Hi All!
My husband has been offered a job on St. Thomas. It is a bit of a surprise and we go back and forth between thinking how much of an adventure it would be and then thinking there's no way we can actually do this lol. We are in our 40s with one child in college and one in 8th grade. Our housing budget would be somewhere around the 400-600k range. We have family on the East Coast and the child in college is in the Mid-West and their father is stationed overseas. We have no major health issues and, as I said, my husband would have a job already.
1-I have a teaching license in 2 states and am a librarian with an MLS which means I don't have to work just in school settings. What is employment like for education/library/information or research services on St. Thomas? Even something as much of a stretch as being a concierge of sorts since fast answers and troubleshooting is a big part of library skills.
2-Looking at schools (likely Antillies School or VI Montessori/Intnl) in relation to my husband's office in Charlotte-Amalie and trying to avoid an awful commute either way, what is traffic like on St. Thomas? I have dealt with small town VA and NC traffic, DC traffic and Raleigh traffic if that helps for a comparison.
3-My 8th grader would be moving before high school. She is bright and gets good grades. She is somewhat social and very, very big into cheerleading and also enjoys doing student council activities (dances, events, fundraisers, etc). What is it like for a kid moving from the states so to speak to fit in? I know it depends heavily on the child, but is the lifestyle shock of what's available compared to VA and NC going to be really high? She does like the beach and warm weather so that should help hahaha.
4-Travel to and from, obviously I know it's not like living near a major airport, but we/my kids may be flying from St. Thomas to VA, MT, and Asia...somewhat regularly. How much harder does it make this? Is getting to Miami (I assume that would be the nearest major airport?) hard?
5-We are talking about buying and about long term rentals. Which would you recommend? I thought it might just be easier to rent and then we don't have to worry about selling anything when it's time for us to leave in 2026.
6-If anyone has any experience with Antilles School and/or the Virgin Islands Montessori & Peter Gruber International School, I would love to hear about it. Good, bad, ugly. My 8th grader won't be coming in from a MYP school and I don't want that to be a mismatch since that is the lead in to IB programs. Are they really tiny? We are used to school systems with 600 kids in a graduating class.
7-I guess, knowing that everything is what you make it, is it an adventure? A headache? Isolating? Relaxing? Worth it? Overrated? If you are from St. Thomas born and bred/have lived there for years, how do you feel about "outsiders" for lack of a better term? Does everyone generally get along or are we a giant pain in the rear to the local population. At least people on cruises get back on the ship and leave right?
I have been in smaller communities that are very inclusive and welcoming and I have also been in small communities where you are never included and sometimes treated outright hostily.
My biggest concern is my 8th grader getting a good education, being able to do what she enjoys, and being able to help her see her dad when he can. I can certainly look up a lot of information online (and believe me I will), but there is no substitute for people who have lived/are living it now. I am sorry it was SO very long. Thank you for any help!
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