Safe places to live on St. Croix

You can always go to El Sol. I was there last night for the Stew Goat. The customers were about 80% black and 20% white. Our table had 4 whites and one black. Most tables were all black, a couple were all white, ours was the only mixed table.

I have always wondered how Arabs ended up owning almost all of the gas stations and grocery stores on the island. I know several Arabs and they told me about coming here in the 60's with nothing. Several started out as door to door salesmen. They are now pretty well off. I hardly ever see them out at restaurants though they can certainly afford it.

Why don't more crucians own their own businesses. You would think that if Arabs could start with nothing then so could crucians. And crucians should have an advantage since they are locals and you would think that locals would prefer to buy from locals.

Segregation. It is what it is. Birds of a feather flock together. When I first moved to St. Croix we drove all over the island not having a clue that there were certain places that our shinning white faces were not welcome. It was pretty scary to have fists shook at us and told, "whitey go home". I was very shocked and frightened. Can you think of a reverse situation on St. Croix? Is there any place on St. Croix where a person of color would feel like their live was in danger because they were not white?

really don't feel that the few whites on island are oppressing the local population. I think it is the elite wealthy Crucians oppressing their own people for personal gain.

dougtami hit the nail on the head.

monogram, you are black, highly educated and yet you say you dont have the right name. what does that say-is it the whites not giving you a chance or is it the locals? i think you know the answer.

i worked downtown for a number of years at a local jewelry store-all three of the floor girls who are amazing are all locals. where i work now , out of 170+ well, there might be 7 whites.

pt has a point-take your friends who have never been to buck island or on a tan tan tour.

it is not wrong at all to want things to be inclusive, but you can not ans should not put this all on the heads of the white people. i have often in the past wanted to include my work friends in things we do, have them over for dinner etc...it is their choice to NOT
want to do it.

my point is you want inclusion but most locals dont seem to. i must say construction locals are different-they never had a problem coming over for cookouts and eating with us, except one person who never would-he would come over but go eat in a corner.

alana , well said

i will never see the correlation between economics and racism-those are two completely different things-a white boy from a poor household has as little chance as a poor black boy from the same neighborhood.

maybe if there wasnt such a plethora of welfare , there might be more incentive for people to do something, anything to change their economic standing. this is a discussion for another thread

monogram, your photo did not come up but you mentioned deep end-we went there for that last queen of hearts-we had two waitresses-long story-the better one was a local. i would take her any day over the others that we have had.

i dont mind a real discussion but i do not like rudeness nor do i deserve it. and i do not write as eloquently as you do nor do i form my opinions cohesively. my mind wonders a lot and my thoughts tend to go in too many places at a time

People have been murdered, stabbed, robbed in every place on STX from elite to poor. As it is worldwide. Prepare yourself mentally. That seems to be the issue.

My daughter and I have a two year plan to move to St. Croix. I have to say this thread has put a real damper on my enthusiasm for the island. Never realized there was such a problem with the population/segregation issues and crime.

Not giving up on the idea totally, but a bit depressed over hearing this.

My daughter and I have a two year plan to move to St. Croix. I have to say this thread has put a real damper on my enthusiasm for the island. Never realized there was such a problem with the population/segregation issues and crime.

Not giving up on the idea totally, but a bit depressed over hearing this.

There isn't a problem. Some people with a chip on their shoulder perceive what isn't there.

My daughter and I have a two year plan to move to St. Croix. I have to say this thread has put a real damper on my enthusiasm for the island. Never realized there was such a problem with the population/segregation issues and crime.

Not giving up on the idea totally, but a bit depressed over hearing this.

It's good that you know what you're getting into. The place is more segregated than South Africa (been there three times).

indigo, dont let certain people put a damper on your plan or enthusiasm. you need to judge for yourself.

It's good that you know what you're getting into. The place is more segregated than South Africa (been there three times).

That is, without a doubt, one of the most outlandish comments I've ever read.

I travel to South Africa every now and then. From arriving at the Tambo Airport at "Joburg" (Johannesburg), dealing with customs, the two hour drive to the town of Secunda, to working at the Sasol Synfuels Chemical Plant. I've seen plenty around and the "shanty towns".

Segregation in STX? Goodness to Betsy... SMH. Just because birds of a feather tend to fly together does not mean there is segregation. It is a common social phenomena anywhere. More likely than not you will look for a nest you can afford and like. To say there is segregation in the VIs is a disservice to the islands and their residents.

I rent an apartment close to Five Corners and I am surrounded by Puertorricans, Crucians, Mainlanders, and Dominicans. There is even a Russian guy from Spain. No I am not making the last one up. So I get to hear opinions from a very wide spectrum. Most just say, it is what I like and can afford, then they just carry on with their lives.

As for safe places to live in STX, there are plenty. This is coming from a person residing close to Harborview and within spitting distance from JFK, the Jackson Terrace, and Water Gut.

Bad things happen every now and then. A few can be rather outrageous, yet, it is not the rule. In the end, some commons sense rules. One thing is reality check, but these boards feel more like shock therapy more than anything else. There is no need to try and scare the living sh"t out of people considering a move.

P.S. "Indigo", I sent you a PM.

After 10 years living here we are moving away. We love it here and really tried to stick it out. We have lost so much since we have been here.

Our house was burglarized while we were home sleeping. 6 men total. 3 inside 3 outside. By the time we we awoke, they were stealing both of our cars and other things in the house.

We are property managers of 3 other homes. All of which were burglarized. Twice while we had vacationers in.

