SAnParis2

Although still in the very preliminary stages my spouse may have a job opportunity in St. Croix. Although things appear easy enough, since we are US citizens & most everything will be provided for us. I am curious as to opinions of what it is like to reside there... Any comments, opinions, etc. are welcomed re: any topic. Our primary concern, is of course, what to do w/all our 'stuff' here in the States. Thx to all.

brenandg

http://livedelifeusvi.blogspot.com/

Here is an interesting blog from a couple that moved to STT. We met them in November of 2007 when she was going to interview for her job. They moved in January of 2008. We got together with them again in May and so far, they love it there. If you search the archives, you will find their to do lists before and after the move. Also, the good and bad about island life. If you go to the May 12th archives, that is us boating with them. I know it's not St Croix, but it would give you an idea of what it takes to pick up and move.

absolutkz

Brenandg- thanks for posting the blog link. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, as I just read from start to finish. Needless to say, I'm hooked!

CaribbeanSoul

I lived on STX for three years back in the early 1990's. I know a lot has probably changed since then, but if you have any specific questions, I will do my best to help you out or point you in the right direction. My time there was spent on the go...with every weekend a new opportunity to explore. A truly beautiful island and one of the most "liveable" islands in the Caribbean for us stateside residents.

RoamsAround

Go to: www.vimovingcenter.com

It's a comprehensive web-site and forum dedicated to living/working in the USVI's. There's tons of information and if you read through everything on that site you'll find answers to all your questions as well as questions you haven't even thought of yet. Also get a copy of "The Settler's Handbook" (available on that website or at Amazon.com) - it's a must read for anyone contemplating a move to the islands.

SAnParis2

Thanks for the info, I had found the moving site. The good part/easy part would be the move. We would basically only take our clothes & personal items. Everything else would stay here. That IS my bigger concern. We would certainly sell a car & some other items as well. I'll check out the blog.

brenandg

http://livedelifeusvi.blogspot.com/2...1_archive.html

Check out August 21st and 22nd to get a brief rundown of our friends car saga.

HowardC

We moved to St Croix in Nov 2007. Never had been to the us Virgins before Nov 2006. I won a 5 day auction for the Buccaneer so we decideed to get a buyer agent and look around at housing. We were living in Leesburg Fl about an hour north of Orlando and going to the islands about 5 times a year so why not look. Really didn't find anything the first time but our agent found something so since we were going to Barbuda in Feb stopped by STX. New house under construction only a cement slab so it took a lot of imagination. Made an offer and it was accepted. 1850 Sq Ft three bedrooms 3 baths, pool carport etc on 1/2 acre. Why STX rather than the other US Virgins--St Thomas too touristy with cruise ships etc. Lots of traffic and hectic. St John very quiet and very expensive. Nice place to visit but wouldn't want to live there. STX was just right. One big factor was medical care. Since we are both 68 acceptance of medicare was a factor. They have a good hospital and so far our medical needs have been met Pretty laid back island but always something going on. You can get involved in numerous organizations and clubs There are some very good restaurants on the island, 2 KMarts (Which sell liquor), a Large shopping complex called Sunny Isle, a couple of large grocery stores that are well stocked. STX is rather multi ethnic so you find all sorts a different kinds of food items. There is also a Cost you Less which is sort of like Costco where you can but in bulk. Food is about 30% higher than in the states. Electricity is very expensive--47 cents a KWHour which is higher than all 50 states. Since we have an oil refinery here gas runs about $3.75/gal which isn't bad. Beaches are Okay in my opinion. Have seen better on other islands. In fact there has been a lot of beach erosion recently because of the waves generated by passing hurricanes. Weather is a lot like Florida. Actually probably hotter there in the summer. About 85-90 here but very humid here for the past three months and lots of mosquitoes after it rains. We go thru lots of Raid and Off. If you have a furnished condo or house no need to bring furniture. We did move everything from Fl. Had an 8x8x40 trailer which was full including car. Cost $18K but would have been twice that if we had to buy furniture ,car etc here. Would I do it all again probably not, but don't regret a minute of it. Hard to build a house talking by phone and e-mail. Spent most of my days at Home Depot and shipped nine pallets of stuff to STX. Quite an experience but we're liv'n and lov'n island life. If you do get to STX in the near future e-mail me and we'll get [email protected]. Hope this helps.
P.S. STX is a great place to island hop to the BVI's, Anguilla, Nevis etc etc

ccrosner

HowardC--guess I didn't realize that you had moved to STX. Wow! Nothing like moving quickly from a 5 day visit to living there. I'm going to guess that your new home is near the Divi...but that's just a guess.

My husband and I toy with the idea of buying a condo for wintertime use when we are a bit older....but then we worry about absentee ownership as well as security and hurricanes. Probably will just rent when the time comes.

I'm curious....how do you spend your days? Do you ever go back to the Buccaneer to enjoy the view and use the beach? Did you find it easy to make friends there? Just curious.

Thanks for sharing your honest assessment of what your move has been like.

SAnParis2

Thanks Howard, my wife is in contact w/a school there (The Good Hope School) who is seeking a specialized teacher for their school. It actually was started as an inquiry from a parent, who has a child at that particular school. It would likely be a two year stint, but who knows ? We would only take our clothes, a few toys & maybe bikes. Everything else would stay in the States.

HowardC

St Croix--Ccrosner--Yes it was fast. Six months from contract to closing. After we got back from contract signing I put out a For Sale by Owner sign and had a serious buyer but things lingered for months and the deal finally fell through. Although we had a contingency clause in the contract I had too much time, money and effort invested to back out so since the house was finished we decided to move anyway in Nov. House in Fl still hasn't sold. I probably would have gone the condo route but we inherited our granddog from our son in May 05. A wonderful Yellow English Lab who is 1110 lbs of love and muscle. A couple of condos do take dogs up to 25 lbs. Anyway in Fl we belonged to Caring Canines Therapy Dogs so I decided to start a chapter here in STX. Keep busy with that. Living on an island isn't much different than living in the states. Days are spent going to the store, running errands, maintaining the house, therapy dog visits, beach and pool time etc,etc. People are very friendly and it's easy to make friends.Almost every weekend there is something going on, horse races, parades, festivals etc. If I didn't have a dog and were to do it again I would go the condo route and be a snow bird but living in Fl that didn't make much sense. Forgot to mention early Sat Am there is a farmers market where you can get enough fruit and veggies for $10-$15 to last a week. Fish vendors are also there. Along the road people sell produce, fish, lobster, crabs etc every day.

SAnParis2--We live close to Frederiksted not far from the airport. The main campus of Good Hope is about 5 min away. Believe they also have an annex up in Christiansted.

I did read part of the blog mentioned above. Got a kick out of the Cable Box from Innovative. We could only get a box for basic cable so for two months we only got 12 channels. They did' nt have any extended cable boxes. Finally got one and had to return it once as it failed. Innovative Computer service is no better. There are times I can't access my computer all day. The fun of island life. Part of the problem is that Innovative is bankrupt.

SAnParis2

Thanks for all of the information. After further investigation it appears the school has taken over the 'search', and the offer is not as attractive as it was to begin with. In addition, my Wife, who this hinges on, is in the process of completing some coursework which would make her a much better candidate for similar types of positions in the future. So, we will bide our time, for now. Thanks again.