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I made a visit to St. Thomas this pass Dec. '09, and feel in love with the island weather. Thinking about moving there. I will make a
lengthy visit to the island to learn to see if its actually something I want to do. I have ordered the the book THE SETTLERS HANDBOOK, so
waiting for it to show up. I guess 2 questions to start. 1) when relocation there what do you recommend for an amount of money to have in a
saving account for back up while you get settled. What recommendations do you make ($10,000, $15,000, $20,0000 ???) 2) Here in the NW region of the US I am self-employed and run a furniture repair business of 17 years, ( antique restoration, moving damage, hotels motel hospital refinishing). What is the need for that as a skilled worker. Could I actually be useful? I will stop here with the questions for now. And an advanced thank you!
Posted : January 30, 2010 1:04 am
The questions are somewhat related -- yes your skill would be a good benefit here and needed - self employment here is a networking and word of mouth marketing to be successful - that takes time - so your bank roll might have to be a little more than if you were seeking employment. You may well want to start in one of the woodworking or cabinet shops or maybe the boatyard??
Posted : January 30, 2010 3:20 am
Good morning spot,
Your most valuable information is definitely going to come from your pre-move visit. If the main attraction for you is the weather, I would say "Move to Florida for that." To make it down here, you have to really love the place and the people and be able to put up with all the weird things that would never happen stateside... and they are plentiful!
The amount of money you'll need varies depending on what island you choose and how you prefer to live. People have moved down here and made it with very little; others have moved down with a lot of cash and it still wasn't enough.
ExitZero is right about self-employment taking some time to get the ball rolling; even a part-time job would be a great way to get the connections you need and demonstrate your reliability and professionalism -- once people see that, they'll do business with you later.
Good luck to you! Keep us posted on how it goes.
Posted : January 30, 2010 9:02 am
Furniture and antique repair are definitely needed. If you are also able to do reupholstery,you will be golden!
Posted : January 30, 2010 1:18 pm