STT vs. STX

I could not do a pmv to stx before deciding & an answer I to 1 of my posts helped me decide. Someone sounded very reasonable & sincere when they said that a 50something would find work if they were willing to take anything. This mistake is understandable if their experience was a bit outdated. About a year later I read a post on facebook that said "If you need to have a job choose St Trauma" So I can't say for sure, but looking out from under the stack of bills amassed during the search for & eventual creation of work, I'd guess the 2nd bit of info to be more accurate.

I think referring to St Thomas as 'Saint Trauma' is misleading, inaccurate and frankly derogatory.
I certainly have no idea what your personal job search entailed but I meet new residents all the time who have found work in very reasonable timeframes - maybe they have had to consider very different employment then they had planned and maybe even had to change jobs as a better one was found. If someone has very specific job requirements I would think it would be more difficult of course and if they are looking for a career type position it will be harder than just finding work.

I did not choose the words. I just quoted someone who I suspect was prejudiced in favor of STX slower pace.

Kristen: I live on St Thomas. I have never even been to St Croix 😮 so I can't make any sort of comparison. I can only say why I am here and the proximity to other islands is one of the top reasons. Maybe I would live on St John if I had unlimited funds and could have "people" shop for me, didn't have to work, etc.

Perhaps someone who has lived on both (or all three) can give better advice.

P.S. If you have been to St Thomas, maybe a visit to St Croix would help. I knew someone who was very unhappy on St Thomas, but loved St Croix. She was from the midwest and the mountainous topography made her claustrophobic. The wide open spaces of St Croix made her happy. 😉

I think referring to St Thomas as 'Saint Trauma' is misleading, inaccurate and frankly derogatory.

Zero: I hear this description almost every time I go to St John. It is usually a service person who has been on St John less than 3 months and evidently think they are the cat's pajamas because they live on St John. 😛

Only on St John [ or Beverly Hills maybe] would they have cats pajamas for sale. I know it is an old idiom, 23 skidoo and such.
When people say St Trauma around me I ask very bashfully if they live over there on that ferry boat island we call St Martha's.

Please don't kill me for asking and I am sure it's a simple answer....what is a pmv?

I sort of agree in the sense that I LOVE STT's mountainous terrain, and everytime I have visited I have really enjoyed the fast paced/party environment that the island has to offer. I am just worried that I will move there and the enjoyment will wear off after a month or so and then I would be stuck. I have gotten an enormous amount of advice over the past few weeks and I think if I can get enough money by January I will make the move.

Whatever much money you think is enough make sure you have at least 5 times that just in case.

Real basic: I lived in STT for 2.5 years and just moved to STX two months ago;

STT:
The city
Easily find clothes/goods
More stores
More nightlife
More to do
Red hook open all night
Good for young people
So much litter
You will have your rear view mirror hit at least once
Drivers are insane HATE DRIVING HERE
People are not as friendly
Fantastic beaches
Great snorkeling
Ok diving

STX:
The country
Peaceful
More friendly
Not many stores
Stores are cleaner / better service
Hard to find clothes
Not that much to do - besides beach... Not that is bad lol
No crazy drivers
More of a laid back - retired feel
Freeways! LOVE DRIVING HERE!!
Cleaner - less litter
Fantastic beaches
Great snorkeling
Better diving than STT
The Pier (seahorses) and the wall (sharks) amazing!
BEST FOOD of ANY of the 16 islands I've been to.

AandA, great observations

I'll certainly agree with the litter and drivers on STT!
Still have my rear view mirror after driving same truck for 15 years.
Tho have witnessed a couple taken out over the years.
Why do we have so much litter on our roadsides in STT?
Hate it.

Why do we have so much litter on our roadsides in STT?
Hate it.

I'd bet that litter-depositing is the same on both islands. Crucians are pretty bad about littering. I'd also bet there's more litter-removal on STX, because:
- STX roads are more conducive to litter-removal. Our roads are straighter, and less hilly, with less traffic, and sometimes with grass shoulders, so people can walk the roadsides more safely and pick up litter.
- STX has organized litter pick-ups, notably the annual pickup along the triathlon route, which covers a large part of the island. People also do litter-pickups of their own accord outside of this event.

