top 10 reasons I love living in the VI

The funny homemade road signs.

I love the one that popped up near the road that goes to Questa Verde. Something like "Move sewage line....TOO STINKY!!!"

Some of the local vernacular is great too...was listing to Roger Morgan and this woman kept talking about the lack of "stripin on da road". Took me a minute to realize she meant the lines (or lack there of) on our roads....I enjoy deciphering the differences in terminology.

Sean

Thanks to all who have posted so far (I say so far cause i'm hopin for more;)). Can't begin to express how much I have enjoyed reading your responses. They have gone a long way toward validating my feeling that many of the things that we have loved about the islands while visiting would still exist, be felt and enjoyed, in day to day living. Appreciate your sharing and putting it into words so well. Have some responses and questions:

Dougtami: dito, Dito, DITO! Especially less materialistic, less gray skies and not being shut up inside. I am sooooo longing for all of that

Driving is much nicer in the islands than here. speeding up to make a merge slot - bad, someone slowing and honking to let you in - good. Someone said they like driving slow. lol, The first time I drove on the freeway after returning from a 10 day island visit was freaky. It felt like everyone was going soooo fast., and I was only doing 50 or so (67 or so is my norm).

Agree with conversation comment. It's very sad what passes as acceptable casual conversation stateside. Generally bit*&ing about something or the other. Say something nice and cheery however and people look at you like your spaceship just took off. STINKY

What's beach bingo?

dntwtup: Love the way you put it about being part of your environment. Also, no rose colored glasses for you? I'm so surprised 😛

Betty: What's your island miracle? And to all, why do you think it is that night life starts so late?? That really surprised me

Sail: This is probably a silly question but ever had the lobster at Cow Wreck? OMGosh, best EVER!
PS, I think the Corona commercial was filmed there.

Neil: "Beige haze of suburbia" Are we neighbors by any chance? "Lack of pretense" Couldn't agree more. Things would be so much better if the Joneses would just let the lawn go and extra day or two.

Thanks again

This one by Milgies grocery on southshore is my favorite.
Even though this says "error" go ahead and click it to see the photo of the Slo Cow Mon sign.

I've been taking pictures of signs here. If you've seen a good one, let me know!

Night life does start late here. You'll find especially in the off season that at 10pm downtown will still look dead on the weekends, but if you stay until 11 or 12am it starts. So by the time all the statesiders go home the locals will come out. If there's a good band playing the party will start earlier. By the same token local bands, reggae bands, etc don't even start till around midnight or later.

Now it will always start early on Tuesday for Two for Tuesday but otherwise, the only reason to start early is if your hungry. Because most restaurants will stop serving long before that OR if you wanna do happy hour.

My island miracle is my dog miracle. We almost killed her one night on the way home when we first got here. Only to find out when we took her home someone else had really tired to kill her, she was in horrible shape, near death. She had been abused for a long period of time. If I knew who did it I probably would kill them because they would just get off down here. If you ever met a honeybee eating dog that's her!

Night life does start late here. You'll find especially in the off season that at 10pm downtown will still look dead on the weekends, but if you stay until 11 or 12am it starts. So by the time all the statesiders go home the locals will come out. If there's a good band playing the party will start earlier. By the same token local bands, reggae bands, etc don't even start till around midnight or later.

Now it will always start early on Tuesday for Two for Tuesday but otherwise, the only reason to start early is if your hungry. Because most restaurants will stop serving long before that OR if you wanna do happy hour.

My island miracle is my dog miracle. We almost killed her one night on the way home when we first got here. Only to find out when we took her home someone else had really tired to kill her, she was in horrible shape, near death. She had been abused for a long period of time. If I knew who did it I probably would kill them because they would just get off down here. If you ever met a honeybee eating dog that's her!

Don`t mean to get off the subject,but I will & do fight for animals!
Good for you Betty!

Thanks DUN, my husband in particular is a big softie and its hard not to be when you see the condition of so many of these homeless dogs that get abused. We've taken in many dogs, get them healthy and then find them homes. Its hard enough to get criminals convicted here, I understand why mentally why law enforcement may have a hard time here but my heart can't get past it, so I do what I can. If anyone's ever looking for a dog on stx, Sadie's (pet store, not the kind that sell animals, just supplies) downtown always has one looking for a home, Donna's a great lady.

Per the norm, gotta agree with you Betty. I am always very surprised how in many cases and with many folks, the island warmth does not seem to extend to animals, and sometimes much less. That would be a very hard pill for me to swallow. Last trip down there was a dog that I would walk by and pet every day that was always tied up on the porch of what seemed to be an unoccupied house. Dog poop all around him, and this was right in a very populated area right behind the beach. Asked one of the bartenders (who always seems to have his dog plus another rotating one in need of a home) next door about the dog and he told me he belongs to some guy and is fed everyday. Asked if there was a shelter or humane society to be called and he said " I wouldn't get involved, people can be very funny and defensive when it comes to their pets" My response was, why would he be, he certainly doesn't care about the animal. But I figured I couldn't really afford to take the chance at that point being an outsider from a different country. But it was really heartbreaking feeling like I couldn't do anything to help that poor dog, what a cruddy way to treat a poor defenseless animal. I could see how that would be a really hard thing to get past living in the islands. I imagine in USVI as a resident there are some things that can be done to help, correct?

Very active shelters on all 3 islands & they're always looking for volunteers, Cheeseheads. They do what they can & it's much better now than years ago but still a long ways to go.

They are trying but there is very very little being done legally about animal abuse. The legal system is so flawed here that it will be an uphill battle and the more willing to fight the better.

