STX PRE-MOVE VISIT NEXT WEEK!!!!

A great way to meet local people on your first day would be to go to Altuna Lagoon, just east of Glllows Bay, and help with the clean up project. There wll be many,many people there and "Scooter" is making his famous chili and Case Place is making the corn bread. Hope to see ya ther. I'll bring my weed wacker so you can get the real feel of St.Croix. Hope that this is the most helplul thing on your PMV.

Just in general, you should go to a couple of grocery stores, K-Mart, banks, bakeries, pharmacies, etc. Look at the services that you use on a regular basis to see how they compare. Because you will be here over a holiday weekend, you will find a lot of government services curtailed, if you needed any of those.

We are getting there the 18th and leaving the 29th. Maybe we should get together for lunch or dinner.

Tell me more about this! I live near by and would enjoy jumping in to help.

That sound great! Give me a call when you get on island.
(662)341-1138

To everyone who has come on a pre-move visit and then moved to STX:
What are the top 5 things that you think we do or see while there.

Get with Sweeny's island tour. It's a good way to see and learn some of the history of the island. Your hotel will know how to contact him.

1) attend your interview if you have one set up in advance... and/or use word of mouth to seek job opportunities. Come with resumes ready to hand out when you hear of something interesting. Be prepared to accept a job less than your ideal to get you started, knowing that you can continue the search for your dream job after you are here full time.

2) seek temporary and permanent housing options. This requires touring the island to get a feel for the different areas and figure out what parts you prefer and what ones don't feel as much like "home" to you. Get a newspaper and look at some of the rental houses available to see what is in your price range. If you have pets, you don't get to be as picky about what you will accept. Finding something temporary is important. Permanent can come after you are on-island full time and figure out what your finances will really allow you to handle depending upon the job you find.

3) if you have kids, check out the schools and hospitals, pediatrician, etc. Take the kids to Brew Pub on Monday night for the hermit crab races. They'll love them!

4) Visit a different beach bar for a while each day or evening to meet fellow transplants and some locals and network to find a job/house/friends. If you aren't a drinker, that's ok.. visit the beach bars anyway. It doesn't have to be a drunken fest, it's a place to hang out and meet people and chat about life, the island and whatever topics come up. You can steer the conversation to areas that will give you the info you need most.

5) take at least one day (or parts of several days) and wander through KMart, a hardware store, several grocery stores, a couple banks, a post office, car dealership, furniture store, etc. to get an idea of what is available on the island, prices, and how this might affect your lifestyle on the island, what you should sell, what you should ship...

6) ... you have to have a #6 in case you don't have kids and didn't have a #3!.... Have a great time! Enjoy! Come with an open mind and a friendly attitude. The more people you greet and open up a conversation with, the more you will learn about the island and the more successful your PMV will be.

And if you do come with kids and have a #3, you still need to focus on completing #6!

I like #4 and #5 of Alexandra's list - the beaches and the beach bars 🙂 We rented a car and drove all around the island. It was helpful to see different areas we would (or wouldn't) want to live in; and also to get a feel for the island. I also agree with spending some time in stores and seeing what things are or aren't available and some prices. Some things just take awhile to see,and are some things you won't see until you are actually living here.
So, enjoy the island. Take time to soak up the flavor and enjoy!
p.s. we made 2 PMV's in April and June before actually moving here in August.

Oh, Brooks... since you'll be here for Thanksgiving Day... and most of the restaurants are closed... you should know that there is a potluck open house every year at what used to be called Cane Bay Beach Bar and has just re-opened as the Full Moon Bar at Cane Bay. It's a great venue and the regular customers are friendly and welcoming. It's become a tradition for the owners to shut down the bar for the day and let all the local-transplants who aren't going to the mainland to visit family for the holiday to have a potluck with their island family/friends on this day... and also on Christmas Day. Stop by early in the week and there is usually a sign-up board with a list of people and what they are bringing to share. Lots more people come than officially sign up! Last year there were 60-70 people there throughout the day and a similar number the year before.

The bar will probably still serve drinks and you can bring an ice chest if you like. Come prepared to meet a bunch of new people and experience some island hospitality/friendliness. If I were going to be on-island, I'd introduce you around... but you should do fine on your own. Have fun!

We got here Saturday and so far we love it! Please email me if with any advice on what to do and see.

brooksrobertsdelta@yahoo.com

Thanks
Brooks

These 6 suggestions are very helpful. My husband has been offered a job in St. Croix that is expected to last 1 1/2 to 2 years. We are both in our 30's and have a 9 yrs. boy & a 4 yr old girl. My husband wants us to move there while he is working there. I don't want to pass this opportunity up it may not happen again. I would love for us all to be able to experience the Virgin Islands. But and mainly concerned about my small children. My son would have to be enrolled in school to complete his 3-grade year. And my daughter will start kindergarten the following school year.
How are the school systems in St. Croix? Any info would be appreciated. Thank you from a family in Lakeland, Florida

We have some excellent Private and Parochial Schools here on St Croix - a pretty wide range of budget - excellent Pre-K and K programs and Elementary.
Check out these web sites...www.holycrosscatholicchurch.org
www.stxcountryday.com
www.ghsvi.com
www.islands.vi/sjhs/
also check out the list of schools and contact #'s in the Schools/Education section of this website

mark here,
stop by the nursery when you get a chance, kinda thought we might have seen you by know, anyhow stop by if you get a chance.

mark