Three 24-year-olds moving to USVI

Yep, you surely will not be in Kansas anymore Dorothy hahahahahaha.

I actually miss the busyness of STT, but i also went to bars then, which I don't do any more. Sometimes I joke that there are three things to do on STT, go to the beach, go to the bar, or go to the bar on the beach...

I do have to say that on STT in the 80s there wasn't much more than beaches and bars...

St John has the best economy of the 3, I think. I know of 2 new stores opening there soon, and the restaurants and bars seem to be holding on. You can work on St Thomas, but live on St John. The zip line here has an ad on Craigslist.

I think St. Thomas has won me over 😉

I moved here 7 years ago. I was born and raised in Kansas but I moved here from the DC area so I think the cost of living is relatively low. I LOVE the West end Frederiksted and I do believe there are going to be some AWESOME opportunities soon. House and dog sitting is big here and anyone who is reliable and willing to work will do fine. I have multiple properties and can tell you that anyone who wants to paint, power wash, run a mower or weed whacker and such can certainly feed themselves. I have seen young people who know how to take the taxis to get anywhere they want until they find an opportunity to buy reliable transportation. I have had two workers ride their bike to the places I needed work done. It is a little warm out but you won't get snowed on. FI, high season is just around the corner. Come to St Croix and get immersed in the culture, enjoy and get to know the locals, don't try to change the Island and have a blast. You will regret it in your later years if you don't do it while you can. And maybe you can catch a few Jayhawk BB games with my father, my parents winter here.

By all means go to St. Croix. But you will need a car.

By all means go to St. Croix, but you will need a car.

Thanks again everyone, this is more than I expected. I'm already starting to develop connections and come into contact with people who want to help me out. It's a really cool experience. My friend's and I just purchased our tickets for the second week in September. The plan is to fly into St. Thomas and stay at a relatively cheap hotel for 10 days while we experience all the islands and decide which one will suit us best for the long term. St. Croix still seems to be leading the charge but I guess we won't know for sure until we get there. I'll keep posting with my progress and hope to keep reading your advice/experiences! Thanks again!

Being from Colorado myself I understand your desire for green and water. One thing you will find about the USVI is that geographically it is a perfect point to launch to other great expat destinations in the world. Realistically, I would have a back up plan, as lovely as the USVI is it's going through some difficulties now and a lot of young people leave disillusioned. Be prepared. Truth is people have been leaving St. Croix en masse lately and businesses are hurting, however, entrepreneurial minds will find opportunity, especially in agriculture. Enjoy your adventure, and look how easy it is to get to S. America and Europe from there. As alternatives I highly recommend Buenos Aires, via Panama, as residency is easy as is getting a job entrepreneur-ally or in restaurants. Panama and Thailand are also good destinations. Depending on what your degrees are in, you may easily qualify for work in Australia and New Zealand. Good luck. Enjoy the journey because it is the destination itself!

You should also be warned that restaurant workers are regularly robbed after getting off work late and walking home to the rentals nearby the boardwalk in Christiansted. I know this not just from reading the paper but firsthand from a young woman who lived with us for while, worked in a restaurant on the boardwalk, and returned to Connecticut shortly after. Restaurants have also been held up in broad daylight in the past year, one involving shooting the chief of police and the other pistol whipping the patrons. Some were victims of arson. Crime is worse in STT. USVI has highest murder rate per capital in US. St. Croix is spectacular but there is a real trouble in paradise you need to be informed of.

https://www.vidolviews.org/vosnet/lmi/area/areasummary.aspx?enc=SgfjA5gOXyjl8J88h1RJLenH/MbUSmtZNo9KerS2JGyGERuIzk6vLxUlixviqzTQ

275 jobs posted on STT, 155 on STX, and 40 on STJ. Unemployment in the VI has surged to 13.5% now (see site on link). I can't tell, but would guess 10% on STT, and 16% on STX. I'm glad you'll have time to see all of them, they are quite different, and people like different ones for different reasons.

Good luck! YOLO.

dont forget the time someone went into a local restaurant and killed a musician.

the murder rate is down this year. but the economy is crap. but you are young. just do it and enjoy it

Syd: You are a little ray of sunshine. (sarcastic smiley)

"One thing you will find about the USVI is that geographically it is a perfect point to launch to other great expat destinations in the world."
Um, people in the US Virgin Islands are not ex-pats...

"Crime is worse in STT."
Well, I don't think servers are being robbed after their shift. Patrons are not being pistol whipped. No daytime restaurant hold-ups.

The murder rate is almost entirely gang, drug and gun related. Has very little to do with nice young Jay Hawk visitors.

I see that you posted you were/are leaving the territory. What is your beef?

eastender all of those things have happened.

eastender all of those things have happened.

We all know that these things happen but it's the blanket generalization such as, "restaurant workers are regularly robbed after getting off work late" that's questioned.

It's blanket statements like that which will hurt a tourist based industry like the VI. I remember back in the 70's there was a mass shooting which occurred at the golf course there on St. Croix. It was all that was talked about for years and hurt St. Croix's tourism for quite a while. My nephew and his girlfriend were killed during a late night robbery of a restaurant/bar on St. Thomas. He was the manager of the bar and was closing up when it occurred. I believe this was around 92 or there abouts.

I must also add here that my wife's family go back generations on St. Thomas and to the best of my recollection, this is the only family member killed by a violent crime.

speee1dy: Well, they haven't happened on St Thomas, which is what Syd insinuated.

that is a good thing, i hope they dont. no offense meant

One word of caution for a bunch of young guys coming down to live together- make a pact with each other to look out for one another in regard to drugs and alcoholism. "The lifestyle" down here lends itself to easily letting things get out of control.
I don't mean to make assumptions, I've just seen things go wrong for people.

Could not agree more!

My nephew and his girlfriend were killed during a late night robbery of a restaurant/bar on St. Thomas. He was the manager of the bar and was closing up when it occurred. I believe this was around 92 or there abouts.

I must also add here that my wife's family go back generations on St. Thomas and to the best of my recollection, this is the only family member killed by a violent crime.

James Dietrick? sp?

One word of caution for a bunch of young guys coming down to live together- make a pact with each other to look out for one another in regard to drugs and alcoholism. "The lifestyle" down here lends itself to easily letting things get out of control.
I don't mean to make assumptions, I've just seen things go wrong for people.

Very sound advice.

One word of caution for a bunch of young guys coming down to live together- make a pact with each other to look out for one another in regard to drugs and alcoholism. "The lifestyle" down here lends itself to easily letting things get out of control.
I don't mean to make assumptions, I've just seen things go wrong for people.

Very sound advice.

I second this, it is very easy to fall into alcoholism in a place where it is everywhere.

dont forget the time someone went into a local restaurant and killed a musician.

the murder rate is down this year. but the economy is crap. but you are young. just do it and enjoy it

The economy does not have to be crap...people just need to be prepared for the jobs that are going to become available...case in point, I placed an ad in The Avis, Daily News, Dept. of Labor, and two forums on this very same board looking for several software developers.

There have been NO responses to the messages placed on this board, and only THREE from the ads placed in the other media.