Where do I start when looking for job and place to live in the US Virgin Islands (real estate, apartments)

[IowaBoy06]

I am a 27 year old hardworking Iowa farm boy who is looking to relocate and live my dream for about 5-10 years before starting a family. Me and my girlfriend of 2 years both have the same dream to live in a vacation spot destination preferably in the U.S. Virgin Islands and want to know what it takes to see if its possible at all for us and where to start looking. She is 25 and close to being done with her RN degree in nursing and I am a Maintenance Supervisor for a Nursing home in small town Iowa and farm also with my father close to 800 acres. We are both very busy and are both very hard workers that want to get away for awhile in some tropical area to kind of live out our dreams before our next dream of raising a family. So if anyone in the Virgin Islands could maybe give us some pointers or help us out in anyway, we would appreciate it greatly!!!

[AnnapolisSailor]

Hi Iowaboy- Some have found this site linked below to be helpful when relocating. Best wishes!

USVI Relocation Message Board

[Maineac]

Funny! One of my good friends in the V.I. was an Iowa pig farmer in another life. St. Thomas is your best bet, St. Croix is cheaper, St. John is MUCH more expensive and limited in opportunities. Gauge what's needed, adjust your goals as appropriate, and you'll do fine. Drive Northside St. Thomas for rental signs and knock on the door. Have sufficient cash to make it six months, with enough left to leave if it doesn't work out. The Iowa pigfarmer got his captain's license and works for a charter company. Bad drought going on right now in the V.I. Insufficient rain.

[NCN]

Originally Posted by IowaBoy06

I am a 27 year old hardworking Iowa farm boy who is looking to relocate and live my dream for about 5-10 years before starting a family. Me and my girlfriend of 2 years both have the same dream to live in a vacation spot destination preferably in the U.S. Virgin Islands and want to know what it takes to see if its possible at all for us and where to start looking. She is 25 and close to being done with her RN degree in nursing and I am a Maintenance Supervisor for a Nursing home in small town Iowa and farm also with my father close to 800 acres. We are both very busy and are both very hard workers that want to get away for awhile in some tropical area to kind of live out our dreams before our next dream of raising a family. So if anyone in the Virgin Islands could maybe give us some pointers or help us out in anyway, we would appreciate it greatly!!!

Wyndham timeshares needs maintenance supervisors in lots of places. You might want to go to their website and click on careers in small print at the bottom of the page. You don't have to have a password to get into the careers page.

https://www.clubwyndham.com/cw/company/about-us.page

I tried to get the Virgin Islands only for you but it didn't work. There are ten jobs listed in the Virgin Islands and a couple are maintenance. I believe one is a supervisor. Many other choices for paradise jobs under careers.

[IslandCityGirl]

Medical professionals are always in need and I doubt you'll have any trouble as a maintenance supervisor either. The truth is, if you are a hard worker and good at making connections (sounds like both apply to you and your gf), then you will do just fine and rise to the top quickly in the VI. I agree with Maineac (as usual ), St Thomas is your best bet, especially given the medical career for your gf. Good luck!

I will add that my nurse friends do want to pull their hair out pretty often regarding hospital conditions, gender inequalities, and a few other cultural quirks, but it will be an adventure that fills a great need, and there are a good number of private practices out there too, which might end up being a good fit as well. For your gf, here's the nursing positions page at Roy Lester Hospital on STT, for a start:
http://www.rlshospital.org/Community...Positions.aspx

If you have any specific info/questions about where and how you might like to put your Maintenance Supervisor experience to work, I might be able to point you in the right direction there too. Let me know.

For apartments, Craiglist is getting used more and more. Look at the VI specific Craigslist, not the Caribbean Craigslist, though there may be some crossover. Also, follow the rules to avoid getting scammed, of course.
The other best places to look for rentals are in The Island Trader or on a FB group page. The Island Trader can be found all over STT and STJ in paper form, or go here: http://virginislandsdailynews.newspa...er/viewer.aspx The classified are peppered throughout the publication, rentals near the end.
I highly recommend you join this FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/viba...alesandtrades/ You will very often find apartments/homes for rent and sale, as well as run into lots of great opportunities to connect with people. Along the connecting lines, here are a couple of other FB groups I recommend:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/241455502718865/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/193237704205831/

[iMWaiting]

Craigslist for job and place. Indeed for a job, also.

