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I'm thinking of pre-move visit to the virgin islands (U.S) in a couple weeks. I'm looking to stay there for about a month. I get to work from home and make enough to afford $1000 month rent.
However, I'm not looking to spend nearly that much for a pre-move visit. I don't need a lot of space or anything fancy. I'm just looking for the beach, sun, and women. I'm 28 years old.
How are the hostels over there? Are they expensive? Anyone have any good recommendations.
The objective of a pre-move visit is to see if day to day island living will suit you. Standing in line at the bank and the PO, driving in rush hour traffic, taking even an imaginary shopping list to a local supermarket to see how many things you need you can actually find in one place, etc. Coming for, "the beach, sun and women" is a vacation not a pre-move visit.
There are no "hostels" here and you also need to decide which island you plan on visiting. For a bunch of information on a site designed for people such as yourself, go to www.vimovingcenter.com
If you work from home and rely on the internet, investigate very carefully. We're way behind the real world where speed is concerned and we also have quite frequent power outages. Good luck.
Location: Currently Brooklyn NYC on my way to St. Thomas USVI -- Maybe
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St. Thomas from Brooklyn NY
Greeting STT Resident:
I am planing on Moving to St. Thomas 2/28/13 and have some questions for you if you don't mind.
1. I haven't lived on the Island since 1996 and hear the crime is worst than NYC. I know the basic rules of safety; however, I'm a single woman and would like your input. Has the crime gotten any better since 2010?
2. I was thinking about doing a PMV in January because it will give me enough time to look around and possibly locate a place (I don't think anyone will HOLD an apt for longer than a month if that) as well as interview with potential employers; likewise, I don't think employers will be interested sitting with someone who cannot start in the near future. thus, when is the best time to make a PMV?
3. I don't drive, so I will most likely have to be on a bus route --UGH. I know STT is nowhere near Metro Transit (MTA) in New York. Are there any safe areas to live that you can suggest near a bus route?
4. Lastly, shipping cost can be very expensive. Do you know or can you recommend anyone who has used (and had a great experience with) an international shipping company?
Many thanks for reading and hopefully replying to my long list of questions.
I can't speak for St. Thomas...as I live on St. Croix...but we are "outtahere". Spouse's employment closed (Hovensa). The government is more than bankrupt and WAPA has no clue where they will get fuel beginning January 1. Highest electricity costs in the nation...that's when the electricity works! Municipal water on STT is spotty at best, you may go days without.
So far as the crime, I always thought it was just hoody on hoody but an article in one of the local papers this week said that it's getting more random, drive by stuff, hit by stray bullets, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I love(d) it here...but with Hovensa gone, we are so out of here. Yes, I know the biggest impact is STX but still, the USVI government is bankrupt and WAPA depended on Hovensa for fuel at a huge discount.
So far as rentals, I don't know about STT but STX is going to have a huge surplus inventory in the near future...heck, we already do.
Way too hard to find a job before you move...it may take months after you move to find employment and then, you need to know someone who knows someone to find a job.
For shipping, if a container then Tropical Shipping. If LCL (less than container load, i.e. a few pallets and a vehicle) then VI Cargo. Same company, same boat, different ways of handling your move.
I wish you luck. I moved here thinking it would be forever, but we are selling stuff and packing and getting outtahere. As are a huge number of our friends...the ones who aren't gone already.
TaaDen, I ain't STT Res - she's been on STT a very, very long time and is a great source of realistic info. Please heed whatever it is she has to say when she posts again (we cyber-know each other and I have the greatest respect for her). However, I will lend you my 2 cents - do with it what you will...we left STX 5 years ago and really haven't looked back. I miss it terribly, but as DebbyDiver has told you in her posts, the costs associated with living in the USVI are horrendous and the amenities are few other than fabulous sunshine and water. Bear in mind that no one moves to the islands because of the low cost of living or medical facilities or universities.
1. Crime is bad. Goodness, for such small areas...anyway, you know the drill. Get yourself home before too late, stay in populated areas, blah blah. If you are the victim of crime, don't really expect a lot of sympathy or assistance. We were held up at gunpoint on STX on our pre-move visit and the police told us it was too far to drive to the north shore and we'd need to come to them. Never heard another word from them.
