What we did right, what we did wrong

We've been on STX now for nine months. I thought I would give some thought as to what we did right in our move and more importantly, what mistakes we made.

Right:
1. We did a lot of homework . We read everything we could about the VI. We spent a lot of time on message boards (we probably gave Islander and others some grey hair with all our questions). We read the Settler's Handbook many times. We read the Daily News on-line.
2. We did not rush the move. While the idea began over six years before we came down, it really took about a year to put it all together.
3. We shipped our cars. The type vehicle you need depends on the island you move to. We have a mini van and a sports car. They are both great for STX. They probably would not be so good for STJ.
4. We came and looked at the island long prior to moving. By coming nearly a year before we moved, it gave time for us to think about what we had seen. We spent only about a third of that trip vacationing. We toured stores. We looked at neighborhoods. We talked to people.
5. We decided to rent for a year before we bought property. By renting for a year we had a chance to really look at the island and decide where we wanted to live. Had we bought where the realtors wanted us to, I would have been very disappointed. We have found we really don't want to live in the recommended areas. We have also decided not to buy at all. I'm retired. I don't think I want the hassle of taking care of a house anymore.
6. We found a local mentor. It wasn't planned, but we were fortunate enough to find a gentleman who helped us do all the things we had to do to set up our household here. That made life much easier.
7. We didn't burn our bridges for going back. As sure as we felt this was the right move for us, we stored enough of our stuff back home that we could start over there if we needed to. Fortunately, we don't and we'll be shipping the stuff we really want here soon. We also found we don't want as much of our stuff as we had thought.

Wrong:
1. We came at the wrong time of year. We came in August. It's extremely difficult to find work here that time of year. We were fortunate in that we didn't have to work so we could wait until things picked up. When we finally did decide to look for something to do, we could be a little picky. Our timing was our biggest mistake.

These are my opinions. I dare say my wife would not agree with all of these. Her ideas would probably be somewhat different. I hope this helps some of you that are considering moving to the islands.