Good afternoon! I'm considering moving to the VI from Minnesota. I've read and re-read The Settler's Guide book, watched the 'Living in de V.I.' DVD, and have been browsing the forums and other resources on this site. I've a couple questions I could use some help with...

Is good beer available? By good beer, I mean not light beer and not Bud, Coors, Heineken, etc. Will I be able to get Guinness, Newcastle, or maybe one of several micro brews? I don't mean everywhere of course, just trying to gauge general availability and how much like a savage I may have to live.

I suspect I'll use a lot more suntan lotion than I do here. While tourist spots will have the price jacked up, how much is suntan lotion at places the locals shop?

Lastly and reverentially, what happened to the Kmart on the VI? Still there? Something else now?

There is a huge selection of beer available here, both domestic and imported. Bottled Guinness regular and Guinness draught are also available but not on tap as the kegs have to be refrigerated from source to destination and there's not a sufficiently big market here to make its importation or cold storage profitable. A couple of places bring it in for St Patrick's Day but that's about it. Newcastle is currently on tap at several bars on St Thomas and St John, along with John Smith. There is a brew pub on St Croix and one of the bars on St John also creates its own brews.

There are two KMarts on St Thomas and I believe just one on St Croix. A Walgreens is currently under construction on St Thomas opposite the Tutu Park Mall where the "big" KMart is located. There are plenty of outlets for suntan lotion. The price varies depending on brand. Although KMart carries a few brands I've generally found that the larger pharmacies have more of a selection.

I don't think you'll have to live like a savage!

there are two K-Mart's on STX, Sunny Isles and west end. We have a new Home Depot.

K-Mart in the VI is the most profitable of their chain. No competition, so none of the problems they have up there where you have Target, Wall Mart, etc.

Beer and suntan lotion? What sort of PMV is this???

Tavern 1844 on STX has several "good" beers on tap (Guinness for sure). But be prepared for sticker shock. A pint generally runs $8ish.

You also can get some better-known micros in bottles (e.g., Sierra Nevada) in the grocery stores on STX. They're about $10-$11 a six pack.

The brewpub on STX has a decent lineup of own brews (pale ale, stout, red ale, blonde, wheat). They don't compare favorably (in my opinion) to brewpubs in the states, but here, they're A-OK given the availability of anything else.

Bernie

the guy I'm selling my house to has a beer import company. I think called "Ales and Others" or something like that. He brings in specialties brews from various countries. He sells to restaurants and bars, but also to individuals, I believe. They host beer tasting events in various places, including on the Schooner Roseway on special occasions, most recently for Valentine's Day. Maybe he'd have something you wanted other than the usual domestic and island beers that everyone carries. Although some of the island brews are somewhat special compared to the stuff you get back on the mainland in the bars.

On STT the restaurant in Frenchtown " Pie Whole" has dozens of Imported amd Domestic beers - Earl, the owner has made it a personal mission to bring many new beers to the VI.

you can also order items like suntan lotion from drugstore.com. they have free shipping on orders $25 and over. most of their prices are cheaper than kmart.

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Exit Zero
On STT the restaurant in Frenchtown " Pie Whole" has dozens of Imported amd Domestic beers - Earl, the owner has made it a personal mission to bring many new beers to the VI.

Did you notice whether or not he had anything from Three Floyds?

Ha! Fair question, East Ender. I just included those three questions together as they're all related to the availability of retail items... Although, to me the combo of suntan lotion + beer isn't so odd as all three together (lotion, beer and Kmart? Eh?)!

Thanks to everyone for their responses--very helpful!

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East Ender
K-Mart in the VI is the most profitable of their chain. No competition, so none of the problems they have up there where you have Target, Wall Mart, etc.

Beer and suntan lotion? What sort of PMV is this???

Well... we do tell people to come here and live the way they would if they moved here... so maybe this PMVer is just more honest than most about what he'll do during his PMV! lmao ;-)