Self-Employed and Moving to St. Croix - I Have Questions!

Welcome to St. Croix!

We work from home and my husband's business is based in the US. For us the same needs are pretty critical. Here are our experiences:

1. We use Broadband VI for our Internet. It is reliable, fast (hubby can Skype for work and I can stream a movie at the same time), and very little down time. Customer service is friendly and easy. There are some other threads on this board right now discussing the different Internet options but this is our choice. I think we've had it for about 8 years now.

2. Post office - we maintain a PO box at the Mailbox store in Sunny Isle. It's the best way to receive packages, as not all neighborhood mailboxes can receive them. Also someone is always there to sign for documents and packages that need to be signed for. That said, St. Croix's USPS goes through Puerto Rico and we have had mail lost and boxes arrive torn open (customs, I'm assuming). Our business critical mail actually goes to an address in the states who opens it for us and scans any important documents to our email.

One thing you may want to consider is a cloud-based data backup if the majority of your business is online, in the event of a power failure and power surge blowing your PC/Mac - which happens here a lot. We use Kryptonite which backs up our main computer every ten minutes or so, and if we're traveling we can download files anywhere. Also we have a whole house surge protector which you can get installed for around $250 if you need one for the same reason, and all our electronics are plugged into battery back-up/surge protectors. It's saved us a lot of electronics!

Your cellular service will vary depending on which part of the island you live. For us AT&T is great, we're close to a tower, but Sprint doesn't work where we are. In other parts of the island it's the opposite (like St. John).

We live out East because it is a bit more of an isolated and country feel for us, and we like to garden and have our quiet. There are enough bars and restaurants and friends around us to keep us happy. But really I think you could live in just about any part of the island and fit your business needs. I think it's more choosing what area is best for you, and that's a personal choice.

Good luck, happy to help with any info I can. *smiles*

Also there are several USPS offices on the island, but I've heard rumors some may close - I have no knowledge though. Seems like the one at Gallows Bay is generally the least busy, but they all can be really busy at times. I don't think anyone is able to ship from home, we have very little home delivery/pickup service. Even our neighborhood delivery spot is the silver row neighborhood boxes (no space for packages), but we don't use them since we use the mailbox store.

JulieKay,

Thanks for the quick response. Through my research so far I have found that Christiansted and the East End seem to be the most desirable based on my preferences. How rural is the East End compared to Christiansted? I will be buying a vehicle when I get to the island but would like to walk and have as many things close to home as possible. Is this unrealistic?

I don't know that there's anywhere on island where you can really just walk to stuff. Perhaps if you lived IN Christiansted but then there are still places you need to drive to, like the grocery store.

Out East you can be as isolated as you want, more or less, depending upon where you choose. Getting up some hills can be steep and some roads are dirt which can wash out, but then there are others that aren't, and you can also be closer to the main (East End) road.

We do have places nearby that are a quick run for gas, food, quick-mart types of things. It's about 15 minutes for us to get to downtown Csted. I tend to combine trips when I need to go buy things, and it's not too bad. We don't spend much on gas since we're not driving to an office every day!

Have you done a PMV yet?

if you want to do mostly walking, christiansted would be a better choice. east end is isolated in that you must use a car to get anywhere.

I have not done a PMV yet. I'm trying to get as much information as possible even before a PMV, so that I am a little more guided on my visit, and both the visit and transition can go smoothly.

A couple of things others have not touched on:

First sending packages from the USVI requires that you attach a customs declaration to each package and perhaps paying duties.

Second the service at the Gallows bay PO which is the nearest of the five POs on STX to the East End is terrible. Slow, unhelpful and they are not open for counter service on Saturdays.

Finally you will either have to ship Priority mail or First Class. If you ship next day from STX you have to have the package to the PO by 11:45 AM. Parcel post can take anywhere from three to six weeks to stateside addresses.

