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Do you really live on St Thomas? Crimes in involving Machettes happen frequently. Machettes are a common tool used in the VI. They are abundant and frequently within reach when tempers fly.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blu4u
Do you really live on St Thomas? Crimes in involving Machettes happen frequently. Machettes are a common tool used in the VI. They are abundant and frequently within reach when tempers fly.
that is a bunch of bs!!! they shoot people here just like in the states or anywhere else.. I know I live here in st Croix. and most of the people getting shot are thugs shooting thugs.. as far as the economy that's another story, its in the crapper now that Hovensa has shut down!!!! the two towns Christiansted, Frederiksted are ghost towns, I see an occasional tumble weed rolling thru the towns from time to time I've lived here for eons and have not one bullet wound to show for it, and I have never been robbed!!!!
ohh I have three machetts I use to cut palm fronds
I am astonished by this thread. I have been living happily part-time on STX for several years, on the West End near Frederiksted. I feel safe in my neighborhood, travel around alone as a middle age woman, but don't go out to bars at night, preferring a simple home-based life enjoying the beautiful natural environment and climate. The folks who keep recounting the crimes sound like they are describing another island!!
Neither I nor my diverse friends (almost all having lived at least 20 years on STX or born there) have experienced such negatives, but DO take precautions to stay out of trouble.
When we first moved to STX we were told that most crimes were related to drugs or "crimes of passion" among the locals, and so don't mix with people into such things or frequent places where they congregate. Well, guess what. Those rules work back in the states where we also live part-time ... so we simply applied the street smarts we already had .... mostly common sense like don't flaunt valuables or leave them visible in your car. Never been robbed, much less personally experienced any violence... neither in STX nor in Baltimore.
And I enjoy both for what they offer .... quite different.
Another few things that have been quite different for us, compared to the hyper-negative posters:
Cost of living is high in some aspects, however not heating a home in harsh NE winters nor maintaining a 3 season wardrobe give significant savings to compensate. Utility rates are high, yet our electric bills run only $120 to $145 most months, and water is less than $40 most months. Our Baltimore bills are higher than that on average, for a somewhat larger house. Rents and housing prices are way more affordable in St. Croix than in many US cities.
Our food costs are higher on St. Croix but only 5 to 10% maybe. We learn to enjoy locally grown or baked, and simply pass over certain foods that are extra expensive due to import costs. And some food and drink is incredibly cheap... like the famous rums and some wines, fresh wild caught fish, or shopping veggies at roadside stands. We have much better access in St. Croix for organic farmed produce than in Balto.
Although selection of goods is much more limited, and have become "Kmart Shoppers" which would be a joke in Balto, we do online shopping and don't feel deprived.
Retiring to St. Croix , or coming with an internet business, or some other means not dependent on the local St. Croix economy would be a nice advantage. However my local friends have all been gainfully employed on St. Croix , with careers or owning their own businesses, so it can be done! Hovensa leaving has dented the local economy for sure.
I could go on. Such negativity inspires me to give another side of the story to be fair.
I DO agree that island living isn't for everyone, and that a "pre-move visit" or trial year of living is the only way to test your own preferences. Reading isn't enough, nor coming as a tourist. Life on St. Croix seems most comfortable to those mainlanders willing or wanting to let go of mainland expectations for the sake of the unique pluses of St. Croix lifestyle. Type A personalities get frustrated and a large fraction of "transplants" do leave eventually!!
We love St. Croix , and are sorry that some of these angry posters had such a bad experience. It's a shame that some ordinary folks who are quite happy on St. Croix overall are perhaps less inclined to post on this kind of forum, compared to people who have reason to vent about their situations.
Another few things that have been quite different for us, compared to the hyper-negative posters:
Cost of living is high in some aspects, however not heating a home in harsh NE winters nor maintaining a 3 season wardrobe give significant savings to compensate. Utility rates are high, yet our electric bills run only $120 to $145 most months, and water is less than $40 most months. Our Baltimore bills are higher than that on average, for a somewhat larger house. Rents and housing prices are way more affordable in St. Croix than in many US cities.
Our food costs are higher on St. Croix but only 5 to 10% maybe. We learn to enjoy locally grown or baked, and simply pass over certain foods that are extra expensive due to import costs. And some food and drink is incredibly cheap... like the famous rums and some wines, fresh wild caught fish, or shopping veggies at roadside stands. We have much better access in St. Croix for organic farmed produce than in Balto.
Although selection of goods is much more limited, and have become "Kmart Shoppers" which would be a joke in Balto, we do online shopping and don't feel deprived.
Retiring to St. Croix , or coming with an internet business, or some other means not dependent on the local St. Croix economy would be a nice advantage. However my local friends have all been gainfully employed on St. Croix , with careers or owning their own businesses, so it can be done! Hovensa leaving has dented the local economy for sure.