2. Potential employers - what field are you looking to work in? It would be the very best scenario to hire on through a stateside company that has interests in the islands. Those are mostly professional positions. Barring that, go with a talent that is needed in the islands. They really have enough waitresses and scuba instructors. If you are looking in general retail, or really anywhere, be prepared to lose your seat to an islander. If you can, rent a room in a local's home. Many are equipped with small apartments. Probably cheaper that way - complexes as we know them in the states really don't exist except for condos, and they can be horribly expensive.
3. Can't comment except to say your best bet might be to buy an island "beater" once you get there. People come, people go - you can usually find a car. Oh wait - you don't drive? Sorry, I missed that....okey-dokey. I know nothing about buses on STT.
4. My most valuable piece of information - oh lord, how I wish we had listened: Put your belongings in storage. You can rent fully furnished apartments. Wait, wait, wait. Not just until you have a job - wait a full year before you ship your stuff. Make sure you are staying...and that your stuff is ocean breeze worthy. I have pieces of furniture that the drawers are still stuck on because I couldn't live without my "stuff". 18 months later it was a PIA to pack it all up again. I promise you - you will realize after you are there how impractical a lot of your can't-live-withouts are. Put them in storage. In a year you will most likely return stateside for a visit and you can deal with it then....but don't drag it all down there until you are positive you will be staying awhile. Otherwise, look for sales from people leaving the island. They don't want to cart their stuff back either. You can usually find what you need.
Send your clothing and small essentials USPS (insured, very important, with tracking numbers) if you can get someone to receive them. Speaking of which, if you are determined to do this, get a P.O. box while you are on-island. You can ship your stuff right before you leave and there's your place for pick up. Be prepared to wait in line. A long time.
Good luck. I don't mean to sound negative - if I do, I apologize - we loved our time there but basically decided to pull the plug and return to what we were more familiar with and where our dollar goes a LOT further. You truly need to do a reality check. It is easy to say "oh, I can live without X" - but when you are having pay some astronomical jacked up price for X or simply do without it because you can't afford it, suddenly X is very, very important. Do your due diligence....truly listen and take to heart what everyone tells you. Except for the people who are waving on the shoreline saying "come on down, it's easy here". They are obviously under the influence of whatever was being sold out of the fish truck on the side of the road.
I am planing on Moving to St. Thomas 2/28/13 and have some questions for you if you don't mind.
1. I haven't lived on the Island since 1996 and hear the crime is worst than NYC. I know the basic rules of safety; however, I'm a single woman and would like your input. Has the crime gotten any better since 2010?
2. I was thinking about doing a PMV in January because it will give me enough time to look around and possibly locate a place (I don't think anyone will HOLD an apt for longer than a month if that) as well as interview with potential employers; likewise, I don't think employers will be interested sitting with someone who cannot start in the near future. thus, when is the best time to make a PMV?
3. I don't drive, so I will most likely have to be on a bus route --UGH. I know STT is nowhere near Metro Transit (MTA) in New York. Are there any safe areas to live that you can suggest near a bus route?
4. Lastly, shipping cost can be very expensive. Do you know or can you recommend anyone who has used (and had a great experience with) an international shipping company?
Many thanks for reading and hopefully replying to my long list of questions.
TaaDen
Good Morning TaaDen!
Sounds as though most of your questions have already been answered and I only have a couple of comments to add.
As far as crime is concerned, in my opinion it's no worse than it was in 2010 but worse than it was since I first moved here in 1984. I know, rather an ambiguous response but I'm always at a loss to really answer that all too frequent question. I know people who've lived here longer than I who've never had first-hand experience with any crime at all and others who've been here six months and have. Personally I have while owning a restaurant but (and not to make light of it as mine was a devastating experience) that almost goes with the territory and I know many, many restaurant owners whose establishments have been "hit" over the years.
January is high season and if you're thinking of doing anything in the hospitality industry a better time would be in October/November when we're coming to the end of hurricane season and things are starting to crank up and employers are hiring for season.
In my opinion your biggest problem is that you don't drive. Can you learn between now and then? Getting around without your own wheels is a huge chore (and, in case you were even thinking about it, a scooter/moped is not an option!). Public transportation is erratic and undependable, taxis cost an arm and a leg and although you might manage for a few months it becomes very old very fast. I do have a friend who owns a nice little apartment complex right off the Smith Bay Road which is perfect for a PMV and/or a starting off place and you can always contact me in advance of your visit and I can check if he has anything available.
