Why did I bring that?????

Clothes. Lots and lots of clothes. In the states I worked part time at a women's clothing store and spent every dime I earned ( and then some) making use of the 50% employee discount. With-in 6 months of moving I had donated better than 75% and my closets were still overflowing. Shoes to a lesser extent. I kept any open toe low heel but every thing else went.

Good thread, looking forward to keeping up with this one. We are in that decision making process as we put our house on the market last month in advance of our move in June to St. Croix. Now we are deciding what to sell and what to keep and pay to have shipped. Shipping has turned out to not be as costly as once thought. I have quotes that range from a 40' cargo container brought to my home in Florida for me to fill (they give me 3 hours to load) and then delivered to Miami, shipped to St. Croix for $5,000. I'm not gonna need anything like that fortunately but shipping boxes has been quoted at the rate of $3.50 per cubic foot out of Miami, FL. I deliver, they put on a pallet and wrap in plastic for $25 a pallet. Pallets are 4'x 4' x 4' $225 a pallet plus $25 wrapping fee. I can fit a lot in 64 cubic feet.

actually-nothing. i gave away after a year some work clothes and other things i just did not need. i still have my winter coats and a few sweaters. mittens and 2 scarves .

we only had a few pieces of furniture and of course personal items.

been here for 11 years and just in the last 2 years got rid of a bunch of books.

Clothes. Lots and lots of clothes. In the states I worked part time at a women's clothing store and spent every dime I earned ( and then some) making use of the 50% employee discount. With-in 6 months of moving I had donated better than 75% and my closets were still overflowing. Shoes to a lesser extent. I kept any open toe low heel but every thing else went.

Ha, Jane....when we lived on the boat I had ONE dress. I brought it along (1995) for things like fancy parties, weddings and funerals. I soon learned that "fancy" has a whole other meaning on island, and most weddings and funerals are on the beach, so decent shorts and flip flops are really normal.

I wore that dress in a CCT play I was in, then gave it to the shelter thrift store when we left STX the last time.

I have a dress. I think. Hmmmmm

Clothes. Lots and lots of clothes. In the states I worked part time at a women's clothing store and spent every dime I earned ( and then some) making use of the 50% employee discount. With-in 6 months of moving I had donated better than 75% and my closets were still overflowing. Shoes to a lesser extent. I kept any open toe low heel but every thing else went.

Ha, Jane....when we lived on the boat I had ONE dress. I brought it along (1995) for things like fancy parties, weddings and funerals. I soon learned that "fancy" has a whole other meaning on island, and most weddings and funerals are on the beach, so decent shorts and flip flops are really normal.

I wore that dress in a CCT play I was in, then gave it to the shelter thrift store when we left STX the last time.

Not so much that I got rid of these things, but books, shoes, and pictures are things that get ruined by the environment faster than I wish they did. So if you have any really special books and pictures, make sure you can store them properly when you get here or leave them someplace where they will be safe if you want to keep them. My shoes always seem to fall apart here too. And they aren't cheap shoes either. Walking on the beach will trash them pretty quickly. I used to only have access to my office by walking on a beach (I know, horrible, right?) and the soles of almost all of my shoes fall off before they are worn out.

Don't bring a lot of fancy clothes. There isn't much use for them here unless you know you are going to have a suit and tie job. Even jobs where you would tend to see people dress up in the states (realtors is one that pops in my head) are very casual here in shorts, polos, which is considered pretty dressy here. I brought several silk items of clothing and none of them lasted more than a year.

So if you have any really special books and pictures....leave them someplace where they will be safe if you want to keep them.