I could go on. Such negativity inspires me to give another side of the story to be fair.
I DO agree that island living isn't for everyone, and that a "pre-move visit" or trial year of living is the only way to test your own preferences. Reading isn't enough, nor coming as a tourist. Life on St. Croix seems most comfortable to those mainlanders willing or wanting to let go of mainland expectations for the sake of the unique pluses of St. Croix lifestyle. Type A personalities get frustrated and a large fraction of "transplants" do leave eventually!!
We love St. Croix , and are sorry that some of these angry posters had such a bad experience. It's a shame that some ordinary folks who are quite happy on St. Croix overall are perhaps less inclined to post on this kind of forum, compared to people who have reason to vent about their situations.
Your experience is not unlike what we experienced on St. Thomas. And I found myself buying into the Stockholm Syndrome, making excuses for a thoroughly corrupt, gunslinging entitlement culture. We lived in Hull Bay, where you could leave your doors unlocked. In 2010, the USVI had one of the highest murder rates per capita of any jurisdiction in the world. But we never had a problem, living amongst the local Frenchies and enjoying life. I finally had to send my son and his family Stateside for school. Another thoroughly ridiculous, corrupt facet of V.I. life. One of the highest per student cost jurisdictions under the U.S. flag, and a totally failed system. I'd be damned if my Frenchie grandaughter was going to be raised there and taught by teachers who espouse their 7th Day Adventist beliefs during public school lessons. Wife was friends with Gov's wife, we got around at all levels of society and often had inside information on stunning happenings before it hit the general population. Over 12 years, and it wears on you. We loved it while we did it, I speak to the Police Commissioner (retiring in Jan., which hasn't been announced yet) and others about ever week, but we have absolutely no desire to go back any time soon. If we had not family Stateside, no grandchildren and so forth, we might go back.
To anyone interested in exploring St. Croix, and who reads through these kinds of web site postings, as a home owner and artist who lives part time on the island I would suggest you keep a couple things in mind. 1).There has been a lot of hard science behind the apparent fact that the human psyche is far more prone to pay attention to, and heed the negative stories in life rather than the positive ones. The media of course takes particular advantage of this peculiarity by trotting out the worse incidents they can find on the planet and spreading them across everyone's screen. So resist being fixated on the negative. It is a bias that distorts the truth.
2). A person's expectations about people and places is a powerful determining factor in how they react to actual situations. If a person has a long string of problems and negative experiences living on a Caribbean island beside others who are enjoying the experience, it may be that the negative person's expectations are not aligned with the realities of island life. It sounds like this happened to many people who lived on the island for many years, and who came to appreciate and expect a certain kind of life during the days of Hovensa. Hovensa is gone. St. Croix is in transition. It is changing and no longer satisfies the expectations of many who became habituated to the island during more robust times. Shattered expectations are frustrating.
The bottom line is, take the island bashing with a grain of salt. Keep in mind that a person bashing an island in the caribbean, a city in the states, or a country abroad, has had some bad experiences. Those experiences typically have as much to do with the person's expectations as it does with the realities of the location . If you are attracted to St. Croix you must come and experience it for yourself. As T.S. Eliot put it in his poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: "Oh do not ask what is it; Let us go and make our visit."
Finally, the physical reality of St. Croix is magnificent. It is big. It contains multitudes of climates and zones, from rain forest and mountains to dry desert-like plains. The environment, without Hovensa is actually cleaner. The sea is an amazing color. The light is fantastic.
As a visual artist I am in love with the light and the colors. The weather in winter is as perfect as you can possibly imagine. There are uninterrupted weeks of perfect days and tropical breezes that are utterly delicious. It is the antidote for technocratic stress syndrome…I mean being sick of technologies' lemming-like rush over the cliff of virtual reality as it blinds its victims with information overload. St. Croix is a way out of the 21st century's angst. It forces one into a way of life decades behind the frantic pace of the big cities. That may not be what everyone wants, but it is becoming more and more what they dream about during quiet moments, especially in the dead of winter, as they try to relax from the stress of their "mainland" day.
To anyone interested in exploring St. Croix, and who reads through these kinds of web site postings, as a home owner and artist who lives part time on the island I would suggest you keep a couple things in mind. 1).There has been a lot of hard science behind the apparent fact that the human psyche is far more prone to pay attention to, and heed the negative stories in life rather than the positive ones. The media of course takes particular advantage of this peculiarity by trotting out the worse incidents they can find on the planet and spreading them across everyone's screen. So resist being fixated on the negative. It is a bias that distorts the truth.
2). A person's expectations about people and places is a powerful determining factor in how they react to actual situations. If a person has a long string of problems and negative experiences living on a Caribbean island beside others who are enjoying the experience, it may be that the negative person's expectations are not aligned with the realities of island life. It sounds like this happened to many people who lived on the island for many years, and who came to appreciate and expect a certain kind of life during the days of Hovensa. Hovensa is gone. St. Croix is in transition. It is changing and no longer satisfies the expectations of many who became habituated to the island during more robust times. Shattered expectations are frustrating.
