We are looking for a home to rent asap! Any ideas?

wow, i am not sure if you can find all that you are looking for-stt posters will be better able to help you. i wish you luck

Not sure if you will find something that is very suitable in that price range.
As long as you don't mind where and what you're renting, it is possible.
Utilities will not be included for that amount unless you get extremely lucky.
Have you not read the posts here about relocating and costs associated with that, especially with a sigificant other and a toddler?
Why have you not done your homework on this?
I wish you well.

I just checked on MLS and the least priced rentals presently available there, started at $900 for a studio, $950 for a 1x1 and none include any utilities.

Wow, I agree. Even to find a little studio way off the beaten path with utilities included is tough at $700/month. You can check the VI Daily News and the Island Trader, both of which you can find online at www.virginislandsdailynews.com. I'd suggest craigslistvi but it sounds from your price range that you don't know too much about St Thomas and could likely be good fodder for one of the scammers on there - but you can take a look there. Check the classified section on this site too.

There are no "cheap" hotels here. You could check one of the B&Bs such as Galleon House, Two Sandals By The Sea, At Home In The Tropics, or Crystal Palace but you're not likely to find anything under $100/night.

Do you have a job lined up? What about a car?

Very tough call indeed and that's all I can think of to suggest right now. Good luck.

St Thomas? I doubt it seriously. You may find an apartment around $700 to $800 but including utilities and wifi, I don't think so. A simple a/c running just at night could add at least $100 per month to your bill. I have an apartment that is available that I rent for $950 plus you take care of utilities. Water is monitored. Even If I discounted to $800 you still will have to pay for electricity. Also have rooms for short term. PM me if interested.

I advise you to take a loss on those tickets and stay home. If you come, you'll probably lose even more money.

Tart at this time of year I give great rates. No breakfast of course.

Ryan, I just went back on your first post in July when you were asking questions about moving here. You said you had read all the information on this site but you didn't mention that you were coming with a wife and a toddler.

I rather agree with Ms411's advice. You don't have a job, you don't have a car and I'm guessing you have VERY little money. Our unemployment rate is over 10% right now and I really do think this adventure is a disaster waiting to happen. Please do rethink very seriously. I wouldn't be so concerned if you didn't have a wife and child to support but you do and I think you're being very unrealistic about life here.

Ryan, I just went back on your first post in July when you were asking questions about moving here. You said you had read all the information on this site but you didn't mention that you were coming with a wife and a toddler.

I rather agree with Ms411's advice. You don't have a job, you don't have a car and I'm guessing you have VERY little money. Our unemployment rate is over 10% right now and I really do think this adventure is a disaster waiting to happen. Please do rethink very seriously. I wouldn't be so concerned if you didn't have a wife and child to support but you do and I think you're being very unrealistic about life here.

I did the same thing, Old Tart. 🙂

Ryan, good luck!!

You may want to take Ronnie up on his rental and at least have time to figure out what the heck you are going to do, find a job and see all the costs associated with full time living here. $400 rent is not feasable at all! Not in the USVI. I doubt you could rent a campsite for that little.
ms411 may have some good advice for you so consider it well because we do not need any more people on foodstamps..

And I would hate for anyone to get stuck with a short termer that can't pay the rent. I would check for return tickets and substantial deposit, and that's hard to verify long distance.

At least try to change one adult and the child's ticket to a later date. Come alone and try to find a place to live. I really don't believe you will want to live long-term in any apartment that is $400 a month. And certainly forget about any view or utilities included.

Yikes!!! And I'm not even on island lol.

We're coming with 40k a car and a job transfer. I wouldn't even THINK about it if that's weren't the case. I would think you could have a $400 wapa bill for a home there lol, Nevermind the actual rent. I've done a YEARs worth of research and your only gonna find a studio or efficiency for that price..... Is that what you're looking for? I'm not being a jerk but don't set yourself up to fail. Good luck OP!!!

Edit: maybe they meant 1400-1700?