My husband was assaulted by a cruzan man at the beach one day. The man was calling our girl friends Mutterscunt. My husband told him to stop saying that because it was ignorant. My husband turned away from the guy and he punched my husband in the back of the head. He then broke a beer bottle and was coming after my husband with it. Luckily, our cruzan friends grabbed this guy and beat the crap out of him.

We have been in 2 restaurant burglaries. They came in shooting one time.

We finally were able to sell our home after years of having it on the market. We had to take alot less for it just to get out. We had 2 businesses here that we had to give up. Still closing up the wood shop as we speak.

We were renting a home for a month after we sold our home, we were broken into there. They stole everything we owned. We were being watched apparently. We know who did it, we had a witness and still noting happened to these guys. They are still out there stealing.

These are all true stories. I don't like that people will say there isn't a problem. That is a lie. I think people who are moving here need to be aware of what goes on here.

If you do decide to live here, you will need to protect yourselves. Alarms, gates, dogs etc.

It is a beautiful place, I do love it. This has been really hard for us.

We are good hard working people. We don't do drugs, we don't hang out late at night.
I guess we just have super bad luck.

We will be leaving next month.

Wow margaritagirl, it sounds like you've had way more than your share of bad encounters. Can't blame you for heading for greener and hopefully, safer pastures. Good luck to you and your family.

I appreciate the comments of everyone. All opinions count. I am still open-minded to the move to STX. I love that it is not as built up as STT. However, we will do an extended visit to all the islands to see what resonates with us prior to making a final decision.

Thank you!

Wow margaritagirl, it sounds like you've had way more than your share of bad encounters. Can't blame you for heading for greener and hopefully, safer pastures. Good luck to you and your family.

I manage 7 rental properties in mixed neighborhoods. No bars on the windows, no security systems. There have been 3 minor burglaries total in 35 years. Including my own home.

I'm just throwing this out there so that you can see the balance of life here.

LOVING the honesty here! Thanks for your comments margaritagirl! The apologists on this board need to be exposed. The VI is one of the most dangerous places in the world for a reason. I am a born and raised crucian, but I will never let the bad guys win by covering up their deeds.

Margaritagirl, why did the man call your friends mutterskunts? Did they provoke him?

I live in St. Thomas and in all my decades here, haven't had a break in, been robbed, had a home invasion or been held up in a restaurant. Haven't been kidnapped either! Restaurant robberies don't seem to happen here as they do in STX. I'm not saying the other things don't happen here but just that I've been lucky enough not to experience them.

I might be one of the so-called apologists. This forum used to be very negative, with some people trashing the VI at every other turn. For the past 3 months, it has improved greatly, possibly in response to the "Reality vs negativity????" thread https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,242487 . I'm all for honesty, and I'm glad people are telling their experiences, good and bad. I no longer cringe when people write about crime or other bad experiences, because now it is done in moderation, which others can learn from, and not as a continuous theme that makes newbies wonder who would be crazy enough to live here.

I am a born and raised crucian,
[/quote

So ?

 

People tend to be defensive of their hometowns. I prefaced my statement with the fact that I am a native in order to bolster the credibility and veracity of my original assertion. Remember, no matter how long you've been here, you are only capable of providing the perspective of a transplant. I think both transplant and native opinions (none of which are superior, of course) are valued by our wonderful readers!

Just wondering how the residential break ins/robberies generally compare between single family detached residences and condos in multi-unit buildings (without onsite security guard)? Conventional thoughts would be more people/witnesses, less access/windows/entrances/stairs, etc would result in fewer incidents at condos.

Boy Margaritagirl seems like you've seen it all. That's really creepy with burglers in the house while you're asleep. Was that before you installed the alarms? You must have gotten to know the VIPD all too well. Did all of that occur steadily throughout the past 10 years or just more recently? Were the other homes on your lane broken into as well?

Just wondering how the residential break ins/robberies generally compare between single family detached residences and condos in multi-unit buildings (without onsite security guard)? Conventional thoughts would be more people/witnesses, less access/windows/entrances/stairs, etc would result in fewer incidents at condos.

I don't have stats, but I suspect that condos are less of a target than houses because burglars prefer to work unseen. Condos have many nearby neighbors, and condos are more likely to have security cameras around the complex vs. the average house.

We will be leaving next month.

OMG! What a story. I'd be leaving too if all that had happened to me. I hope things improve for you in the future. I know someone else, an older person on STX, who seemed to have been targeted in a similar fashion...multiple robberies, etc. The person was so rattled she sold her house and moved into a condo.

Thanks Alana, monogram, Vicanuck. We know crime happens everywhere, we just had a bad share of it here. I lived near Baltimore for 38 years and never had a problem.

Monogram, the guy called them Mutterskunts because they did not want to dance with him. He loved to dance all up in your stuff. Our friends just said no they did not want to dance. That's when the mutterskunting came out.

Scubadoo, this was before we installed the alarm and the gate on our rd. The other houses on our lane and the surrounding area were also hit. Once the gate and alarms were installed at all the houses on our lane then we had no trouble.
The last burglary just happened in March.The house that we were renting did not have an alarm but did have a gate and a fenced in yard. They came on bikes, and jumped the fence.

One of our rental properties that was broken into actually had cameras. The thieves used palm fronds in front of there faces so you couldn't see them. We caught that on camera. You can't make this stuff up.

Good luck on the mainland margaritagirl. We'll miss happy hour at the tiki bar.

Thanks Scubadoo! we had some good times at that Tiki bar.