St. Thomas considerations

Chris: You have asked a very good question! And since I have a little time this morning...

You are correct that most locals will give you all kinds or negatives, and probably for both reasons you state. Most stateside folks think that moving to the USVI is somewhat akin to moving to Florida, a nice sunny spot under the American flag. However the "social and infrastructure" differences are what chase most people away in 3 to 6 months. I can't bring myself to call them "shortcomings", because that would imply that at some point they might be brought up to stateside standards. These are differences that newcomers either learn to live with, embrace or flee from.

A couple of examples...you are accustomed in GA to having somewhat planned neighborhoods. There are "good" and "bad" as well as "fringe" areas. In the VI, neighborhoods are much more heterogeneous, unless you are very wealthy. Your home may be surrounded by free-range chickens, half-finished concrete block projects and stripped cars. Re: prices and availability...prices are generally high (except for rum) and many common items are not available. One learns to be flexible about dinner depending on what one finds at the grocery. You might prefer Skippy, but only Peter Pan is in stock today.

The Water and Power Authority is owned by the local government, but the local government is unable to pay their bills, so WAPA is asking for a 24.5% hike in potable water rates along with a recent increase in electricity rates. The Daily News indicates that the "average" residential customer pays $91 per month for electricity and, with the new water rates, would pay $72 per month for 3,400 gallons. (Note: not everyone has potable water! Many, if not most, have individual cisterns and rely on rain or buy water from a water company at a rate of something like a nickel a gallon.) Power brown outs and outages are less common than a few years ago, however a good rain storm yesterday knocked out the current to a large section of St Thomas and St John for a while.Cable and phone rates have also increased of late. And gas prices on St Thomas are around or above $2.00/gallon. (Highly recommend that you peruse the online newspapers virginislandsdailynews.com and "The Source" at onepaper.com for current events, local opinion, etc)

Health and dental care is available, but being a rural area, we don't have the selection and competition that is on the mainland- one cardiologist, one ENT, one dermatologist, etc. NO cardiac surgeons, neurosugeons (well, one is on his way, but we don't have full-service neurosurgery, yet)..I have to say that the new physicians are top-notch. Health insurance is very expensive and limited (only 3 companies I believe writing policies at the present). With one HCFA-certified and two uncertified nursing facilities on St Thomas, there are only 20 Medicaid beds for approximately 120,000 Virgin Islanders. There are a couple of government clinics for those who cannot afford private insurance. The hospital is mandated to treat everyone regardless of ability to pay, and for years people would avail themselves of "free" health care by refusing to show their insurance card so they didn't have to pay the co-pay.

Is that negative? Well, we live with these things. It is said, "We're here because we're not all there!" Some folks complain every day. Some folks try to make a difference through their work. Some folks just drink cheap rum all day to try to forget. I was told all the negatives before I moved here, too. I decided to try it for a year, partly because of the sun and the sea, partly because I was tired of my previous life. Now it has been nine wonderful years and one very bad day. There are problems, yes. I would hope to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem, and I can see the glass half-full.

Is it for you? I don't know, but if you move here, I would like to talk to you in a couple of months and see what you think. It is definitely not a destination for the faint of heart, and it seems that Americans these days are very faint of heart, but that's one (adopted) Virgin Islander's opinion!

Thank you for your candid response. Although the position being offered is technically and professionally what I desire, I have to take the big picture approach since I have a wife and a small child.

At this point, I will continue to research since I have an interim period to consider the assignment. Although it is not my modus operandi to make an important decision based solely on other peoples opinions, I do value your input as this is mostly all that I have to go on. I do appreciate the time that you took to put together a well balanced and cohesive overview on the day to day conditions in St. Thomas.

Should you feel that you have anything further to offer to either bolster a case to move to the island or reveal any other negatives, please do. Your willingness to assist is a checkmark in the hospitality column.

Chris: What I meant is: living here is NOT like living on the mainland. If you must have all the conveniences of the states, you may be disappointed. This is a Caribbean culture. Yes, we are under the U.S. flag, but a territory, not exactly like Big America. On the other hand, I spent a glorious hour this afternoon snorkeling; floating in absolute silence and communing with the creatures of the sea. Most people who live here, love it...or else they leave. Because you have a wife and small child, you must balance wishes and needs more carefully. There are plenty of families with small children here, most are very happy!

Hi Chris - I agree with East Ender. You are not living in the states. Where I live, there are small children who live here year-round. They are always laughing, playing on the beach, riding their bikes and seem to be really having a good time. Have you ever visited St. Thomas before? If not, perhaps a trip is in order.
Rita

Hello Chris from GA,

Locals and their feelings toward newcomers - this topic is not as easy as saying... they have no problem with them or they in fact do. There is a level of ambivalence... most are welcoming, willing to share the islands, talk about culture, be friendly... and their are some that are distrustful and take a while to warm up... and some that don't care to know you - you do your thing and they will do theirs. Some have issues with new people from other neigboring islands but not newcomers from the states, some have issues with new people from the states and not other islands. I have even met people who are themselves relatively new residents that make comments about other new residents!! Often you meet all of the above in work places... in other areas they would not really know that you are new or not.

The government does have issues - lots of them... read the on-line paper for articles to get a perspective on this.