[IowaBoy06]

Originally Posted by IslandCityGirl

Medical professionals are always in need and I doubt you'll have any trouble as a maintenance supervisor either. The truth is, if you are a hard worker and good at making connections (sounds like both apply to you and your gf), then you will do just fine and rise to the top quickly in the VI. I agree with Maineac (as usual ), St Thomas is your best bet, especially given the medical career for your gf. Good luck!

I will add that my nurse friends do want to pull their hair out pretty often regarding hospital conditions, gender inequalities, and a few other cultural quirks, but it will be an adventure that fills a great need, and there are a good number of private practices out there too, which might end up being a good fit as well. For your gf, here's the nursing positions page at Roy Lester Hospital on STT, for a start:
Nursing Positions

If you have any specific info/questions about where and how you might like to put your Maintenance Supervisor experience to work, I might be able to point you in the right direction there too. Let me know.

For apartments, Craiglist is getting used more and more. Look at the VI specific Craigslist, not the Caribbean Craigslist, though there may be some crossover. Also, follow the rules to avoid getting scammed, of course.
The other best places to look for rentals are in The Island Trader or on a FB group page. The Island Trader can be found all over STT and STJ in paper form, or go here: The Virgin Islands Daily News E-Edition - Connecting People Through News The classified are peppered throughout the publication, rentals near the end.
I highly recommend you join this FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/viba...alesandtrades/ You will very often find apartments/homes for rent and sale, as well as run into lots of great opportunities to connect with people. Along the connecting lines, here are a couple of other FB groups I recommend:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/241455502718865/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/193237704205831/

IslandCityGirl - could you help me out with my position? My girlfriend, Kim, like we all have read shouldn't have a problem finding a job/income but im nervous for our sake to find work for me. Is there such a job as to property managing of vacation homes or anything like that? Thanks and look forward to talking to you more

[tuanvn88]

I am happy to read your share

I was an employee in the field of information technology

[IslandCityGirl]

Originally Posted by IowaBoy06

IslandCityGirl - could you help me out with my position? My girlfriend, Kim, like we all have read shouldn't have a problem finding a job/income but im nervous for our sake to find work for me. Is there such a job as to property managing of vacation homes or anything like that? Thanks and look forward to talking to you more

Hey IowaBoy,

You bet! Yes, there is certainly a lot of vacation home managing/maintaining situations. A LOT. The first company I'd look into as far as that stuff goes is Sea Glass Properties. They are a large, reputable real estate and property management company in the islands that specializes in higher end vacation properties. Here is a link to their management site: Sea Glass Management | Property Management | USVI
There isn't a specific link for you to inquire as a vendor/employee applicant, but their direct contact info should be enough for you to at least make a phone call, introduce yourself, inquire about submitting a resumé, and get some preliminary advice/info. If they are not hiring or looking for vendors to work with, they will more than likely be able to point you in another direction, as well. Remember that functioning in the islands is all about making connections too, so don't be discouraged if it takes more than a phone call to really start to make things happen. Some in-person introductions as a follow-up, if/when you get that opportunity, will be really helpful.

I'd also strongly suggest reaching out to the big resorts. Good help is hard to find and I'm sure a reliable maintenance manager would be a godsend in many of those places. Those resorts are responsible for quite a bit of employment on St Thomas. The big ones on STT are The Ritz and the Marriott Frenchman's Reef (and Frenchman's Cove vacation condos). A brand new Margaritaville just opened up, as well (might still be looking for good help). Sapphire Beach Resort (two separate areas of independently owned but island-managed rental condos), Bolongo Bay, Bluebeard's Beach Resort (at Lime Tree beach), Magen's Point, and Secret Harbour Resort are the first, big players that come to mind. On St John, Caneel Bay and The Westin are the largest resorts. Basically, shop online as if you were planning a vacation, and start reaching out to the resorts. If you have a hard time finding any of the ones I've mentioned and need a link or contact info for anyone, let me know.

Hopefully that helps for a start. If not, help me to understand if there's a different, specific direction that you have in mind and I'll do what I can to help. Good luck!

[duttygal86]

The Ritz also pays their maintence people around 18$ hr starting off. Also, as a nursing student I can tell you to tell your GF to bring extra thick skin with her. As a new nurse she will most definitely get placed on the medical floor & will have a patient load of 7-8 on average. Good luck.