The bottom line is, take the island bashing with a grain of salt. Keep in mind that a person bashing an island in the caribbean, a city in the states, or a country abroad, has had some bad experiences. Those experiences typically have as much to do with the person's expectations as it does with the realities of the location . If you are attracted to St. Croix you must come and experience it for yourself. As T.S. Eliot put it in his poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: "Oh do not ask what is it; Let us go and make our visit."
Finally, the physical reality of St. Croix is magnificent. It is big. It contains multitudes of climates and zones, from rain forest and mountains to dry desert-like plains. The environment, without Hovensa is actually cleaner. The sea is an amazing color. The light is fantastic.
As a visual artist I am in love with the light and the colors. The weather in winter is as perfect as you can possibly imagine. There are uninterrupted weeks of perfect days and tropical breezes that are utterly delicious. It is the antidote for technocratic stress syndrome…I mean being sick of technologies' lemming-like rush over the cliff of virtual reality as it blinds its victims with information overload. St. Croix is a way out of the 21st century's angst. It forces one into a way of life decades behind the frantic pace of the big cities. That may not be what everyone wants, but it is becoming more and more what they dream about during quiet moments, especially in the dead of winter, as they try to relax from the stress of their "mainland" day.
Did you even read that we never had a problem. The bottom line is, eyes wide open and take the lullabyes with a grain of salt. Why did the U.S. Navy cease allowing ships to stop on St. Croix for shore leave? Why did the cruise ships stop coming to St. Croix? We had no problems in the V.I. other than from police (once), who lie at every step of the way. Except your current commissioner, who called me two weeks ago for my help. The V.I. is not for everyone. Period. We loved it for over 12 years, but I can think of dozens of places I'd rather go these days. And I'd be damned if my grandkids were going to be raised there.
This place is a dump. The food is expensive, and good local food is hard to find. Lots of hamburgers and hotdogs. Was there in NOV 14, the whole island looks like a ghost town. You will get dirty looks from locals, and if you waive they will either flip you the bird, make a money gesture, or if you are lucky they will be friendly and waive back, but this will be less than 50% of the time.
The sides of the roadways are overgrown with vegetation (the bush), where thieves and muggers hide out and wait for an innocent passerby to be their next victim. Police don't even investigate home invasions other than filing a report. They will not use fingerprints unless a murder has been committed. Being robbed or having your house or car broken in to are just viewed as normal things that will happen by local police. If you want to know the straight scoop, don't ask police as they will tell you these things rarely happen, ask the security guards/maids at hotels and condos. They will tell you that breaking and entering is a daily occurrence. We were there for 5 days and we either read on the police sites or heard of 5 different cars that were stolen just on STX in those 5 days. There were least 15 burglaries that we personally heard of either through workers, or through police sites that had happened just in the short time we were there. After our car got stolen, we asked a local worker why some one would steal a car on an island, as they surely couldn't get far. They told us they don't steal them to sell them, they steal them to commit bank robberies, stick ups, and murders, and then burn the cars with the evidence. While we were there a burned car with a dead body in it was found on one of the beaches. You have to do research to find out about these events as retirees want to protect their property values, and police want to protect their economy by not advertizing these events.
The water isn't all that nice for what you would expect of a Caribbean island. The water does not have the clarity that the water at other islands we have visited. Roatan or Cozumel both have much clearer water. Most of the beaches are rocky in the water and don't have much area of sand for relaxing as they are pushed either right up on a main road or the grade falls right down to the water.
I will not go back there for vacation ever, and surely would not want to retire there.
Did you even read that we never had a problem. The bottom line is, eyes wide open and take the lullabyes with a grain of salt. Why did the U.S. Navy cease allowing ships to stop on St. Croix for shore leave? Why did the cruise ships stop coming to St. Croix? We had no problems in the V.I. other than from police (once), who lie at every step of the way. Except your current commissioner, who called me two weeks ago for my help. The V.I. is not for everyone. Period. We loved it for over 12 years, but I can think of dozens of places I'd rather go these days. And I'd be damned if my grandkids were going to be raised there.
Well the fact that the U.S. Navy no longer has a 4th Fleet that would use St. Croix as a Liberty call would be more accurate and not because of its crime wave.
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they shoot people here just like in the states or anywhere else.. I know I live here in st Croix. and most of the people getting shot are thugs shooting thugs.. as far as the economy that's another story, its in the crapper now that Hovensa has shut down!!!! the two towns Christiansted, Frederiksted are ghost towns, I see an occasional tumble weed rolling thru the towns from time to time
I've lived here for eons and have not one bullet wound to show for it, and I have never been robbed!!!!
Stx
