Wish me luck. I'm gonna do it!!

Welcome and we wish you good luck. Can I give you one piece of advice? RELAX, SLOW DOWN. And don't be surprised when you have challenges here. It's nice, but it's not paradise and you will have all the same problems here you have in OK -- well, maybe not the allergies.

And maybe the VI won't have the problems of the hellish OK summers.

Good luck! On the other hand there are people who never had allergies in the states who have developed them here!;)

You will find plenty of Okies around. Oklahoma is a good place to be from.

I seem to be having difficulties finding companies on ST Thomas & St Croix that are in my area of expertise and was hoping someone could offer up a few suggestions. For the past 16 years I've been in the group tour/travel industry and specialize in all aspects of large group travel....I'm great with people of all ages. I know how to arrange travel for groups, negotiate special rates and contracts with hotels, charter companies, casinos and other service providers. Weddings, family reunions, corporate outings, team building...etc. My hope is to work for a tour/travel company that handles a lot of inbound groups. I also have 15 years of restaurant management experince as a GM but I'd rather stay away from that industry it at all possible. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Start your own, from scratch. Be your own boss.

Have you googled receptive operators on St. Thomas? You said you will be arriving in Jan., for one week. When do you plan to make the move? Even January is a little late to get a job in the tour and travel industry for the "season". If you contact some of the tour operators now, you may be able to get yourself in line for a job, but I think waiting for January is a mistake.

I agree with Juanita. While there are several tour operators here that could use your expertise, January is the actual beginning of the most active months of the season. Earlier would be much better, unless planning for the following year,

islanddean: Maybe you can work long distance with a stateside company that you already have a relationship with.

😛 The hardest thing for me to do,when i'm on the island, is to leave ! ! ! I've been told that if you can stay
clean and sober you can work at any profession you may desire. i have personally found this to be true.... There
is a difference with the people state side and in the islands. You always talk of how you are and how your friend
or aquaintance are, business is talked about later... Slow down, relax,meet people the way you would like to be
reseaved. The sooner you forget how things are in the states,the better you will be received... When you come to
the islands, live with a family. most of the homes on the island have appartments to suplament income. Find a nice
one ! ! Also, ride the" Safari Busses," when you are intown, check out the open air stores, Meet The People...I do think
it will take you longer than a week to nail down everything you will need to do. Your not crazy, some of us find the people
and the Island way, very desireable... I found that I was even forgiven for being born in n.y.... Good and safe travels JM

Good Luck! I have been on this forum for a while but your post encouraged me to actually sign up and post. My wife and I look to call the beautiful island of St Croix home one of these days. How about this last summer in Oklahoma! We spent a week on island back in March and would like to make a more extensive PMV in the next 12 months.

Thanks for all the great advice and info. I know that January is probably the worst time to try and find work there but I have some commitments here that prevent me from leaving any sooner and one week is all I can squeeze in during that time. What excites me the most is the expectation of a completely different lifestyle that what I'm used to here in the States. I could not have been happier than when I was self-employed but a very serious health issue caused me to lose my business. In 2005 I started working for "The Man" and the funny thing is he was my main competitor. He is a young guy, mid 30's, and the business is his life. He's less than sympathetic when someone has a health issue and needs to take off work or when one of the reservationists takes time off because she just had a child....he's really heartless. I know that there is a chance that I will work for someone similar in the USVI but I bet it's easier to go to work on a beautiful Caribbean island.

I also have a Class B drivers license with a passenger/air brake endorsement which means I can drive the big tour buses. The search is on and I could not be more excited! My goal is one year from now I'll be a permanent resident of STT or STX.

I'm doing it in Jan to STX. I know exactly how you feel. 🙂 Tennessee isn't kind about allergies either.