Why did you choose your island?

So how does they healthcare work there, compared to the mainland?

Kindly,
Charlotte

STX was chosen based on simple elimination.

STJ is beautiful, but expensive and lacking in regular middle class employment.

STT is the city of the islands. Heavy on tourism with significant quantities of nutcases and shady characters.

STX is the country. Great sense of community, and once upon a time there was a fairly substantial middle class. Cheaper of the three for sure.

(can't comment on Water Island).

nature lover, there is another post that has that info on it. it is on the first page

STX was chosen based on simple elimination.

STJ is beautiful, but expensive and lacking in regular middle class employment.

STT is the city of the islands. Heavy on tourism with significant quantities of nutcases and shady characters.

STX is the country. Great sense of community, and once upon a time there was a fairly substantial middle class. Cheaper of the three for sure.

(can't comment on Water Island).

Couldn't have said it any better, if I'd said that myself! I prefer a small town feel and STX fits the bill! Have lived here off and on since '95, permenatly moved back in '12.

1984 after friends moved here to St Thomas and I received a job offer during one long weekend visit!!

Delighted to have had the opportunity on this island in particular as it has a mix of everything. The hustle and bustle of town is countered by the rural peace and quiet just 10 minutes away from it; incredible island hopping opportunities; quiet beautiful beaches still to be found and enjoyed; "small town" feel mixed with "city" feel all on one small island.

"STT is the city of the islands. Heavy on tourism with significant quantities of nutcases and shady characters." Right - St Thomas houses all the "nuts and shady characters", none of which can be found on any of the other islands! Who'd a thunk.

(tu)

I'm glad STT decided to house this nutcase.. I guess my wife is the shady one?;)

It was a "hurry, hurry time to move" decision, so we read all we could & guessed.

1984 after friends moved here to St Thomas and I received a job offer during one long weekend visit!!

Delighted to have had the opportunity on this island in particular as it has a mix of everything. The hustle and bustle of town is countered by the rural peace and quiet just 10 minutes away from it; incredible island hopping opportunities; quiet beautiful beaches still to be found and enjoyed; "small town" feel mixed with "city" feel all on one small island.

"STT is the city of the islands. Heavy on tourism with significant quantities of nutcases and shady characters." Right - St Thomas houses all the "nuts and shady characters", none of which can be found on any of the other islands! Who'd a thunk.

OT, you must share your island experiences and get your books published....:D

We chose STX for the space, less crowded and cheaper of the three. I prefer our shady characters and nutcases. Some of them are my best friends. The only downside I have is it is so far from the BVI's.

Wanted to move to STJ after my first visit in 2004 - made it my goal to find something in STJ but instead found a caretaker opportunity in Botany Bay, STT. It reminded me of STJ in its beauty and solitude with the convenience of being on STT. Now I am in STX because of my BF's business and my tiring of the Seaplane hop over every weekend... Love them all for different reasons!

it was actually chosen for me

We moved to STX exactly 10 years ago today.

We chose STX for its slow, quiet pace, elbow room, friendly people, natural beauty, great views, weather and cheap real estate. And yes, I know that STX doesn't have a monopoly on all of those qualities.

We recently considered leaving STX, and seriously looked at other places, but decided that for day-to-day living, this was the place for us. If we traveled more, I'd rather be on STT or PR.

I knew St. Thomas from a crewed sailing trip. I knew I could island hop. I also thought I would be able to find work easily. Both were kind of true.

In 21 years, I have STILL not visited St Croix. Guess it's time to do so. 😉

A guy I met while working in Alaska had a brother that lived on St. John. I didn't want to do another winter in Michigan, so I said what the hell and came to St. John for the winter season, 16 and a half years ago and never went back. St. John is expensive, doesn't have a lot of conveniences, and even though I sometimes feel like I'm still in high school (the transplants can be a bit cliquey) or part of a big family that doesn't always get along (My West Indian family is really big) I still love it. There is a strong sense of community here that I haven't ever had anywhere else I lived. I prefer it's size and I like that most of it is National Park and is not built up and is accessible to everyone.

The decision on St. Thomas wasn't my decision to make. My step dad moved to St. Thomas for work and was head of maintenance at Blue Beards Castle Hotel back in the middle 60's to early 70's. I also worked there for a couple of years back in the early 70's. One of the main questions I have been asked is, has the Island changed much in the past 45-50 years? I always reply "No, just a lot more people". It seems you can't keep a good thing a secret forever.

mike

Well first of all I selected the USVI because no passport is required, everyone speaks English, and it's easy to purchase real estate as a US citizen.

My criteria to hone down to THE one Island was-

- I wanted an island that had direct flights to/from many US mainland cities and didn't require an additional ferry or puddle jumper ride from the airport, so it's easy and quick to get to and from for me and my guests
- Love mountains! Water views from anywhere, gorgeous, and fun to drive
- Wanted a bit of the conveniences of home - a few major stores and shopping centers
- A tropical getaway with both remote lush estates and also populated social estates
- Small enough to drive from one end to the other in less than an hour
- Real estate prices I could afford

STT was the obvious choice for me!

That being said, I also accepted the negatives - ships of tourists, traffic, some not great neighborhoods, not a biking, walking, golf cart commuting, or horseback riding kind of island.

Interesting comments.
our first visit was a vacation, with three preschool-age children. We narrowed down our options to an island where we could arrive on a non-stop from JFK airport in NY...no taking a ferry or a little plane for the end of the trip, because the thought with little kids was ...no! So, I picked the island that had several major airlines to choose from, nice big jets. We wanted to have groceries where I could buy a jar of peanut butter or something such if we needed it, and we wanted to stay in a property that had 2 bedrooms, air conditioning and an in-unit washer and dryer, preferably on the beach...We'd done Florida and Bermuda with the kid(s), but wanted the Caribbean....
Our island...ST CROIX!! Thirty years ago, we could fly there on PanAm, Eastern, American and some others, non-stop from NY. We would sit on the plane in stx and watch folks get off our plane and go over to a little plane for the trip to St Thomas...and we had a Safeway grocery store in Sunny Isle, where we could buy whatever food we needed. Woolworth's was "the" store in Sunny Isle, where Kmart is now, and they sold everything, from clothes to food to scuba gear to guns, and anything....stayed in a condo on the beach, where we were the only guests with kids (back then people did not seem to take that sort of vacation with kids) but it worked for us. Within a year we had returned and bought a condo to use one week a year and rent the rest of the time....We had years where the occupancy was about 80%--I think especially in 1986.....

Needless to say, we have seen lots of changes, as this was 30 years ago...but we still own on stx, (though not condos), and I have lived/worked full time as well...Ups and downs, good years and terrible ones, but here we are...lovely neighbors, friends and acquaintances, great water, 80 degree temps and sunny days, and the negatives have not yet caught up to the positives for us, though our current governor...a real negative even from 15 years ago.

You had a Grand Union supermarket in Sunny Isles, not a Safeway.

I was wondering how come STX got a Safeway and we didn't.
Hurricane Marilyn took care of our Grand Union and they never returned.

Hugo took care of our Grand Union, and they didn't return.

Maybe it was Hugo that did ours in as well.
Hard to remember with such massive destruction from those 2 hurricanes.

Alana: You remember correctly. It was Marilyn that ended Grand Union and Woolworth's at Lockhart Gardens.