St. Croix vs. Puerto Rico

If you don't like St. Croix I wouldn't move to PR. If you feel the way you do according to your post on friendly islanders you will likely feel the same of the natives on PR.

I've spent years on STT, a lot less on STX, and some extensive time on PR - here's my breakdown:

STX is flat, feels like Florida almost, and everything is cheapest there. What I liked is that I made friends there fast, the cost of everything was lower, and all-around it had the island-vibe all 7 have. What I didn't like is that it just bored me, I like the surf, diving, snorkeling, night-life, vistas, and all-around vibe of the northside of STT, particularly Hull Bay.

PR - Whole different bag. PR feels a lot like the states just with its own quirks. I lived in Toa Alta which has really high-end homes but feels like a Chicago suburb without the winter weather. You drive on the right and you have highways but you will sit in traffic forever going to work in the morning. Guynabo feels like Naperville, IL in that you have everything but you don't feel like living somewhere where it's expensive to go to get coffee. Bayamon has everything you want but again, you will sit in traffic forever to get the Burger King experience. Old San Juan is cool too see with the cobble stone streets, but it's just Senor Frogs with a facelift.

It's all about what you really want. Is the inconvenience of living in the islands what's getting to you? Want to keep the weather but counter that inconvenience? Then PR is what you're looking for, as long as your job will move there.

interesting that you say stx is flat and feels like florida.

I haven't lived on PR, but have visited several times. Compared to STX, PR is more cosmopolitan, cheaper, offers more goods and services and entertainment and is more convenient for traveling to the mainland. In San Juan, the drivers are more aggressive. Elsewhere on PR, not so much.

Here is a forum that discusses moving to PR: http://www.expat-blog.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=245

interesting that you say stx is flat and feels like florida.

You like FL a lot more than STX, if I remember right?

You know what they say about opinions, and mine's no different. 🙂

(my only experience with FL is short contracts in west palm beach and cape coral and I did like it there)

my question is really about how you say stx is flat, that has nothing to do with opinions. florida is flat though, i would not like that area either in florida too busy

STX is a pancake compared to STT or STJ. Am I being obtuse?

yes, because stx is not a pancake compared to florida

I didn't mean STX was flat, I meant it was flat compared to the other islands. I said it feels like Florida, not it's flat like Florida.

I love that STX is a pancake in some parts and still has many "beastly" 😉 hills. Great for working out--if you want to do a calm, flat bike ride, that is possible. If you want to run hills, that is possible too.

Funny story--a few years ago I was on the MIA to STX flight, sitting next to a guy in his very early twenties coming to do some sort of internship with Hovensa. He had only ever been in Louisiana (very flat apparently), then the layover in Miami (also very flat). We talked most of the flight and when we were landing, he says in a very shocked voice: "What are those...bumps?" I was so puzzled and replied "You mean, the hills?" Yep. He did mean the hills. He had never seen anything like them before. I wished him luck on St. Croix, but never saw him again. Always wondered how he did down here.

PR and Florida are alike because Spanish is the first language. 😉

good one eastender

PR drivers are NUTS! Even worse than ours so just be aware.:-o
Their speed limits are much higher but then they do have major highways.
Great shopping malls, tho!

Yeah the drivers in San Juan are very aggressive. It freaked me out when I was merging onto a main divided highway and you have cars using both shoulders as lanes also. Makes it exciting when you have three lanes merging into three lanes. Have to guess when you go to merge if someone else is also going to go for that hole.

Never lived on STX. Compared to STT, PR's overall COL is substantially less. PR has more options for pretty much everything. San Juan is craazzzy--very hectic pace. The rest of the island -- not so much. Some area are very remote -- miles and miles of unimproved roads and farms. Some areas are very poor. Some areas are very upscale. No matter where you live theft is a BIG problem, more than STT i think. If you like your "stuff", be careful. I don't know how to explain it. Theft just doesn't have the same "moral overtone". The culture is different. The island is big--different vibes in different areas. I all the months I lived there, mid 80s and again in 2002-2003, never did my power go out. The markets are well stocked. Shipping goods is very simple. I think it depends on the area you'd like to settle. Speaking spanish, even bad high school spanish, is a BIG plus.

we have the beer drinking pig on stx

we have the beer drinking pig on stx

(tu)(tu)

we have the beer drinking pig on stx

Lol, one of my favorite pictures from STX that I took was of the pigs. I have this one hanging in my house, that pig just looks.... happy.

http://www.adrianpoe.com/SHOPforStCroixPhotography-1/STX-Beaches-and-Landscapes/27776539_XRT4Gp#!i=2365694488&k=pG8bMBT

And BTW STX is a total pancake vs STT!!! Sheese I didn't even drive here out of fear of the hills the first few WEEKS! Used to it now, funny how that works.

stt is a pancake compare to pennsylvania too 🙂