Excellent post from JXC. It's always helpful to hear from someone with more complete and in depth knowledge of an island, than someone passing thru on a quick vacation.

tom42, My trip to St Thomas/St John was a looong time ago, but I'd vote for a taxi to the ferry, and going to St John on your own for an afternoon into evening rather than just the cocktail cruise over and back.

suze - that's the way we are leaning. It certainly would be a lot less expensive.

I took the ferry that one trip because we were actually staying on St John, camping out at Cinnamon Bay. And spent only our 1st & last nights in Charlotte Amalie.

Hello I hope you are all well.
I have a very real need for your help. I have a chance to come live in St Thomas, with the purpose to rebuild whats left of my life from scratch.

Im not a young man, Im not a man of means, to do this would mean a one time loan from a family member. and I would then live my remaining years there.

What I need is for those of you who really know the truth to tell me simply, do this, or dont do this. Read all before answering please.

Violence is something I cannot risk getting involved in. It's one thing when it's a fluke. It's quite another when it's a real possibility. I dont live in Detroit or L.A. or Denver, NY City etc for that very reason.

To be clear I am not asking you if it is safe for me, you don't have a crystal ball. I am taking the first step in responsibility for my own actions, which is prudence.

When I hear that a place has twice the homicide rate as the worse city in America, and only 32 sq miles, my thought is I would be a fool to even consider living there, for any reason.

Are these things true?

Thank you for your consideration. May God bless you all

Tensei: If only fools live on St Thomas, then I am one. I know people who live in Detroit, Denver, and LA who are not greatly affected by violence either. If you aren't in a gang, and you don't hang out where the gangs hang out, your chance of living through the experience will be good.I hope you have found vimovingcenter.com, as it is intended for people who do want to live in the VI.

Thank you eastender. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Yes Thanks again eastender, truly a voice of reason, the site you linked is great.

Hi Tensei, Your post has given me a bit of concern. I am reading between the lines and think that maybe it would be useful for you to talk to someone who could give you current information about the island that might relate to the issues that you allude to in your post. Would you like to communicate via email and not in such a public forum? I am currently living on both STT and STX (St. Croix) and have been bouncing around the USVI since 1977. I also live part time in the States. All my Best to you.

Beautiful piece of paradise
 

I want to start this off by letting people who read this thread, and haven’t been to the USVI, to not get deterred from going there. My husband and I travelled to the islands last April. It’s the most memorable thing we have ever done together, and we travel frequently. We rented a house from Airbnb right above Frenchman’s bay. We were NOT in a gated community. We would walk down to Lanai, which is a restaurant/bar at the bottom of the hill. We walked to it during daylight hours, as well as the middle of the night, multiple times. Not once have we felt unsafe anywhere on the island. We had toured the whole island, as well as water island and STJ. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to go to St. Croix. One of my favorite beaches was Coki. I loved the atmosphere. Yes, there were locals at the beach, but they kept to themselves and never bothered anybody. People need to remember that these are THEIR islands. It’s a privilege for us to be able to go there, not a right. My husband and I got along great with the locals. We ventured off all over the island and not once did we feel uncomfortable. Sure there’s poverty, but just because it’s not as developed as some other places in this world doesn’t mean that it’s automatically unsafe. Use your best judgment and go with your gut feeling. Don’t leave valuables out in the wide open and you won’t have any issues. As far as staying away from certain ends of the island, like the east end I’ve seen people write about, I wouldn’t put too much thought into it. We did our research before our trip and I was a worry wart. I didn’t want to go anywhere, until we landed at the airport and my fears instantly went away. It’s such a beautiful place, with so much to see and do. We are actually considering on moving down there. Respect the locals and you won’t have any problems! As far as people throwing out statistics on crime rates down in the islands....... there’s a lot less people down there. The population is much MUCH smaller. The people will not bother you! Respect them and they will respect you!