live on the mainland where they don't face that situation. Maybe they have a different negative there but it might be something they are willing to live with. We all have to make personal choices.

When you come back to St. Croix, you will definitely find that some changes have occurred. You might find you really love being back or you might find that you have changed enough during your years away that the island doesn't fit you comfortably any longer. Or you may need some settling in time to get back into the different style of living that the military shoved out of your life the first day of boot camp. You will have the advantage of family on the island and the support system that provides. People like you who were raised here, leave, experience other cultures and parts of the world and then return, can be a very strong voice within the local population to help guide the changes that are bound to occur as time moves onward. "Think globally, work locally" is a phrase that could be useful to help islanders look outwards to see the USVI's place in the world and work towards improving it, not only look inwards and shut the world out.

The USVI has a lot to offer to the mainland USA and to the world. The culture of politeness and respect and small town friendliness even when greeting strangers is one that has disappeared from more and more sectors of the mainland. Hopefully the islands will never lose that. The joy of celebrations and the ability to be satisfied in life without the overblown consumerism of the mainland is another beautiful island trait. And yes, the weather is soooo much better here than where I came from ! 🙂

I personally enjoy my life on St. Croix very much. I've lived many places and this is without doubt the best fit in my adult life, due to a combination of the people, the weather, the beauty, the water sports, the sociability, and the eclectic personalities that somehow mesh together here as they wouldn't anywhere else. Hopefully when you come back to the island, you will find it fits you well, also.

Thank you for the work you have done through the years in your service to our country. I hope the military has done well by you in return.

Thank you Alexandra very well said. Thank you Joy for your service for so long.

I think i just pretend they want to keep it a secret or there crazy. Better clarify crazy, you don't love to do, what i love to do. That requires islands and mainly a perfect sea.

Alexandra...
Joy - there is at least one frequent poster who has expressly stated that she doesn't mention any positives about the island because she feels the positives are self-evident. She focuses on stating the negatives that might not occur to someone with a fantasy of moving to the islands. There is some validity to that... but I think that her approach probably loses her some of the audience she was trying to reach.

No, hopefully it just reaches the daydreamers who are......well, daydreaming. Those who are serious will at least make a trip to the islands prior to arriving with bags in hand and no plan.....and they can balance the natural beauty with "but what about" in their own minds. The positives ARE self evident, there's no need to belabor the point of the beauty of the islands; however, to the couple intending to retire on Social Security only or the couple with 5 kids who can't go to private schools because of financial concerns, geez - if they just turn up, they sure are going to be in for a surprise, now aren't they? I think you could find plenty of people, both past and current residents, who would say there are/were things about the islands they surely wish they'd known or taken more seriously prior to their move, and things they never anticipated that were wonderful and enhanced their lives. Change for the negatives will come, but it will be more slowly than some would like or can afford to weather out. However, I think the "frequent posters" opinions need to be considered just as surely as yours - two different viewpoints. One from a couple who are consists of a government employee and an executive secretary - one from a realtor who is seeing a boom and her husband, who owns a profitable business, boat, plane, and house on the waterfront. It's two different realities. No need to take a sling at the frequent poster....you've been there and done that.

Anyone serious about a move can search the archives of this forum and see there are differing views of the reality of life in the VI. MosquitoBaitt said it best....visiting is one thing, living is another. Although my positives and negatives won't be on the same chart as yours, they may be on the same chart as someone else.

I would like to thank everyone for both their positive and negative feed back on my consideration to move back to the islands. My husband has five more years before he retires from the military and is really gong-ho on moving to the islands. We are still debating about where our finally home will be, my husband thinks that we can live on our military retirement pay comfortably. What is the cost living like? If we decided to find part-time jobs how hard or easy will it be to fine jobs? I have an MBA and my husband will have his Associates degree in Criminal Justice, so what are our options? Any feed back welcome.

Hi Joy,

I don't know how it works with military retirement pay. Do you already know what it will be 5 years from now? I assume it is based on your salary at the time of retirement and number of years served? It is not a fixed income, right? Do you get "raises"?

Anyway, what I am getting at is that the cost of living here is already high. Can only imagine it going up over the next 5 years, particularly housing costs.

I think it would be pretty easy for both of you to find jobs.

Add my thanks for your service!

Juanita