Upcoming trip to Christianted in St. Croix Virgin Islands

Have you spent much time there? Having spent a lot of time in both St Croix and St Thomas visiting family that lived there for almost 50 years, I’d strongly suggest you do some extended stays there first. Both islands have their own cultures and personalities. I’d put St Croix has a more rural atmosphere than St Thomas, although both have infrastructure issues, and neither have dependable public transportation. St Thomas seemed more accepting of outsiders, maybe because of the heavier tourism there. In either place, I think having very accepting attitudes toward different lifestyles is critical to enjoying either. We do and I enjoyed our visits but after living there for 6 months on top of our visits, I know it’s not for me. BTW, are you aware that they drive on the left side of the road in American cars with the steering wheel on the left….that definitely takes some getting used to!
After all that time, my family decided they’d had enough hurricanes and rebuilding every few years and moved to the mainland. They also wanted more reliable medical care than what’s available on either island, even though people with money fly to Puerto Rico for anything serious. (Warning - don’t move there without medical evacuation insurance.). And finally, they saw that the increasing warming of the surrounding water brought smelly sea plants onto the beach making it much less enjoyable to go there or fish.

In any case, I hope you find what you’re looking for and have a happy retirement. :)

Thanks so much for responding. We are currently researching places to retire outside of the US. Our short list includes 1. US Virgin Islands 2. Vancouver, British Columbia 3. Lisbon, Portugal. We have never visited the Virgin Islands and your commends suggest that perhaps we should visit Vancouver first. Please let me know if you a recommendation that we should consider. Thanks Again, Lemont Curry

lcurrytalk2001,
Vancouver is beautiful and the countryside all around it, into Washington also, is beautiful as well. Do remember, that it is cold in the winter, and even though it is coastal, snow is a possibility.

You have likely checked all the legal requirements for obtaining permanent residency in Canada and/or Portugal? If not that would be Step One.

Thanks for your replies. We lived in Switzerland for several years before returning to the US, so cold weather is not a major concern. We have checked and I think we will meet all residency requirements. Our major concern is our desire to stay in close proximity to the US where our children live. It appears that we need to get our priorities in order so that we can move ahead in making a relocation decision.