Cheeseheads,
I am so with you on the driving thing. I'm in the states right now. Picked up a rental at Miami airport and headed north on I-95. OMGGGGG! I was white knuckled and having heart palpitations within a couple of minutes. I'm not talking figuratively here. I seriously was having an anxiety attack. My husband later admitted he was nervous too. Been driving around for 2 weeks now. Kind of like riding a bicycle. All coming back to me just fine, but I am looking forward to going back to 35 mph when I get home on STX next week.

I don't agree about the casual conversations. I have had so many people "chit-chat" with me on this trip and employees in stores always asking if I am finding everything I need, etc. I am in Oregon now, and the people are much nicer than south Florida, but still the FL people seemed pretty nice to me. We had one experience at a Walmart where the check-out lady was eating something as we approached her station, she begrudgingly put it down, checked us out and never said a word, even after we spoke to her and we said thank you on the way out. We laughed about it and said she must be from St.Thomas.

This one by Milgies grocery on southshore is my favorite.
Even though this says "error" go ahead and click it to see the photo of the Slo Cow Mon sign.

I've been taking pictures of signs here. If you've seen a good one, let me know!

This sign has always made me smile! I also enjoyed the "soon come" and "for true" signs posted outside Pickled Greek before they opened.

I like some of the expressions. I don't like the ones that are obviously incorrect grammer or derogatory, but some are just cute. I have been teaching my granddaughter "soon come". Her 4th birthday is Tuesday, and it has helped with the anticipation. Also when my daughter asked this morning if there were any M&Ms left, I answered they're "finished", and I have been asking for a "next one" for years.;)

"We had one experience at a Walmart where the check-out lady was eating something as we approached her station, she begrudgingly put it down, checked us out and never said a word, even after we spoke to her and we said thank you on the way out. We laughed about it and said she must be from St.Thomas."

Yup, a STT taxi driver would act that way!

Top 10 reason I love living in the VI was the perfect day we had today. Good friends, good food, wonderful ocean, great kids, happy husbands, no stress, just a perfect day. Certainly not every day is like this one but when you have one you treasure it.

in no particular order...

i love the sunsets on the west end, being able to keep my dogs outside year round with no ties, going out on the boat and seeing packs of dolphins, flip flops year round, exploring ruins and new places, the hammock at Off the Wall, saying Good Morning without having people look at you like you're crazy, getting to take a "vacation" (playing "tourist") without paying the airline fees, clear turquoise water and soft white sand, not being run off the road by crazed 18 wheelers on a freeway.

Someone mentioned whales. I haven't heard much about them in the carib. Can anyone tell me how regularly sightings occur, what type of whales and if they are there any specific time of year?

TY

The Humpback whales migrate through the VI in Feb and March. Pilot whales and false orca's can be seen often if you are out on the water a lot. If you are not on the water a lot (ie every day or a few times a week), seeing whales can be a bit of a chance occurrence.

Other reasons to love the VI: Sea-turtles and other amazing marine life.

Okay: False orcas?? What, they have been to the Purple Palace in Tortola???

And Cheesie: I have seen whales sailing down by Bequia, but in my many years here, I have never seen them in the VI... 🙁

I hang on every word. You made my day/week/month/etc.

I think "false orcas" may be a reference to "false killer whales." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_Killer_Whale

In the winter Jan - March I have seen whales in both Pillsbury Sound and North of Carvel Rock on the Atlantic end of Drakes Passage. Usually mothers and a calf - they are migrating West to the Silver Banks N. off Hispaniola.
Often they seem to wait for their pod to group together and are visible from Mahogany Run and the Peterborg area for a few days. These are Humpback whales.

It's all a matter of perspective. Here's an alternate view - the guy keeping the dog on the porch may be saving the dog's life. He may not live in a place where he can have a pet but I've learned here on STX that large dogs will disappear as they are used for practice for the vicious dogs being trained for dog fights. By simply keeping this seemingly abused dog on the porch its life may have been spared from serious pain at the hands of those in the dog fighting business.

Per the norm, gotta agree with you Betty. I am always very surprised how in many cases and with many folks, the island warmth does not seem to extend to animals, and sometimes much less. That would be a very hard pill for me to swallow. Last trip down there was a dog that I would walk by and pet every day that was always tied up on the porch of what seemed to be an unoccupied house. Dog poop all around him, and this was right in a very populated area right behind the beach. Asked one of the bartenders (who always seems to have his dog plus another rotating one in need of a home) next door about the dog and he told me he belongs to some guy and is fed everyday. Asked if there was a shelter or humane society to be called and he said " I wouldn't get involved, people can be very funny and defensive when it comes to their pets" My response was, why would he be, he certainly doesn't care about the animal. But I figured I couldn't really afford to take the chance at that point being an outsider from a different country. But it was really heartbreaking feeling like I couldn't do anything to help that poor dog, what a cruddy way to treat a poor defenseless animal. I could see how that would be a really hard thing to get past living in the islands. I imagine in USVI as a resident there are some things that can be done to help, correct?

I'm sorry good to go but keeping a dog chained up 27/7 is animal abuse in no uncertain terms. It is illegal animal abuse. When you see these dogs 9 times out of 10 they are in horrible shape.

you guys made me smile today,I actually smiled out loud remembering the pickled greek sign and the "it's all finished",I schooled my husband on some of the phrases before he arrived,when I first arrived I was in a slight state of panic thinking I wouldn't be able to understand this lingo! I had quite the expierience trying to order food at Wendy's not to mention we were the only "white" people in there,that was new to me. Hopefully I'll be back in "real world" STX in fall.