We received an email from Coral World on Monday…they wanted some help getting the word out about this upcoming weekend.

A lot of people have had a lot to say about our island during the last week. Talking about tourism. Talking about safety. Talking about the bad people on this island and trying to remind people about the good. Here’s one of the good; a business that was on our mind soon after the shock of the violence had passed. On a lot of people’s minds as a business that was sure to feel the brunt as a result of the shooting. Coral World.

As you most likely know, it’s our ocean park that sits on the end of a road on the East End. It shares this road with Coki Beach. It shares this road with a fantastic italian restaurant, one of our favorite restaurants on the island (that we’ll continue to visit). Lately it’s been sharing the road with more than a few police officers and security; it’s probably the safest place to be on the whole island.

We visited Coral Worlda couple of years ago, where I took this picture with Steve (father-in-law) and Remo (big sea lion):

We had a great time swimming with Remo and his sea lion buddy. You can read about it here. On a second trip to the park with more family I spent time with the lorikeets, these colorful birds that have a huge net-enclosed area to fly in.

You’re welcome to go inside and spend as much time as you want feeding them nectar and watching them perch on your  hands…arms…even your head! Look at this hungry group…

Fun photo op. I easily could have spent the entire day just with those birds; I’m a total bird geek. If they weren’t so wiggly I would have smuggled one home…(kidding, of course. Sort of. Moving on.) We stood by the shark tank and watched little kids faces go from scared to excited as they waited in line to ‘pet’ a shark…

There’s many more activities at the park, there’s food and drink, there’s sun, there’s a gift shop, there’s a million things to photograph for all you amateur photogs out there. Most importantly there’s a staff of great people ready (and hoping) to see you, educate you on the ocean world and make sure you have a fantastic day!

Which brings me back to this upcoming weekend. Coral World is holding an…

JULY 24 & 25, 2010

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

Buy one activity get the second same activity free.

Coral World Ocean Park’s mission is to entertain, to educate, and to inspire appreciation and understanding of the local environment. Our hope is that you will experience the joy of discovery and that you will love and protect the natural treasures you see here.

We share their hope for a great turnout. From visitors enoying a weeks stay, to the passengers on the Caribbean Princess ship that is visiting St. Thomas on Sunday – and from the community on this island.

I believe I’ll go to say hello to those cute lorikeets

Before you read on make sure to read Moving To St. Thomas Part 1 and Moving To St. Thomas Part 2 and Moving To St. Thomas US Virgin Islands – Everything You Need To Know. I’ll wait…

…I hope you had a chance to read all the comments, over 200 of them because most of the answers are there.

So here we go

1. How much money do I need to live in St. Thomas? Who the heck knows? What’s your lifestyle like? Here’s what we do know, St. Thomas is expensive. Everything comes in on a container so it’s all marked up, a beach chair that sells in the states for $30 is $50 here. A gallon of milk can run you $7 yet a bottle of rum can run you $6. What do you drink more of? There is an entire post dedicated to grocery pricing here: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=2510

If you’ve ever been to Manhattan it’s that plus some. So if you’re moving here from cowland get ready for some high costs, probably 35%-45% more cost of living. I personally would have at least a half a years salary in hand if you intend on moving here. But we know a lot of folks who came on a plane fair

2. How much is rent? Where do you want to live? How many bedrooms? Pets? All this comes into play. Expect higher rents than the states for sure. You can rent a small studio for about $900/month and then it goes up from there. But Electricity will run you 3 times the cost of the states (currently at .32kw). And if gas prices rise so does the electricity as WAPA (Water and Power Authority) makes electricity from gas here

Oh and most rentals aren’t exactly legal. What’s that mean? It means they’ve added extra apartments where one was so you may or may not be on a shared electric meter. You’ll have to work that out with the landlord. I always tell people to pay per square foot if you’re on a shared meter.

Here are some rough rental costs:

Studio: $800-$1200

1 Bedroom: $1000-$1600

2 Bedroom: $1200-$2000

3 Bedroom: $2400-$5500

4 Bedroom: $3500-$6000

Contact our friend and realtor Karen Korsgren for all your buying, selling, rental needs: http://www.buysellvi.com.

Here’s a couple of other places to look: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/, http://stthomassource.com/

3. Employment! Tourism and government is the only industries we really have here in St. Thomas. So if you’re looking for a job in the bar, restaurant, hotel, boating and general tourism industry you will be able to find a job. And if you’re actually reliable you’ll be able to keep it. The pay here is low. Lower than most states so if you get a job say at an insurance agency you’ll probably make less and pay more for everything else. You want to live on an island? That’s the price

Here’s a couple of other places to look: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/, http://stthomassource.com/

4. Buying or Building? Will you be buying or building? Right now building is VERY expensive. I’ve been told by builders that a yard of concrete sells for $2000, yikes! And get ready to throw your budget out the window because it will be more than planned guaranteed. Oh and add 4-6 months on to the projected deliverable if you’re lucky If you think building is a headache in the states then don’t build because it will be 10 times worse here.

Buying works the same way as the states with the exception of what they call a stamp tax. Transactions in the US Virgin Islands require 2% to 3.5% government transfer tax or stamp tax. All property transactions over $350,000 require a mandatory 2.5% stamp tax. You can negotiate this with the seller. In a down market a buyer can usually get a seller to pay it but in a good market…

The US Virgin Islands,which include St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and Water Island, are unincorporated territory of the United States. Thus, purchasing property in any of these islands grants you the same guarantees and Constitutional protections and rights that you would have in anywhere in the United States.

