USVI vs. Belize (or other central american countries)

It seems like the police really need to get to the root of community policing and being in the community.

The majority does and work very hard at it - and I speak from experience having met numerous dedicated officers as well as the worst of the worst. Unfortunately the few bad apples who come and go can really distort the general image. They get rid of one bad one and soon a next one pops up - and I know this isn't an aberration common only to police in the VI but is a problem in just about every community everywhere.

There definately is a fair percentages of responses in all the various forums where folks are pretty negative about the location in question. More often than not, seems like negative views prevail (maybe anyone who is happy isn't posting on the forum!!). Of course folks like me who are just trying to figure things out want to know the negatives as long as they are balanced. So would definately be interested in views of folks about the hospitals and health care on St Thomas. Sounds like there is pretty good choices and quality there (maybe not compared to mainland US, but hard to really expect that on an island)

There definately is a fair percentages of responses in all the various forums where folks are pretty negative about the location in question. More often than not, seems like negative views prevail (maybe anyone who is happy isn't posting on the forum!!). Of course folks like me who are just trying to figure things out want to know the negatives as long as they are balanced. So would definately be interested in views of folks about the hospitals and health care on St Thomas. Sounds like there is pretty good choices and quality there (maybe not compared to mainland US, but hard to really expect that on an island)

If choose the VI, whatever island, after a year you will most likely understand if it is for you.
It has been for my family for quite some time and still is.

From the blogs I read from transplants to Belize, Well as long as rampant thievery works for you Belize might be worth a try.

I read that a police officer was ambushed by multiple people with machine guns in STT last night. Apparently, they waited until he drove by and opened up on him with the guns. http://viconsortium.com/featured/gunmen-ambush-police-near-federal-building-on-st-thomas/

Amazing how very far from the truth "unconfirmed sources" can be:

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2015/02/22/unknown-gunman-fires-police

Lets keep in mind that the vast majority of the murders in the VI are gang/drug/retaliation related and do not involve non-locals.

Also, quality health care insurance for expats living anywhere in the world can be purchased through Cigna Global.

"The joint commission has the biggest influence over medicare payments. If hospitals fail JCOH inspections they receive a lower percentage on medicare payments."

Well, that may be part of the reason that Schneider Regional is doing so much better than JFL. SRMC has been Joint Commission accredited for quite some time. (tu)

The case about the cop is curiouser and curiouser: http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2015/02/24/forensics-finds-no-evidence-shot-fired-police-car

The case about the cop is curiouser and curiouser: http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2015/02/24/forensics-finds-no-evidence-shot-fired-police-car

Ever since seeing the officer in action and reading about his exploits, I've thought he'd be a good candidate for a full psych evaluation. In my opinion there's something very wrong with the man - every incident he's been involved with has been, well, just peculiar.

So how do folks living in St Thomas think crime ranks vs US big cities (and vs. other places in the Carribean to the extent anyone has experience there)?

i think you should be able to find the fbi stats for all the islands, the newspapers only seem to break down murders byt island. per capita we have a high crime rate. is most cases higher than stateside

st croixs economy is a bit worse/worst ( which one is it ) off than stt due to hovensa closing.

"Worse" is correct, since you are comparing two things (comparative).
For example:
B is bad, but A is worse than B. B is better than A.

"Worst" would apply if comparing three or more things (superlative).
For example:
Between A, B and C, A is the worst, and C is the best.

STXBob, thank you