As for phone and internet as with most things on the island you need a backup. As previously mentioned hook your modem and router to a UPS, but you will also need a generator as long power outages happen regularly on island for no apparent reason. From Aug 8, 2012 to July 24, 2013 my generator was used for thirty two hours. If you end up living someplace that doesn't have a backup generator and will not allow you to have your own, invest in an an inverter and a couple of deep cycle marine batteries. With the right setup and enough batteries you should be able to keep your network and phones working for three to six hours.

If you need your phone to work most of the time be sure you have a 3G phone from AT&T and a 3G microcell from AT&T. You attach the microcell to your BBVI connected router. It is not unusual to have cell service not working for hours or days simply because a tower on STX has failed and it takes a long time most times for a technician to be dispatched from Puerto Rico. Also consider a VOIP phone solution such as a MagicJack for further backup. If your AT&T phone isn't working you can call AT&T and have them forward your AT&T number to your VOIP number.

Finally if you can't live or function without internet access buy a dual WAN router with fall over so if your primary ISP goes down it will automatically switch over to a connected USB data dongle from AT&T, Choice or Sprint. You will have to experiment and find which wireless data provider has decent coverage in the area where you are located.

Jim,

That information helps, I appreciate it. Also I do ship Priority mail, will this be as reliable as it has been for me stateside?

LFNT, as Jim mentioned, all mail outbound goes through customs in PR. My husband and I don't ship items for our business, but I have friends who do. One friend recently had a shipment of 44 boxes (each shipped priority mail individually) held up for about ten business days in PR due to customs issues. I don't know how often it happens, but it does happen.

That said everything I've shipped priority to the states has arrived in the regular amount of time, but that's been less than ten boxes in two years, so I don't have a ton of personal experience with it.

Also don't forget the USPS has restrictions on what can be shipped from the territory. I have no idea what your business is, but if it's a widget, I'd make sure that the USPS will ship whatever your widget may be!

LFNT, as Jim mentioned, all mail outbound goes through customs in PR. My husband and I don't ship items for our business, but I have friends who do. One friend recently had a shipment of 44 boxes (each shipped priority mail individually) held up for about ten business days in PR due to customs issues. I don't know how often it happens, but it does happen.

That said everything I've shipped priority to the states has arrived in the regular amount of time, but that's been less than ten boxes in two years, so I don't have a ton of personal experience with it.

Also don't forget the USPS has restrictions on what can be shipped from the territory. I have no idea what your business is, but if it's a widget, I'd make sure that the USPS will ship whatever your widget may be!

I sell electronics (mostly smartphones) through eBay and Amazon. Most are shipped in Small Priority Flat Rate Boxes w/ insurance. Stateside, I do not have any problems. Will I run into unanticipated customs fees/delays when these packages go through PR? I was under the impression this is still domestic shipping.

Sending you a PM!

We are a port-of-entry and customs can/will examine your boxes. You must attach a customs form to each parcel sent via USPS. Also FYI, UPS and FEDEX consider the USVI a foreign destination and shipping costs are VERY high.

you also may have to pay customs duty on the items you have sent to you..there have been some issues lately with commercial shipments coming in to businesses in the VI via usps

I concur -- if you are receiving the items you sell from outside of the U.S., that could cause problems. And USPS Priority shipping times vary from exactly like stateside to 10 days or more, and you can't predict when it's gonna be what. You might never have an issue with Customs and then suddenly everything gets held up going in one direction or the other.

Sometimes USPS here works exactly like the states, and other times far from it. If your business depends on reliable shipping times to your customers, you may face some difficulties.

It may also depend on where products you are shipping originate as well as the destinations.
Best to call Customs as well as USPS for information.

From my own experience (and even very recently) not every USPS package sent to the mainland has to have a customs form attached to it. I'm sure the criteria is posted on a USPS website but I've mailed packages which I thought required a customs form made out only to get to the counter and told it wasn't needed, and vice versa.

The Gallows Bay area is great. From a Schooner Bay condo, you can walk 5 minutes or less to a post office, bank, grocery store, hardware store, computer store, and many more. Restaurants, bars, cafes, all of Christiansted, and a cute little beach are all within a 10-minute stroll.