work and live by the grace of god

Hi John
I don't doubt that after a while you would make enough money to support your family. However, for the first year or so, your wife and you would need to work every job you can find and fit in. You will need a bankroll to get you through the move and first year. It is more expensive to live here than "almost" any place in the states

The biggest problem for families moving here is just that...kids. The public schools are not as good as those in the states. Though I see some improvement. You need to ask a lot of questions about your kids schooling here. Private schools are better, but they are very very expensive. One family I know worked that out by the wife taking a job at a private school that offered reduced and free tuition to employees.

ms. information,i like that.
thank you for the feedback, the last time we were down there we were asking people about moving there and they pretty much said the same as you had said . yes, the kids are a very important part of my decision. i feel however this is the time to do it.my children are 5,9,and12 .we just moved to s.c.and they are in a private school here . all are excited but the 12 year old he enjoys friends and is just recovering from our last move in march. if i wait they will get set in here and become older . both my wife and i are excited and willing to save and work harder both here and there to make this happen. we have come accustom to living with less and do not need all of life's spoils to be truly happy. we're not looking for a long vacation we're looking into a new place to call home. thank you so much bless you.

john,
my name is justin im 33 and a christian from nj.we have a similar situation,i also am a successful remodeling contractor ive been in business for my self now for 7 years.i love what i do and take great pride in my work.my girlfriend and i went to stt about a year ago and just fell in love with the place,so much that we went back twice since.there is such a peace about the place.i too have been contenplating moving there and working for someone for a while to get my feet wet learning their ways of doing things and starting my own business when the time is right.from what i understand it is very difficult to set up a business there if your like us coming from the states.i was told that u need to know someone who lives on island to make things easier.im not sure if things are the sameway on stx.i wish u and your family the best of luck i look forward to hearing what ur decision is.do u at all find it difficult to just give up your successful business, i know i sure do i think thats the only thing holding me back,the construction down there is different then what we're used to, no stick framing,everything is concrete or block.if u go will your wife also work i guess it will be tough with your kids still in school unless she works nights?my girlfriend is finishing school soon so hopefully she could find a job pretty easily. best of luck and god bless look forward to hearing from you.
JUSTIN

hey justin,
there were a few other reasons for moving to stx now,1 being that i had a very successful business as a custom home framer in Florida while i had enough money to take quit a few trips to stt,stx, and st john i took notice to the construction side of things and saw that there were some differences is the style of roof systems but homes in general still have much similarities to the states. i originally lived and started framing in n.j.myself and moved to Florida ten years ago. so to start over in Florida took me about a year till i learned all the hurricane codes and the way the houses were built totally differently than up north ,but i took what i knew and combined it with what i was learning and in turn i was actually better than alot of southern framers because i could do both styles. now I've moved to south Carolina for the work and started a exterior deck business by putting flyers in about 2000 mail boxes and i am slammed till December. so that being said i figure I've done it twice and i cuold do it again, this time i would move where i would not only love where i live but i can also love where i work to. I'm 38 and in great shape .i run and workout and really take care of myself i figure I've got some decent years in me to not only get out there and physically start a business but have enough time to actually have it kick off to have more time to spend with my family. i lost alot in Florida with the economy controlling new home sales.if you've got the ambition and god as your provider i say go for it and maybe I'll see you there. I've also been apart of an awesome church called morningstar and would miss it but I've done some ministry with it and would love to start a small ministry in the virg.islands ,god willing i can almost think of it as i read about Paul and all his journeys and how faith and the love of god led him and guided him threw all life's situations. so i am very confident as far as faith goes just concerned for my children. well I'll talk to you later see ya john

hey justin i got babbling and forgot to answer your question . my wife has raised our kids for 10 years and was actually going to look for a job this year with our little one starting school this year . with all the work i have she has come to work with me not as a carpenter but as my stainer and painter and even helps me with the lighter parts of the job. she loves it because she still has time for the kids without dealing with some boss somewhere else. i hate to paint and stain and she also has better ideas as far as the color designing goes,we love it .alot of the time we work together, so imagine working together there. and no cold. i get excited thinking about maybe our first job together i don't care if it's just a door install i will be thankful for successfully getting there to go to work the first day. john