Best Caribbean island/area in Mexico to live in? (best city, real estate)

[Sam I Am]

Can't get a job in the BVI's without great difficulty, and work permits are limited. Same with Bahamas. Same with everywhere the U.S. flag isn't flown. You CAN work in the BVIs, but when your time is up, it's up unless you provide something no local can - and they will shoo you on out the door.

The USVI has become a pipeline to PR and the mainland for drugs - easy access from S. America. And the homegrown stuff, of course....but there isn't a spot on the planet that isn't riddled with drugs, I'm not sure the VI has a worse problem than the mainland.

It is very difficult to describe St. Croix and St. Thomas and the problems that lie within. St. John is 80% national park and the people who live there generally have a way above average income - and if you're really rich, you just go live on Water Island. I would not say it's a case of St. Croix vs. St. Thomas in the crime department. St. Croix is not as developed, but it's getting there......the west end of St. Thomas is much different than the Havensight port, which is all most people see on their cruise or vacation. Downtown Charlotte Amalie isn't St. Thomas - it's a cruise port with all of the things that come with tourists.

[gv0928]

Dominican Republic. Absolutely. The people are laid back and yet very energetic, friendly, and fun. The beaches are beautiful. There are many things to do.

I love it.

[MrOutrageous]

Lotta poverty in the DR, no?

[Cornerguy1]

Lotta poverty in the DR, no?

Was last time I looked. Personal safety might become a large issue if one were to venture off the resort property and set up housekeeping full time.

[Hustla718]

Originally Posted by MrOutrageous

Lotta poverty in the DR, no?

The Dominican Republic is VERY poor. gv0928 never left the resort.

[MrOutrageous]

I've heard the best places to live are Barbados or Grand Cayman. Also Anguilla and St. Barths, but you need to have a lot of $$$ for them.

[nanannie]

St John,,I did not care for St Croix

[spicegirl]

Quote: Originally posted by: Hustla718 "The Dominican Republic is VERY poor. gv0928 never left the resort."

LOL!!!! You are too funny Hustla718!!!! I agree... IMHO, the DR is not the best island when it comes to personal safety.

I was also interested in moving to an island.

Was thinking between: Bahamas, Barbados or St. Thomas. Which one is the best regarding medical standards, shopping, water safety, personal safety, transportation/getting around the island with ease, or even getting a quality apartment/condo (ie... with TV channels & air conditioning)???

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by spicegirl

Quote: Originally posted by: Hustla718 "The Dominican Republic is VERY poor. gv0928 never left the resort."

LOL!!!! You are too funny Hustla718!!!! I agree... IMHO, the DR is not the best island when it comes to personal safety.

I was also interested in moving to an island.

Was thinking between: Bahamas, Barbados or St. Thomas. Which one is the best regarding medical standards, shopping, water safety, personal safety, transportation/getting around the island with ease, or even getting a quality apartment/condo (ie... with TV channels & air conditioning)???

Depends on whether you have to work and what amenities you need to get by. It is going to be more difficult to work other than possibly on a visa in Bahamas or Barbados, simply because the jobs available are held for locals.

St. Thomas, St. John, Water Island and St. Croix are part of the US Virgin Islands. If you are an American, no worries on working; only problem is that your particular field may not be in demand. If it is and you are from an urban area, you most certainly will not make the money you made in the islands. There is no "state" income tax and no sales tax. Government employees make up the majority of the work force (so go figure on how screwed up THAT system is). Medical standards on St. Thomas are not the best but are very slowly improving. There is a new cancer center there - but your biggest problem is that if you have something happen that is out of the ordinary, you'd best have air lift insurance. Even then, most plans will not take you any further than Puerto Rico unless you're at death's door, in which case you may never make it to Florida anyway. Shopping is good there, but expensive compared to my stateside location, as is housing. Much will depend on your perception of "expensive" depending on where you are coming from. People from California and the larger cities on the east coast aren't that shocked - the rest of us turn to ash when we pay $11 for a block of Velveeta cheese or $7 for a gallon of reconstituted milk. Water safety is good - personal safety is marginal right in Charlotte Amalie but probably gets better as you drift away from the center of activity at Havensight.

You can get housing, cable t.v., and you CAN have air conditioning if you are a trust fund baby and are willing to pay WAPA (the local power source) an arm and a leg to run it. WAPA is better than it was as far as function, but the rates are shameful and seem to have no rhyme or reason. There is no notice before huge increases. It's totally out of control, but mostly they keep jacking the rates because the government never pays their power bills. Housing can be anything you want it to be, but if you are in Charlotte Amalie for work, you are likely going to be stacked into an urban type setting. The roads are awful, with lots of blind curves and switchbacks. Torrential rain and the possibilities of hurricanes - on the flip side, where else can you go to work and see such incredible scenery on the ride in?

Overall, the locals are quite apprehensive about continentals. Statesiders tend to come and go very quickly, so don't expect the island friendliness you are dreaming of. It comes if you stay - but you have to be there a while to even be recognized as a resident. The locals know there is an 80% chance you will leave inside of two years, so they just don't mess with you.

I think many of us have the dream to live in the islands - and we accomplished our dream, only to find out what was reality and what we had imagined were two different things. If you are a Type A personality, chances are you won't make it. Island time is an illusion. Everything takes at least twice as long to accomplish and costs more than you could ever plan for. Builders will quote you a home at $300 per square foot for basic building since everything has to be concrete, and then tell you to expect to triple your costs at some point. We called the islands our Beautiful Nightmare. If you can afford to live on St. John and ferry over to St. Thomas, your life will be more beautiful but will be harder in some ways - most of the residents ferry over to STT to even go grocery shopping (at $9 for 12 oz. of bacon, you can see why - only a couple of stores on St. John). Most of it is national park. Once you are there you CAN find less expensive housing, but it's a job in itself.

The weather is (mostly) gorgeous, but very few people run AC except at nighttime (if then). After you're there, you just acclimate - plus, you learn to live in a higher area topographically to take advantage of the ocean breezes. If it gets in the low 70's you will go running for your blue jeans - after a few months, the low 70's is just cold!

There's a whole new set of bugs in the islands - no-see-ums, or sand fleas, centipedes, scorpions, geckos and huge iguanas...you just learn a different way of life. You must be very conservative - everyone has a cistern for water. There is some city water available but it's not so nice, and well water is just plain nasty. If you run out of cistern water you have to have the water truck - and that's an easy $300-400 just to get you by until the next rain.

It's a different way of life for sure. If I had it to do over again, I would take the suitcase full of money it took for us to move there and back and just bury it in the back yard, digging it up once a year to remove enough cash to stay at a swanky hotel, and call it even. I could have had a fabulous vacation for 20 years on what it took us to move and the extra it took to stay alive down there.

[spicegirl]

Hi Sam I Am,

Thank you so much for your reply.

I had no idea that "island life" on St. Thomas is that rough! Maybe I will just go there on a vacation.

Has anyone been to Roatan? What would living there be like?