As well as many residents being litterbugs, St Thomas also has way more tourists than STX and, honestly, so many of the cruise ship day trippers are absolute SLOBS. Just go by any of the larger more popular beaches at the end of a heavy cruise ship day and weep at the sight of the utter mess they leave behind - when big garbage bins are strategically placed which they totally ignore. (td)

There is absolutely no comparison in regards to litter. I think people in STT just get so caught up in te hustle of tourists and don't care. I'm sure tourists litter but as far as on the roadss well it's not the tourists. I've watched kids toss garbage out of the back of their parents trucks and people ditch their trash... When a dumpster is a mile away. In my short observation here Crucians have more pride in the island. I doubt that sentence will go over well but I see people painting beautiful murals, fsted is pretty much clean and there's people who will VOLUNTEER to paint the old buildings if u buy the paint.

It's funny thou, other than Fsted it doesn't feel "islandy" to me. Maybe it's because it flatter - do you don't get those wow views like STT. It REALLY feels like the small town I gre up in, San Marcos TX. The cows and horses everywhere, the landscape and big trees.

I like them both and I love diving here - that's for SURE. Also can't get over how good the food is. Are at Galangal sp? And had some salmon dish that was the best dish I've ever had and well I'm a foodie for sure. Had a custom cocktail at Zion that blew my mind!

Still I miss STT. Miss hull bay and miss my job working in the water every day. Hopefully once I'm settled I can find a few days a week to do that - it is after all my drug of choice 😉

i lost a side mirror to a chicken committing suicide. we have had to replace ( rockauto ) my side mirrors at least 3 times.

AandA, have you checked all the dive shops for jobs?

Those who moved to the USVI, what surprised you when you got settled in? What hadn't you prepared for? Both good and bad.

This has been a great topic. I'm thinking of making the move in a couple of years and I want to be as prepared as possible.

Thanks, everyone!!

The topic thread has had a few ups and downs but the recent move and posts by AandA are the most interesting perspectives presented --- interesting to me anyway. Thank you. I am glad she has found STX to be a good home.

Few of us can make this kind of informed and current comparison and I look forward to other posts in the future.
I was surprised at a few observations - the friendliness of the people comment is intriguing - the better food experience was very interesting - restaurant food or grocery food? and if those 16 islands included any of the French Islands - extremely surprising! the driving comments not so much as the islands are so different topographically and the size considerations, I tend to buy most of my new clothing on stateside trips the last 20 years and on sale there and have never been too fashion conscious anyway so don't know much about that aspect - I am delighted to hear there is less litter visible - I have spent many days here on the beach and the way cruise ship people leave their cups, cans, bottles etc. is appalling and was happy to hear Crucians are more respectful, but have never heard that observation before. I have spent most of my life in STT sailing and on/in the water and never found the hundreds of available sites in the USVI or BVI and offshore cays to be lacking in diversity but have often heard the STX diving is spectacular. The nightlife and things to do part of STT versus a laid back retired feeling of STX may reflect her newness to STX or just my naivete but would seem to be a huge difference I was never aware of.

Thanks for the post and continued good fortune exploring your new home.

Those who moved to the USVI, what surprised you when you got settled in? What hadn't you prepared for? Both good and bad.

STX is Best! 😉 See? It even rhymes.

What shocked me?
-Chicken everywhere and roosters "singing" the doodle doo 24/7.-
-Looking out of the left window of my car and see the curbside.-
-Spending 41 minutes at the drive-thru on the McD located at Golden Rock.-
-Buying $200 worth of groceries, look back at the items, and wonder if there is a hole on the shopping cart.- :S
-The first WAPA bill- 😮
-Hi-speed internet is a misnomer.
-There is no "fresh" produce at the supermarket, just "science projects".-
-People nicely stopping at an intersection, take their turn, then honking the horn to say "thank you".-
-The first time I was told about "Five Corners" and my first drive through it.-
-The fact that, in general, "normal laws of physics don't exist in STX". 😛
-Why is no one in a hurry? What's wrong with people here?-
-Potholes are sometimes so big, I sometimes wonder if they actually lead to underground parking lots. Also, potholes that move around...-
-You will finally understand the true meaning of "Necessity is the mother of all inventions".-
-What the heck is "Goat Watah"?
-A "good island car" is usually just a clunker.-
-You will feel the wrath of sellers that "don't ship to protectorates"....-

