I have read about the Long Reef Condominiums just outside of Christiansted. They boast walking to the beach as well as shopping.
a. Is this true?
b. How safe is it?
If anyone has lived in these condos I would love to hear about it!
Thanks!

CMBickish
I know you have posted lately about your interest in a teaching job on St Croix. It is fun and and educational to surf the net about St Croix. It is difficult to explain some different places unless you are standing there looking at them.

Long Reef Condos are lower end studio units. During the recent run up in prices for condos on St Croix, these units stayed about the same.(they did go up in asking price) Other condo developments doubled, even tripled in price. Long Reef did not. On the plus side many units are being remodeled (they needed it) and they are near a beach and a couple of grocery stores are not far away (1/2 mile). The condo fees are lower than some others. Only $3000 a year ($249 per month) On the downside they are also in the midst of several government housing projects, which tends to make them less safe outside of the guarded development. But..but..At a price in the 60K to 70K range they might be a good buy. Particularly if they begin to show strong security and pride of ownership.

cmbickish-Are you sure its only 1/2 a mile? I think you're looking at more like 2 miles and I would not walk it, not if you pack like I do to go to the beach at least. The beaches you can walk to there are not the best necessarily for swimming. Too close to wapa. All the friends I have that live there are guys, it is not the safest complex. If you can afford a little more I would try to get one on condo row like sugar beach or club st croix. The equity you would gain there would be alot better and most of them do have security at night.

No, I am not sure about the mileage to the beach... I was just told it was walking distance. We are not looking to buy there, but rent for a month while we look. My main concern for safety is this: Will there be hoodlums with guns on the street corner? Because seriously when you are looking at a bad neighborhood in Vegas that's what you get. Thanks for all of the information and guidance.

I think you'll be fine there especially for just a month. The rent there is very cheap. So you get some good people that are just trying to save money and you get some not so good people. I dont know about hoodlums but I do know at least two federal agents that are single guys and live there and they will be carrying guns.

Thanks! The rent seemed to good to pass up for a starter!!

I have lived in Long Reef Condos for two years. Very safe and never have had a problem. The people are very friendly and most people who live there have been there for years. You should check things out yourself and look into an area with your own eyes as many times perceptions people have about places can be misleading.

CMBickish, I agree with LB. Use these message board posts for some 'preliminary' info(if that). Certain people are biased for whatever reason and it keeps them from being truly helpful. They may be real estate agents fishing for leads, had a bad personal experience with LRC, or worst of all passing off second/third hand information as fact. What you should do is check it out for yourself-like everything else new to you on the island. You will see right away that the so-called dangerous 'projects' are a good distance away from LRC. Speaking of which, this island is 7 miles wide by 28 miles long...it's going to be kind of hard to stay clear of every bad element. I moved here from Baltimore-a wonderful city but definitely has its share of actual bad neighborhoods. Whoever is telling you LRC is in a "bad neighborhood" has never seen one. I wouldn't say the beach is in walking distance. That implies a leasurly walk, carrying a chair and cooler. :o) This will be a bit of a hike from LRC. Besides, there is a great pool on the property. About the condos; there are (4) 2br units, mostly 1br units and a few studios. Good luck to you and your family.

Where in Baltimore? I am originally from Dundalk (hold all jokes please)! I do take the info fairly lightly, and as I've said it is not necessarily long term if I don't like it. I am all set as far as research goes and really all that's left is the actual moving-although we are going home for the summer to say good-bye to family.

I live near Long Reef and have friends who live there. The complex is attractively landscaped- great pool. It is very convenient to shopping- Pueblo Supermarket, Golden Rock Pharamcy; fast food restaurants- Dominos pizza, KFC, McDonalds, Subway; two banks- First Bank and Banco Popular; all these amenities are a five minute walk away. The animal shelter thrift store is a 1 minute walk and they have great stuff reasonably priced. In the same building as the thrift shop is the Caribbean Community Theater. You can walk downtown in 20 minutes- I've done it many times.The view is good- just ignore WAPA. It is not the east end but I've lived here for a year and a half and have never seen hoodlums with guns near the complex.

In theory you can walk to the beach (you wouldn't want to) - STX620 is absolutely correct in his statement regarding that. The only thing that I would add is that the units are small in comparison to what you may be accustomed to back on the mainland. a studio unit has about 420 square feet and a 1 bedroom unit about 600 square feet. I left behind 2400 sq ft and an acre of land for space that would be the equivalent of a two car garage.It can be a challenge to live in such a small space but it makes you realise pretty quickly what is essential and what you can do without. So I hope that you and your partner have a great relationship as there will be a lot of togetherness fostered by such close quarters.

Hi, STX620 and CMBickish...here's another native Marylander headed for St. Croix this summer. Maybe we should meet up and talk about how favorably the beaches compare to Ocean City!

Hey HGH! Where in Maryland are you from? 12 years in the Baltimore area and never made it to Ocean City. I drove the extra few hours 'home' to Va Beach. :o)

Hate to bring back to dead post but does anyone have any recent experiences or opinions on the Long Reef Condos?

I have lived at Long Reef for awhile now and feel completely safe here. The pool is wonderful, the grounds are beautifully maintained and people are friendly. The new property manager has been quite busy updating the place. There is a new security gate and wall. Laundry on-site. Units are mainly studio and one bedrooms with a couple of 2 bedrooms thrown in the mix.

Many of the units are for sale or sitting empty which is unfortunate for owners but is nice for the people who live here.