What was your biggest challenge when you relocated to STX?

I am looking for any infirmation, we too want to relocate to St. Croix. Ive been reading the posts and find them very interesting. It has answered alot of questions for me. We are visiting in feb to see whats what.....

Disagree completely. The local standoffishness can be downright RUDE (i.e., "you don't BELONG here"), where as the Continental standoffishness is grounded in "we aren't sure how long you're going to be here so we don't know how much to invest in you emotionally". One is rational, one isn't.

As far as how long is long enough? If you weren't bahn heah you ain't NEVEH gonna be here long enough. They're trying to put that in the Constitution, or haven't you heard?

*laughs* I get it. 😉

I have experienced the standoffishness once so far (sure there will be more!). At the hospital - the BF had an emergency and I had to fill out his paperwork. The clerk pretended to not know where we lived on island when I told her. I knew she thought I was just some uppity transplant out to make her life a pain - which I'm not. I just kept smiling and was polite and thankful. Towards the end she melted quite a bit and actually cracked a smile.

I have several friends now that are "bahn heah." I think it's just gonna be one of those things, some are happier to meet people then others, some have more anxiety and fears than others, some just plain don't like other people or strangers.

*shrugs* As I learned to say in NYC, Whatchagonnadoaboudit? I'm just going to stay nice and smile. Sooner or later they smile back - most of the time anyway.

For me, definitely culture. Don't expect a welcome mat. Whoever said that people here look suspiciously upon newcomers to see if they can hack it is exactly correct.

Interesting answer jbatl. I only say that because I know what it is like to be looked upon this way. We currently live on an Indian Reservation, and when we first moved up here, all I wanted to do was be invisible and do my job. I didn't want to intrude on the culture because I didn't want someone to think that I was a "wantta be" (that is what we call people that move here who want to be Indian). I kept my mouth shut, observed, learned and, most of all, respected the Ojibwa culture that was all around me. We have lived here for 11 years now and are respected community members whom some consider part of their family. Heck, we know more of the Native culture than some of the Natives! We have always been welcomed to ceremonies and family gatherings, and are very grateful for everything that we have learned. But I would never, ever call myself Native or Ojibwa, that would just be ridiculous.

As far as "hacking" things in a different location, I think that all depends on the person and how they are able to respect the people and the area that they are living in. And when we come for our visit in a couple months we'll be able to get a little taste of what to expect.

Mosquitos.....had Dengue Fever after I was here 10 days.....not fun!

Mosquitos.....had Dengue Fever after I was here 10 days.....not fun!

I had dengue - spent 2 weeks in the STT hospital isolated with a 24/7 nurse watching me. I almost died. It is also called breakbone fever.

noone, you had the worst one, just an fyi, people do die from dengue fever. i think there are 4 levels of dengue.

.....*shrugs* As I learned to say in NYC, Whatchagonnadoaboudit? I'm just going to stay nice and smile. Sooner or later they smile back - most of the time anyway.....

Exactly! No matter where ya go in this world there will always be folks who pretend that they are somehow "better". Whatchagonnadoaboudit? Nada, just be yourself!

Also I think that some "transplants" feel that they have "earned their stripes" or "paid their dues" and have a right to look down on "newbies". Personally, I find this attitude complete BS born out of fear and low confidence. If someone is condescending just because you are new to the island, move on. The next person you'll meet will most likely be warm and welcoming. Good Luck!

good thread

i have several friends in the States from the USVI. visited for the first time in October 2011 for a few days.

have been looking for job opportunities since the trip.

i recently applied for a position. i was informed that ones ability to adjust to island life is something that employers critique when considering stateside employees.

i visit family and friends in JA often for months and weeks at a time and only have minor concerns about adjusting. i am currently an hour plus plane ride/ 8 hour car drive from family. getting home for a family emergency will become expensive.

i am a fashionista and i know that my shopping will scaled down somewhat.

i love to buy my organic food and produce primarily from trader joes and wholefoods which is not on the island.

those things i can learn to adjust i guess but Dengue??? whew!!!

Dengue fever is like many diseases - if you get it (a mosquito has to bite someone who has it and then bite you), the severity varies. For most it's fairly mild - fever and a rash. For some it is severe and can cause death in a few cases. But there are diseases like this all over the planet.

Do an Internet search on Dengue and make up your own mind. 🙂

No we don't have Trader Joe's or Whole Foods here. But we gave local farms and Farmer's markets and you can get good stuff and it's cheaper than Whole Foods (at least the one in Austin). The key is to adjust your expectations. You won't find good iceberg lettuce ever - but good cucumbers and greens yes. Stuff like that.

No we don't have Trader Joe's or Whole Foods here. But we gave local farms and Farmer's markets and you can get good stuff and it's cheaper than Whole Foods (at least the one in Austin). The key is to adjust your expectations. You won't find good iceberg lettuce ever - but good cucumbers and greens yes. Stuff like that.

Produce sucks ass. Which is horrible for an island with such a great agricultural past. Unfortunately, farmer's markets are few, hard to get to, and have weird times.

I was out at the Art Farm last week (Who of those of us with real world jobs can go produce shopping at 3PM on a Wednesday?) and it was a rugby scrum. I got there an hour after they opened and there was nothing left. A few pounds of tomatoes -- which were lovely, by the way -- but, you know ... it's a forty-five minute drive, in the middle of a workday, to fight with people for a bag of $4/pound tomatoes.

