STX Area Demographics

G.D., your questions are really too broad to answer. Where I might consider living, you might get the shakes over. Come here and look at the WHOLE island, not just the pretty beaches and charming downtown areas. You can probably figure out "your" area based on your housing price - all of the island is in a major upswing, but some areas are really going through the roof. If you can afford them, good for you. If you can't, it doesn't matter where the house is and what it's worth. I can't afford to buy the house we are living in and any bank would laugh me out the door, but the rent (although high, and I would have choked a year ago over it) is manageable...more importantly, we are in a neighborhood we love and feel very safe in. I could only hope to own here, but it ain't gonna happen in this lifetime..

Laws? Drive on the left, don't drive drunk (with or without crashing), don't talk on your cell phone while driving, wear your seatbelt, ....your chances of coming in contact with the police are almost nil. Even if you need them, your chances are proabbly close to nil.

Perspective. It's all in how you look at it. Act like you live here and not like your some goofy visitor and you will most likely be fine. Oh, and several very large Rottweilers also runs off a lot of riff-raff.

GD - You can see maps of the islands at:
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/maps.shtml

The names on the map are the "estate" names. They are very useful when trying to figure out addresses as properties are named by their lot number and their estate name.

You can get the answers to many of your real estate questions regarding pricing of houses and condos by browsing the public MLS at:
http://www.ourhomesite.com/stcroixhomes

After you look through properties for sale on the MLS, you will likely have questions about specific condo complexes and neighborhoods where you have spotted house listings you are curious about. It works better to ask those specific questions here than giving you a whole overview of the entire island all in one shot.

You can see approximately where the various property listings are located on the island by comparing the estate name on the listing with those shown on the STX map. Be advised that there are a few estate names that occur in more than one place on the island. In addition to the estates, the island is cut into what are referred to as "quarters"... even though there are eleven of them. After the estate name in the property address you will see an abbreviation such as QU, which stands for Queens Quarter... or KI, which is Kings Quarter, etc. Those two quarters, as well as Company and Prince quarters make up most of the center of the island. East A and East B are east of Christiansted. Northside A & B are along the northwest shoreline and down the northern part of the west end. West End quarter is about the west quarter of the island, with Frederiksted having its own "quarter" designation.. as does Christiansted. So if you see Estate Mt. Pleasant in the East A Quarter AND the Northside B Quarter AND the Prince Quarter, try not to confuse which area of the island those property listings refer to. It sort of begins to make sense after you've been here a year or so. lol

I am available to chat on the phone or through email or this website about questions you come up with and there are many other people who post here who will also give you lots of great info as you explore the possibility of moving to STX. Good Luck!