Also: Formal silverware and fancy models of cars (can't really get them repaired)

The first time I moved here in '95, I had gotten rid of most everything, including all my winter clothes. This time when we moved back in '12, I made sure I had either access to those things for winter trips back to the states or on hand here. I learned we do have seasons, Spring and Summer. After being here awhile, I rotate my summer and spring clothes out.
Shoes? Get rid of most! Shoes not worn here mold very quickly! If I hadn't gone back to Arkansas this past December it would've been two years that I only have worn my Reef flip flops. Unfortunately, going back I needed to put on my cleaned up pair of moldy shoes for the trip.
Also, if you cook as I do and are renting you may want to bring your own cookware you love. Even some of the high end rentals we've had didn't quite have cookware up to my standard. I brought all my kitchen stuff, including everyday dishware and flatware. Left my China and crystal and Silver stored at my daughter's home.
Books don't do well here. I left all our family pictures stored in an air conditioned storage at my daughter's as they melt and stick together and could get lost. Left my best and largest art up there as well and only brought a dozen or more wall art that I wouldn't mind losing in a storm.
First time I moved here my home was damaged by Marilyn and I lost most everything I brought down. Hence, me not bringing things I'd hate to not be able to pass down to my children. I also left most of my gold and diamond jewelry in my lockbox at my stateside bank. Yes, I have a bank here as well that I use.
Hope this helps you.

Lots of good stuff so far!

We do have a lot of books that I need to pare down.

When you speak about art; we have several watercolours. Will they survive or should I sell them in states?

Yes, we are avid cooks and have a lot of kitchen gear. We would need to bring these just to survive.

I do have watercolor art here. Just make sure when hanging they are not in too much light. That can definitely ruin them. Just finished a watercolor three day class last month. Lots of great art can be bought here from wonderful local artists.
Oh, I forgot, I did bring a nice assortment, King and Queen bed linens and my towels. You may want your own pillows as well.
We brought two vehicles, one suv and a full size truck. Have since sold the truck and husband now drives a Jeep.
I gave over 200 books to my local American Legion club to start a library exchange and got a tax write off. I did the same with my Christmas decorations. Just knew I wouldn't have storage room for those things here.
My husband brought all his tools except his table saw. But, several of them have been stolen from our home here. Home Depot has good replacements.
We did bring our chain saw. Never know what storm will bring down a tree leading to your house!

Nothing. Brought three suitcases and two cats. Still have the cats and majority of the clothes lol I DO wish I would have brought my CRV to the islands though. It was a 2002 but still in great shape. I bought a jeep commander from my friends leaving STT last year and it worked out great - unbelievable deal but I always tell people to buy a cheap small SUV in cash and bring it with.

Unlike a lot of other people I had no problem (in STT) finding stuff or just ordering what I needed. Never wanted for much but I am pretty crafty. In STX there are no clothes here - I go to PR or STT for clothes. Heck I just ordered a huge buffet/tv stand from overstock.com, dining room chairs, 2 new living room chairs from Amazon and hopefully soon a new couch from West Elm lol. If I knew I would like living in the VI so much I would have shipped a container but we sold everything in the states because we didn't really know if we would stay here long. I don't see myself leaving ANY time soon so its time to make my place how I want it. Thanks to Paradise Freight! 🙂

When you speak about art; we have several watercolours. Will they survive or should I sell them in states?

The other thing to keep in mind with art, besides sun damage, is that mold often grows under the glass in framed pictures. Sometimes just on the glass, often on the paper itself. There is no fix for this other than taking the frame apart and cleaning inside -- not a simple matter for professionally framed pictures.

When you speak about art; we have several watercolours. Will they survive or should I sell them in states?

Getting back to my previous advice, put stuff in storage stateside before selling willy-nilly. You simply have no idea when you set foot here whether or not island living is going to work out for you. If you bring a bunch of stuff you'll end up having to try and get it shipped back and if you sell a bunch of stuff before moving and end up returning you'll kick yourself. Not trying to dissuade you but the attrition rate of newcomers is huge - that's the reality - and the cautious approach is a must.

Don't bring leather furniture. It looks lovely, but with the humidity and your sweat when you sit on it or lean against it, it won't last long unless you always keep it in an air conditioned room...and what fun is that?