The good that shocked me? EASY! Way too many to list that usually overcomes all the bad. Now, if only someone would just pick up the phone at any government agency and transfer me to the right person................

how rude people were
cops dont want to stop and help
not being able to substitute a soda for a coffee with a breakfast meal at mcdonalds
the number of online places who think we are international
shopping at many stores for what you need for specific recipes ( buy and freeze for later )

cops dont want to stop and help
)

DEFINATELY

As far as food goes, I've been to just about every island in the Caribbean and i must say, we (STX) have some of the best restaurants in the Caribbean. For groceries though the French Islands win hands down. As far as our restaurants we have everything from local food like Chicken Shack, and Kim's, Singhs, Spratnet, various roadside shacks and grills then Ziggys, Miriam's, Lost Dog Pizza, too many to name. I live for Jump Up when the roti lady is out making her Rotis by the church. So big and tasty. Then you get the Duggans Reef, and Bombay Club. a guy can get fat living here.

Agreed! I'm talking about prepared meals. Groceries - about the same as STT. Same price too which I was a little surprised. One of our favorite things to do anywhere we travel or live is just drive and look for food joints which is what I've been doing here. We eat and try anything.

In regards to French food... I've been to Paris and their food wasn't even as good as a few of the dishes I've had here! Wellll the snails and cheese were of course. And the oysters as big as my face. There's a meal in Africa that was pretty unreal, in the bush on a night drive. Maybe it was just the amazing surrounding and the rumble of elephants. Pretty sure I'll
Move to Afroca some day. Magical.

I digress.. I mean I don't know what's in the food here but DANG!! Even those bean tacos at freedom city surf.... MMM! I don't know how simple food can taste so amazing. We had those zucchini corn fritters there yesterday... WHOA. So good! Love pizza at dog, love castaways salads, Ziggys (gas station) where they do great grill out style stuff, Galangal of course, twin cities - amazing coffee and great salads and the BEST freaking iced tea E.V.E.R. I bought a whole gallon last week! Who needs soda when you have that fruity unsweetened tea. Usually I need sugar in my tea but this is so good I don't want to ruin its flavor with sugar lol. MMM. Ok well I'm now hungry so off to find food. Lol. Still need to try the Thai place - heard it was amazing.

Oh and I ate in that little Asian place eary the Art supply store... I walked in and said... Uh oh... Not one customer but it was the best damn egg rolls and cheese rangoons albeit a little sketchy lol. It was really good.

I mentioned oysters - anywhere to have them here?

Back to the litter - on STX it seems to me that what I notice seeing the most is plastic grocery bags blowing in the wind - caught on bushes or fenceposts. I have this idea that when I finally get there to live I will start a campaign for people to use re-usable grocery bags - maybe have my (future) school kids (I'm one of the teacher wanna-be's) make them out of old tee shirts or clothes you find tossed by the road, and thereby take care of two problems at once!

I was there this summer volunteering at SEA's summer program for Jr. high kids, the Coral Conservation Corps. Great program and I was so impressed with kids - very respectful and responsive to the education and activities of the program. Anyway, litter and its impact on the marine environment was of course a large part of it.

Before I ask about it, I'm going to search the forum for previous discussions about re-cycling on the islands.....

Good LUCK with that!! It pissed me right off that people ask for bags for a can of soda!! They double bag everything in STT! I was really happy to see they dot double bag at plaza STX. I never use them but test I pull the off the reef DAILY.

They need to be outlawed here... Everywhere! That and straws. I'd like to see plastic cups gone too but sadly that'll never happen. No need for bags and straws - just for lazy people.

i lost a side mirror to a chicken committing suicide. we have had to replace ( rockauto ) my side mirrors at least 3 times.

AandA, have you checked all the dive shops for jobs?

That chicken "didn't get to the other side!"

Not yet on dive shop jobs. Just got into our rental a week ago and I'm nesting now lol. Next month I'll start looking. I still do website design so I work from home but for sanity I like to be in the water 3 day a week minimum.

Happy Nesting!