suggestions?!

kjr,

Spend some serious time reading the archives of this message board... it's all in there. The best advice is, do your homework and have a plan. If that sounds like too much work, moving to the islands will be a lot harder!!

The summary:

Jobs -- hard to find until you are on island

Inexpensive car/truck -- depends on what you consider inexpensive, but check the classified ads in the newpapers (avail online) for some idea of what you'll be paying for what. When you are on island, check the Island Trader ads.

Housing -- St. John is very expensive, St. Croix is relatively less so -- the islands are very different from each other, so if you're not planning on making a pre-move trip, do a lot of research on what they're like. They are NOT interchangeable!

Money -- Plan on no less than $5,000 just for the move (airfare, shipping, temporary housing, rent and security deposit, setup fees for utilities/mail, taxes, car costs, walking around money until you have a bank account set up...). And $5K is the cheapest estimate I've seen; $10,000 is quite possibly "normal" for the first month, depending on how much stuff you bring with you, what kind of place you are renting (you'll need a sizable deposit in addition to your monthly rent), whether you ship or buy a car, your basic lifestyle, and so on and so on...

Good luck,
Rio

rio,

thanks for your response. i have been doing quite a bit of research and lived in st. john last year for a month. however, from my experience, there is only so much that can be looked up online. it's helpful to me to see what people who live there come up with when i ask a general question...

blessings, KIM