There is crime on St. Thomas. If you have read other topics on this you might note that there always appears to be a back and forth on this topic as to whether it is a problem, whether its worse then big cities in the states by comparing stats of # of crimes vs. population or island size... a clear cut answer is difficult to give. The crimes on St. Thomas fall for the most part into specific categories; domestic or drug related. The police force is active but particularly in domestic cases, the ability for the perpertrator to get away with things is relatively easy because often times they know someone or know someone who knows someone on the force that can 'help them out'. The criminal activities don't usually spill into residential areas and are often confined into areas that residents know to be for the most part unsafe and so act according by staying away. Kidnapping is almost unheard of. Some of the domestic crimes are rape-related and are often times either statutory rape or rape committed by someone known to the victim. Way out there stuff like disgruntled employees shooting up former job site, people dissappearing, young kids shooting large numbers of school mates or blowing up part of the school - is not likely....

Utilities... well I know what it is not to have electricity for long periods of time, and no phone, well no utilities. Phone service is consistent and dependable. Internet is fairly dependable. Electricity is pretty good, we do get power outages but like East Ender not as much as in the past. Usually power outages last a couple minutes or an hour.... if its more its usually during the day or late at night/early morning. In terms of being a great inconvience... not really; definately was a nuissance when the alarm clock didn't ring in the morning because the power went out during the night... but battery powered clocks are avialable to solve that. As for the comment of no utilities - that was after hurricane experiences; and amazingly you manage.

I have had great experiences with the doctors and dentist that I have used over the years. I would add that all those I have used were actually originally from the US mainland. As East Ender mentioned some specialist are not found here or there are only one or two - so selection is not likely.

The island as mentioned is difficult to judge in terms of stay out of here and live there. But areas I would say avoid based on my statement earlier about crime would be; Hospital Ground, some areas of Contant, Savan and some surrounding areas, Bovoni and some outlying areas, some low-income housing areas... and thats about it. If you want "well to do" areas some areas of Northside, Frenchman's Bay, East End around where the hotels are - generally speaking... but there are many other areas as well that are great areas; it is much easier to see which areas are too your liking and that are good areas by driving around and just seeing; there are obvious differences and also you will see as East Ender noted that some not so great areas are relatively close to those that are great.

Groceries... I have never found it difficult to shop here. I have shopped in places with more selection and with less. What you will find is that it might take going to K-mart, Plaza Extra and Cost U Less to get all your groceries... so 3 or 4 stop shopping because one will have some items you want cheaper, one will have them while the other won't and one might have a better produce and meat section... but you will find groceries. Look in the moving guide for this site... select island living as your sub topic and then cost of living there is a grocery list there with groceries and prices.. might give you an idea of whats out there.

For private schools try:
http://www.vimontessori.org/
Antilles School http://www.antilles.k12.vi.us/

Perhaps if you in a general way summarized what you expect, what you like to do back home (play dates with other families, park, fishing, movies, karate, cloths shopping... whatever it is) that you would want to continue doing... lifestyle I suppose... then we could interleave among your comments what you could expect to continue, have to give up because its not available and adjustments you would need to make based on your expectations and the reality of island life.

If you want more specific comments on any of the topics, ask away with questions - we will try and help.

All the best

--Islander

East Ender has given you an excellent overview of life in St Thomas. He did not mention crime. This has been a "hot button" lately. I , as well as many others ,are worried about the apparent increase in violent crime here. The fact is we are safer here than most any mid sized city. Violent crime is a rather new phenomena in the USVI. This violent crime is a catastrophic side effect of the casual treatment of violence and killing in our everyday media [TV, films, video games.]. Kids see Swartznegger or some other movie hero pull there automatic weapon and mindlessly kill there opponents. This mindset along with a serious drug culture has finally made it's way to paradise. All of that being said, you will find that crime here is somewhat less of a problem than in the states. BUT it is a small island so you will be made more aware of any problems.

Best advice you have been given... Come down and spend some time here before you make any decisions.

I wanted to invest the same time and energy in thanking all of the respondents who obviously put a good deal of thought into your replies.

It goes without saying that the old cliche, The grass is always greener on the other side, should only apply to the people with terminal attention deficit syndrome. In essence, the change of scenery does not guarantee a better life.....only a change in locale for where you deal with the same burdens be they professional or otherwise. Although I felt the usually pull of what an idyllic island life would represent to someone in the mainland, I have the experience that told me that it is a whole different ballgame when you turn your playground into your work area. The potential move tied to the job offer is certainly tantalizing if you are not happy where you are. That is not my circumstances, so I guess that allows me to be much more pragmatic about this relocation.

That being said, I would like to ask about my personal interests. Are there any excellent health club facilities on the island? My wife and I are dedicated physical fitness aficionandos and one of the non-negotiables is a clean, modern facility for weight training and aerobic activities. I thought that I saw an ad for a Gold's Gym that is located in Charlotte Amalie. Can anyone confirm this and do you know if they accept your membership card from the states.

Chris: The # at Gold's is 340-777-9474, don't know if memberships are transferable. There are a couple of other gyms, too; one at Nisky Center (toward the airport) and one by Cost-U-Less and the new Home Depot. Also several of the hotels have fitness centers you can join- the Reef, Renaissance, and Sugar Bay. There is a running club that has races. Most are short- 2 miles to 5K, but there is a half marathon each fall and 8 Tuff miles on St John. There's also an active triathalon group. If you are interested, you'll find them!!