Thinking about relocating from Philly to USVI

Juaita, COst-u-less has good deals on berries.fruits. 2.99 and 3.99 for blueberries and rasberries! ALso 2.99 for portabello mushrooms compared to 5.99 most other places. Its insane!

Juaita, COst-u-less has good deals on berries.fruits. 2.99 and 3.99 for blueberries and rasberries! ALso 2.99 for portabello mushrooms compared to 5.99 most other places. Its insane!

And, what is the common denominator to the "most other places"?

Just curious why you say this stcmike?

Nikki

stcmike, are you still on island or have you made it to Hilton Head?

Each person has his or her own opinion I say come and see for yoursefl!

NikkiLove,

I'm quite familiar with Philly, MLK HS, and what it is like to live in Philly. I was considering a move to St. Thomas (Botany Bay) but I am no longer considering it. My recomendation is look somewhere else, not with a teenage girls either. Drugs, crime, early pregnancy are rampant here and it will affect your daughters. I know Philly is less than a desirable place to live but you can do alot better than USVI.

If you are serious about moving to an island, look at S. Carolina or Florida if you want to live some place warmer in the path of annual hurricanes... just don't choose here.

Denise
(putting on my flame-proof coat cuz I know it's coming)

AS said above, I don't think you and your family will be happy here.

Let us know ijn a new post if you come. And if you are happy!!!!!!

billd

Denise: You were going to move to Botany Bay and you were worried about guns and teen pregnancy? :S

I thought Den only visited once on a cruise ship to STT so I doubt she'd really know what it's like living here but Nikkilove, you really would be wise to do an in-depth visit to see if it's the place for you. If not now, maybe in a few years when your daughters will be in college. I've said before that I've never needed a bullet-proof bra to pick up milk the decades I've lived here. Only you can decide but a love of reggae won't pay the rent. 😉 It's expensive here.

I am going to be visiting soon and I will let everyone know what I think. I also am not a fool and know I would need employment to bring to have a steady income. Appreciate the honesty from everyone on the environment. I guess seeing it for myself is the only way to really know. Teenage pregnancy is everywhere and can happen to anyone.

Good! Hope it all works out for you.

Nikki...

I returned from a PMV a couple of weeks ago and if it were just you, USVI is quite lovely. But when it comes to children and honestly from one mother to another, a 15 year old girl is a child, USVI is like Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde. On one side of the coin, you have these beautiful beaches, great water if you like to sail, etc... it really is a tropical paradise.

But on the other side you have rampant crime, prolific drug use, and extreme poverty. The fact is that around 50% of all USVI residents are at or near the poverty line. Now compare this to some of the neighborhoods on Allegheny or Luzerne in N. Philly, or some of the really bad neighborhoods in SW Philly...

And concerning schools... you should do a search in this forum about schools, as well just a general search on USVI schools as a whole. I can't say this is 100% true, but from I have read, the USVI public schools make MLK look like Swarthmore. From what I have gathered that there is a very strong welfare culture in the USVI and because of this the students do not care and then to top it off the public schools are understaffed, undersupplied and underbudget. It appears that the standards from the US Dept of Education do not apply to a territory.

I'm saying this because you need to know both sides. Unfortunately the views on here will be biased because they accept the conditions they are in, are not affected by the same negative conditions as you (in regards to children), or simplly don't care. The vast majority of posters on here are like me: older (40's through 60's), empty nesters, and fairly wealthy (or minimalists). These are all things you aren't.

DenSVC,

Well since you broke it down like that, I more than hear you, I feel you.

Obviously, you are or were a resident of Philly and know the communities. And if anything can be as worse as SW right now where I grew up then............................

Thanks

Nikki

Nikki, I'm born and raised in North Philadelphia, graduated from public schools and returned for a master's degree some years later.

The best advice here is the pre-move visit (PMV). I had been to St Thomas many years ago, and when I decided to retire, I did a pre-move visit to STT in February. I adored it. I was ready to settle in. But then I was recalled to my home and work in Europe. I just got back from a second PMV, this time to St Croix. Actually, I had a one-way ticket and all my bags and was ready to stay. But again, I was recalled to Europe and had to defer my dream.

In short, I compared STT and STX and have chosen STX for many of the reasons noted above. As soon as I can complete my work in Europe, I'm headed back to STX. Maybe we can have a Phillies/Eagles/76ers night! With TastyKake and cheesesteak!

Hilton Head, but still own property in the Islands.

Philly is an underated city, there is a ton of culture and the cost of living is reasonable. There are some OUTSTANDING colleges in the area including U of Penn, Villanova, Temple, LaSalle and Drexal. Sports wise they are only second to NY in terms of the number of teams in different sports. Philly is an easy drive to both NY and Washington.

The one bad thing is crime is high but lower per capita if you compare it to the Virgin Islands. There is snow - but that why they make skis and the fall colors are outstanding. The city is culturally diverse and where else would you buy a cheesesteak.

I think it is so great how people are telling Nikki both sides of the story. If you just want to spend time at the beach, you could save up to come here on vacation, instead of making such a drastic move.

All during the work week, we could pretty much be anywhere (we're at work, not at the beach!), and on weekends you spend a lot of time trying to complete minor errands (do to aforementioned island time issues). Then I spend every vacation leaving the island to go back and visit family, instead of just chilling out in "paradise." So I like it here and everything, but we wouldn't have moved here if we had known what it would really be like. I'm glad we came, but we won't be here forever.

And the crime is real, and it takes a lot of money to live somewhere gated.

If Nikki has the resources to live or purchase in Botany Bay, he/she can afford to have their children attend a private school(around 30K I`m told).
IMO as EE inferred, Botany bay doesn`t have the bad elements the above are speaking of to my knowledge.
Yes, there is a very bad element in the younger crowd(always was). But a well brought up/adjusted child should be able to make better choices of friends.
Niki, do a PMV & find out for yourself!

Besides no decent cheesesteaks and no Tastykakes, we've got no soft pretzels.