Oh man, this is tough. I am moving there October 11th and my budget for me, my fiance, and our kitten is $1200-$1400 a month for a 1 bedroom not including utilities. I understand one WAPA bill (Electric) could be up to $400 for one month! Not to mention food is more pricey, gas, and pretty much everything except for booze from what I understand. We are planning on getting jobs in the restaurant business since we have a lot of experience in that field and it's more abundant. Tourism and restaurant fields are pretty much it for jobs on the island unless you are transferring. What are you going to do for a job? School? What area do you want to live in? Are you bringing a car? Transportation is imperative and necessary from what I have read. We are bringing our car over because we need a car on the island. Do you have a decent nest egg in case you don't find work? We have done research for months and months and months, and talked with many incredibly helpful people before we even thought about moving, little less buying our tickets down there. We started looking into it in March and just bought our tickets last week once we made the final decision and figured out everything we wanted to do for the most part and what we are going to have to do to get by. I lived and worked in a tourist area and the biggest problem was people couldn't balance life and work there, they thought they were on an endless vacation and didn't have to work the same amount to pay the bills and ended up moving home with their tail between theur legs.

I would try St. Croix, I've seen some cheaper places there, although again a car would probably be needed.

I agree with all of you as far as the price range. lol. We are just looking for a studio or one bedroom, we just want a cheap place while we look around for work. We want to pay 400-700 a month, but realistically we believe we might have to pay anywhere from 700-1200 a month plus utilities, and we are prepared for that, we just hope we can find something cheaper or maybe have utilities included. We aren't looking for the perfect place nor do we want a little shack somewhere, were just looking for an average place that's not too expensive. We aren't shipping our vehicles as we may only stay for a couple of months, we are willing to rent a car once in a while to run our errands when needed or we will take taxi's whenever possible. This will be our pre move visit for now just to see how things work out and to get a feel for what life is like on the islands. We want to pay rent in advance for 2 months and keep money set aside for utilities if needed. If nothing goes right, we have money set aside to get back to the mainland. Hopefully, everything works out great! We were looking for places on STT because I heard it is easier to get around there without a vehicle and it might be easier to find a job. Realistically, we have enough money for 2 months somewhere maybe longer depending on everything else. If we don't find work, or things just don't work out for whatever reason, we will be on a plane back to the mainland. If all does work out, we will stay longer and continue to work there. We will have money for rent, bills, taxi's, food, etc. and for tickets to get back just in case. We have been researching everything on here and elsewhere since spring time. We aren't coming down there with VERY little money, we aren't broke but we are far from rich. We aren't coming down there to receive welfare and get food stamps either lol. My biggest concerns are the cost of utilities and transportation, which again we will make work regardless. And of course, we need a place to go right when we get there. Other than that we will be able to get by just fine. We just need to find a place now as soon as possible because time is running out. We have a few places in mind right now that we will be calling tomorrow. If anyone knows of any studios or one bedrooms that are available that we may not know about, please let me know regardless of the price. We would really appreciate it. If anyone has more input or information on anything, that would also be greatly appreciated.

Thank you everyone for all of the advice and information!

And I have offered and you have not PM'd me. I have answers and can help.

Just wondering have you done a PMV?

I have pm'd you Ronnie, did you get it?

Yes. Someof us do sleep!! lol. Just answered.

I pm'd you as well Ryan.
I am confused tho as it sounded as if this was the actual move, not the PMV. If it is the PMV then come by yourself and get the lay of the land as it may be much easier to get around.

Everyone on the message board has told you that while it may be possible to get around by safari bus, it is not at all practical if you work at night, live in a off-route location, need to do your grocery shopping, need to schedule your trips with a toddler in tow, must walk any distance to where you may be able to catch public transportation, etc.

In addition without a car, you truly cannot properly explore the island and you limit your options right off the bat. Is waiting for a safari bus or hitch-hiking (which is not a great idea and difficult for 1, much less 2 plus toddler) going to allow to to get to a job interview on time? Taxi's will end up costing what a rental car would. You can get a monthly rental thru Dependable Car (www.dependablecar.com) which would be your best option.

WAPA rates just went up 19% so rentals that include electricity shall be few and far between especially if they offer A/C in the rental.

I pm'd you about a possible $300 per week rental/furnished studio at Pineapple Village which is nearby to Red Hook, on the safari bus line,
There is a pool and beach is a 2 min walk, it has a manned guard entrance and 24/7 grounds security. Contact owner and see if there is availability for 2 persons plus a toddler. At least, it would get your feet wet.

I just searched the flexmls in STT and there were 5 or so studios for rent for about $500.

I searched last nite and only found 3 in starting in the $900 range. Ditto for this morning.
Some sites do not have updated info and you won't know unless you have access to flexmls and are a Realtor.