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Just generating some discussion. The pros and cons of the islands are reviewed a lot here, but that could really be said for anywhere. If the cons began to outweigh the pros for you, where else would you consider living?
We're pretty set on USVI right now, and by the time we make our PMV we will have sold or stored most of our stuff, our house will be on the market and we'll be ready to come home to say our good byes and make the leap. So, worst case scenario, we know we don't want to stay where we are but every time the topic comes up "what if we don't like it" we have NO idea where else we would consider going! I know the responses would be different for everyone and no one here is going to know where I should live but I'd love to hear what others would do to get my wheels turning!
We recently moved from St. Croix to the West coast of Florida and love it. The weather is very similar to the VI in the winter (hotter in the summer), the area is beautiful (lots of nature preserves and wildlife) people are really friendly, electricity is cheaper, and there is a ton of stuff to do.
We miss St. Croix but are very happy here - much happier than I even thought we would be.
We recently moved from St. Croix to the West coast of Florida and love it. The weather is very similar to the VI in the winter (hotter in the summer), the area is beautiful (lots of nature preserves and wildlife) people are really friendly, electricity is cheaper, and there is a ton of stuff to do.
We miss St. Croix but are very happy here - much happier than I even thought we would be.
Well I'm partial to central Florida myself, it's my home, I grew up here, worked and retired here as well. I really enjoy St. Thomas where I met my wife 40 years ago. She is an Island girl with all of her family still residing in St. Thomas. But to me St. Thomas is a nice place to visit, but as far as living there is up to every individual. I left there due to jobs getting scarce, not because I didn't like it. To me, Florida offers pretty much what the Islands offer, but just more of it with just a hint of cool weather to let you know your not on St. thomas anymore. The subtropical climate is wonderful. I don't like cold weather and I have never seen real snow on the ground in my life, so I have no interest in living in those conditions.
Julie is spot on with Florida living. I'm located about 30 miles north of Orlando and most of the theme parks. So I always have family visiting wanting to take in Disney, Seaworld and such.
But to me St. Thomas is a nice place to visit, but as far as living there is up to every individual.
I feel the same way about Florida and have been there many times both before coming to live here and during. Never appealed at all as far as living there but have many friends who left here and love it there. I've lived on two continents and the only place I did consider moving to several years ago was Grenada and that was for a business opportunity. It didn't pan out and whether I would have actually made the move remains debatable but it's a moot point now as I highly doubt I'll be going anywhere else!
We tried Florida. Bought a home on the east coast, thinking it would be a good idea as years go by, considering the medical issues in particular on stx. Kept it a year, decided it was not for us, and sold the house. Was a nice town, but it just didn't fit. We might take a longer look at the FL west coast eventually.
the keys, near tampa and the panhandle of florida would be the choices for me. az would be 4th pick, md 5th pick. we lived in the keys and loved it there. we lived in indian rocks beach and loved it there too. mom lives in havasu, and i love it there. i grew up in md, son lives there.panhandle seems to have lots to do and the cost of living seems to be low
Sky...........I'm not sure if something like that still exists...........I lived in upstate NY for a few years........the lakes were beautiful and were ruined by acid rain. Fish were still in the water but ALL of the health departments said not to eat ANY fish from those lakes. Sort of the same thing when I lived in Austin........Lake Travis [Colorado River] was quite polluted especially with the drought which is an ongoing problem.
Sad for all concerned..........
I stopped living on STT when my father died in 1990. It was the end of the islands for me except for vacation, as I have way too much history there to live there again, especially since I stopped drinking.
I live in Charlotte, NC now, and like it a lot. I've been here for 17 years now. Unfortunately, because of family, I have to move close to Tampa, FL. I suppose I won't mind it too bad there - it's just that a lot of messed up stuff goes on in that state.
FYI: Florida is the only state with its own tag on fark.com
I need either ocean or mountains. I like certain area of Florida: Venice, Sarasota, Destin or Fort Walton Beach. My other choices would be Las Vegas (north - not near the strip), Sedona, AZ or Albuquerque, NM. I prefer warm to cold but as long as it's generally above freezing and doesn't stay cold too long I'm OK.
We really considered Florida a few years ago ,but decided on St Croix instead. While Florida ( around Sarasota) had better healthcare,, shopping and cultural opportunities, it also had more traffic congestion, people and urban problems.
Most importantly to us was the wildlife and being in the water. Florida has six different species of poisonous snakes...St Croix has none. Florida has over 50 varieties of other snakes, St Croix has one non poisonous snake ( I have never seen one). Florida has alligators with sharp teeth.. everywhere...even in your backyard...St Croix does not have alligators or crocodiles.
Finally there are few if any Shark attacks in the Virgin Island. Florida led the WORLD in shark attacks last year with 23. If you are in the water in Florida, you are always at risk for a shark attack. In St Croix the water is much safer, only two certified shark attacks in history...
That's why we like St Croix better.
The "always at risk for a shark attack" in Florida is a bit of an overstatement - and the odds are much greater anyone will be killed in an auto accident anywhere (including the VI) than a shark death. Florida has most of the tourists in the water, so the numbers are skewed by the number of people. And most of the "shark attacks" in Florida are accidental bites by smaller sharks close to the shore requiring some stitches (no deaths), not JAWS incidents - like the incident where the shark killed and consumed the diver close to the Wall in Cane Bay years ago. That was terrible.
I have a wildlife biology degree with specialties in herpetology and fisheries from Texas A&M - I've spent lots of time in the field with snakes. I have no issue with venomous snakes and generally snakes avoid people anyway. But if snakes really scare someone St. Croix is a great place to be.
We have no alligators in our backyard. But there are plenty in our local wildlife management area. 😉 And we have 600 resident dolphins living in our harbor and lots of manatees too - people are pretty active in the water around here. Like I said on my first post above, I am much happier here than I expected to be. I do miss the really white sand of St. Croix - here the sand is more of a light grey - but then there are lots of seashells here. It's like most things in life, a trade-off.
No Terry we have not. Big sigh! Parrot Head was pretty much gutted when we bought her. We had to replace just about everything. Right after we bought her Dougs dad started going down hill so he was in the states quite a bit until his father passed. Then his sister got brain cancer and he was in the states taking care of her on and off until she passed and then I was here for 7 months taking care of my mom until she passed. We are getting close and thought she would be ready to sail in May. We had planned on bringing her to Virginia in May and spending the summer outfitting her with all the toots and whistles but we have been stuck here in Virginia with business issues. We do have a wonderful young man doing some work on her while we are here and he keeps an eye on her until we can get back. We hope to return soon and we will see how close she is to getting out of her slip. I'm ready to tow her out with the dinghy and raise the sails. Soon come I hope.
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