I wholeheartedly agree with Sam (Good Morning, Sam!) about leaving your "stuff" in storage for a while. The attrition rate of newbies is huge and it's very expensive to ship things back if living here doesn't work out for you. You can always ship down a few necessary boxed items via USPS but otherwise just come with the basics.
I'm not sure what Debbie meant when she said that municipal water on STT is, "spotty at best, you may go days without". There are actually only a few areas which rely on piped water as all buildings are constructed with a cistern filled by rainwater and then piped in. There was one brief spell late last year when the municipal system had a problem but this was only in a relatively small area and is absolutely not the norm.
Anyway, I hope this has helped and of course if you have more questions I'll be more than happy to lend a hand. Cheers!
Hi STT, Sorry, I didn't realize that most of STT is cistern. The newspapers sure made a huge deal out of WAPA water being unavailable for so long last year, didn't they?
I so hated making my negative post, and in fact just six months ago my post would have been tremendously different. HOVENSA's closing changed everything. The government was already in deep economic crisis even before HOVENSA's closing. WAPA still doesn't know where it's going to get fuel from after New Year's Eve, and the gas station owners don't know where they are going to get gas from. Even if someone doesn't have a car, gasoline still needs to be available for moving anything and everything around the island, food, tourists, etc.
Will they find a solution? Yes, probably. But as I see it, USVI is currently in a severe state of crisis. I know many long-term residents who are staying, they lived through Hugo and they will live through this. However, it's probably not the time for a newcomer to establish themselves.
Sorry about the name! Yes indeed a solution will be found to the problems created with the Hovensa closing, life will continue on in the islands with all its ups and downs and those looking to relocate here will still come. As always, most will stay for a relatively short time and a very few will make it their home for a very long time. The sky and the sea may be very much bluer here than in most places under the US flag but, as always, the old adage about that green grass on the other side of the fence holds true.
All the very best to you and your husband as you make your move and settle into a new adventure. I'm sure you'll cherish many good memories of your short time here and maybe before long you'll come back as a visitor for some R&R!
Thank you so much, STT! I will always have fond memories of USVI, the beautiful smiles, "good morning", "good afternoon", when they ask "how are you" or "are you ok" they really do want an answer and they really will listen, and the only horns beeping are to let you into traffic or to thank you for letting them into traffic. He's already moved to his new job and is terrifically homesick (he's been here since 1978). But with most of his friends gone or going, life wouldn't be the same.
Just in my pool aerobics class this morning, there are three of us couples having to leave island for spouse's new jobs because of HOVENSA. But all agree that St. Croix has reinvented itself before, and it will again. But it will take a while. I still don't think this is a time for newcomers, unless they bring plenty of money with them or telecommute. However, I'm certain there will be some great housing bargains in the coming year or two.
Let's hope the November elections bring a lot of change to USVI, the sitting politicians sure have gotten this place into a mess.
Location: Currently Brooklyn NYC on my way to St. Thomas USVI -- Maybe
2 posts, read 7,711 times
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Thank You from TaaDen
Dear All:
Peace and Blessings. and Many thanks for your replies and words of advice... This truly helps.
I will definately have to make a PMV prior to 2/28/13; less money in my pocket book, but I think it will be well worth it.
FYI: I currently work for Columbia University (grants management). I hope to get a position at UVI--Sponsored Projects...we'll see.
STT> I will reach out to you regarding the short stay...
Debby> I will contact Tropical Shipping/VI Cargo...Is Hovensa the same as Hess? I have a friend who's husband worked for Hess and just lost his job... Anyhoo, I wish you and your family all the best...
Sam> Thanks for the advice... I think I'm going to have to have a serious yard sale. Shipping cost are through the roof. I hadn't even considered putting some things in storage. Perhaps I'll give some things to mommy to "hold."
Again, many thanks and if you can think of anything else, I would appreciate it.
Taaden
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St. Thomas from Brooklyn NY
Getting around without your own wheels is a huge chore (and, in case you were even thinking about it, a scooter/moped is not an option!). Public transportation is erratic and undependable, taxis cost an arm and a leg and although you might manage for a few months it becomes very old very fast. I do have a friend who owns a nice little apartment complex right off the Smith Bay Road which is perfect for a PMV and/or a starting off place and you can always contact me in advance of your visit and I can check if he has anything available.