"Adjust" is correct, just grossly understated.

I signed up for VISFI's CSA, but haven't heard anything more. It would be to see someone successfully pull off that model down here, but I'm surprised no one's even tried before. Everyone I know is dying for decent produce.

BF went to the Farmer's market yesterday mid-island and came home with a haul - bok choy, mustard greens, collard greens, cucumbers, two bags of cherry tomatoes, large tomatoes, soursop, carambola, spring onions, sorrel, parsley, assorted herbs - lots of stuff he didn't buy because we don't have space. He's bought breadfruit and island fruits other times too.

Best day to go to Art Farm is Monday, but they're open Saturday morning too. I've bought tomatoes, all sorts of greens, herbs, peppers, onions, cucumbers, other things there.

There's one or two farmers who park their trucks at the turn by Cheeseburger's heading east from Christiansted on Saturday and Wednesday mornings. Lots of local fruits, mainly, but sometimes other things. One farmer sells fresh herbs in pots.

We both work varied schedules so we admittedly do have more time to shop - but I think you could drive around on Saturdays and get most shopping done. Also you can grow your own. 🙂 Lots of stuff grows in pots too.

Schooner Bay has good potatoes and mushrooms and quite a variety of both. Romaine lettuce is usually good. Lemons, kiwifruit, carrots - other things. I've found black garlic, shallots, and pearl onions there too.

I'm eating very good produce here, and I do my best to buy as much as I can that's local to support our farming community and businesses. The BF and I are mostly vegetarian and we do quite well. 🙂

Edited because it's early and I wanted to add something.

A CSA would be wonderful. Hmmm...sounds like something I might do more research on. 🙂

Yeah, if you have someone to run around and do errands for you on the weekend it makes things A LOT easier. It's definitely hard to fit all those weird market times and locations in when you're a single person with a full-time job.

Hey Iris.
For a small fee I can do your errands for ya!:-)

Thanks again JulieKay and Iris!

@ JulieKay I lived in TX, OH and DC and you Wholefoods (aka Wholepaycheck) is expensive everywhere.

Living in TX where air conditioning is NOT optional and living in DC and Ohio which can have some brutal winters (and I am always cold) I anticipated utilities being expensive on the island for numerous reasons.

Someone mentioned not knowing a lot about septic tanks and other environmental differences before moving to the island. this is something i surely wasn't thinking about even though I visit the Caribbean often.

You're welcome bashment. 🙂 I hear you on the "Wholepaycheck!" Whole Foods started in Austin and it's really different now from 20 years ago.

I was always on septic in Texas, so it's not that much different for me. It isn't that complicated - a few things to get used to though, like not using too much water or not flushing anything but TP. You'll need to get it pumped out every couple of years. Also having a cistern is new for me - gathering rainwater for the house to use. The BF says he gets it cleaned and re-sealed every five years, and we use bottled water for cooking and brushing our teeth. It is pretty cool when it rains and fills up though!

Utilities really haven't been that bad here for us as I mentioned - not using A/C has made the bills a wash between the two locations.

And Iris, I understand about the challenges of time in being able to shop on weekends and so on. My main opinion that I was replying to was "produce sucks ass." It really doesn't here - some things do, but it isn't hard to get good produce. I'm VERY happy with it, I just grin from ear to ear every time the BF gets home from the Farmer's Market - especially when he brings me things like sorrel and soursop.

Btw, at Home Depot today noticed that they have about ten varieties of mango trees, three or four varieties of avocado trees, and dragonfruit and passionfruit vines for sale. All looked in very good shape - 5' - 6' tall trees. We're going back to get a couple after we decide what varieties we want.

Also Cruzan gardens the other day has a lot of very good little lime trees, carambola and others.

Sidebar: JulieKay are you originally from the Caribbean?

Just curious since you mentioned being excited when your BF brings Sorrel and Soursop??

No. I actually was born in Europe and have lived many places in my life domestic and abroad. I just really enjoy trying new things - and making sorrel drink is goooood. There are a lot of island fruits too that are yummy that you can't get stateside - really not anywhere, because they don't keep. You have to buy them from the farmers (or have a friend with a tree).

BF has been on STX for about 7 years. We've dated for two years and I relocated to him here about 5 months ago. 🙂

ok i see

i have folks from JA and i know how i am about getting things from JA here (like sorrell during christmas time) that's why i asked.

thanks again for the info. i will be following up as i have more questions.

i don't want to jinx myself. have to see what happens with the job opportunity first.

also a pain in the butt to keep up with all of the dust. On the above topic, a great hydroponic place on stx where we get our tomatoes

Wow! Maybe if you removed the stick in your butt, you would have enjoyed yourself more.
"Ghetto-ness" with this type of attitude, you will not be happy in the vi.
Appreciate the cultural diversity or move on.

Oops! That was in response to not so cool.....coolchica27

I spent the last 5 months commuting to STX due to boyfriend I met here. Moved here w dogs and car 5 weeks ago. I have spent alot of money due this transition and like anything..I am commited to be here and enjoy the positive side of this island. I have met lots of wonderful people and find the locals very polite. There are negatives in living anywhere...you just have to focus on making it work. You can always return to the states and resume your old life if you feel you would be happier or if things change. I am happier here...for lots of reasons.