Things to consider:

a. Cistern – A cistern is how you get your water supply. Our gutters on our roof catch the rain and then funnel it down into a holding tank. So if it doesn’t rain for a while you will run out of water. Water costs run me $340 for 5300 gallons and we have two 10,000 gallon water tanks so you do the math. We have a complete micron, charcoal and UV light water filtration system which cost around $1500.

b. Electricity – We pay 3 times the average cost in the states or about .34kw. But be forewarned our system in the US Virgin Islands generates electricity from gas. So when gas goes up so does your electric bill. Two years ago when gas hit $5/gallon our rates were .52kw.

c. Insurance – Hurricane insurance is ridiculously expensive! For $500,000 replacement fee expect to pay $14,000/year or so. Replacement fee is what it would costs to replace whatever was broken/missing but not exactly what a builder may charge you at the time of repair. That’s where the insurance company can really stick it to you. It may suddenly be a lot more money in labor/materials after a hurricane We use Tunick Insurance at: 340-776-7000.

5. Pets We have 2 parrots and bring them to and from St. Thomas every year. You can bring them on Delta or Continental as a carry-on. We need to get a health certificate from our vet within 7 days of travel. I’m not sure about other pets but I know you can bring them with no worries, check with your airline for that info. Do to public health and environmental concerns importing pet snakes into the territory is not allowed.

There are some places that will allow you to rent with a pet. I’m not sure of them but contact our friend and realtor Karen Korsgren for all your buying, selling, rental needs: http://www.buysellvi.com.

6. Crime Don’t go looking for it and it probably won’t find you. Yes we have a high murder rate but chances are it’s one bad guy killing another. It’s very rare that you hear of an innocent person being murdered but it happens… If you go looking for drugs you’ll put yourself in a bad position. If you’re walking around drunk in a bad neighborhood you’ll put yourself in a bad position. Be street-smart and know your surroundings and you’ll be fine.

7. Cars and License! Buying a car in St. Thomas is expensive. They know they got you by the short hairs because of the cost to ship it here. So cars are typically 15%-25% more to buy. That said if you own a nice car it may be worth it to ship it here.

It can cost around $1000-$1500 to ship a car from Miami. Check out Tropical shipping at: http://www.tropical.com/external/en/.

St. Thomas is basically one extremely curvy, giant hill. I strongly recommend a 4 wheel drive vehicle here especially when it rains. Expect to replace brakes twice a year and transmissions also get pretty roughed up. Oh and our roads are full of potholes that usually go unfixed or fixed wrongly so they re-appear

Things to consider:

a. Can you get parts for your car if you bring it here and can someone fix it? I brought my Infinity QX4 here and there is literally only 1 guy that can fix major things on it. Things like regular maintenance, brakes etc. are no problem. We have most major dealers here like Ford, Honda and Toyota.

b. You’ll need a VI license plate for your car. Your stateside license will not work here.

c. You’ll have to clear customs. You can call the Customs Office at (340) 714-1600 for more information.

d. You’ll need the title to your car.

e. Road tax: You must get a Bill of Lading from the shipping agent when the car arrives in the USVI. For more information call Internal Revenue office at (340) 714-9332.

f. Insurance is required in St. Thomas. You must get your vehicle insured before requesting a moving permit. We use Tunick Insurance at: 340-776-7000.

g. You’ll need a permit to move your car: Go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to get a permit to move your vehicle from the dock. The permit allows you to move a non-registered vehicle from one point to another.

h. Take your vehicle to the DMV to get your vehicle inspected. Bring with you, receipt that you paid the road tax, title, proof of insurance and stateside driver’s license.

i. How to obtain a VI drivers License, click here: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=1682

8. Motorcycles & Bikes: Bringing one or buying a motorcycle is the same as the car above. Here’s the deal, the roads here are pretty bad. All windy and up and down hills. You can’t get over 40mph in most spots. The rain makes things doubly worse. People drive like complete idiots here with safari taxi’s stopping and letting out tourists in the middle of the roads. That said I think owning a motorcycle or standard bike is crazy here. But to each their own

9. Education: I’m pretty unfamiliar with the public school system here. Everyone I personally know sends their kids to private schools: http://www.antilles.vi/ and http://www.vimsia.org/ to name a few.

10. Health Care:Not good enough. Period. It’s getting better. Talk to any doctor or nurse from the states and they’ll openly tell you it’s not good. Anything serious and I would leave the island for the states. We have the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital: http://www.rlshospital.org/. We have many primary doctors and facilities.

Again make sure to read Moving To St. Thomas Part 1 and Moving To St. Thomas Part 2 and Moving To St. Thomas US Virgin Islands – Everything You Need To Know.

Hope this helps and remember most of this is just my experiences and opinion

Yup, it’s our villa and this is shameless self promotion. Go to our website: http://www.caretbay.com and check it out.  It normally rents for $9,950 for either of those weeks but if you email me at scott@stthomasblog.com and use the code “Big Special” you’ll get 15% off or $1,500. That’s not chump change you know. So hurry and rent this St. Thomas Villa now.

Here are some pictures to look at in the meantime.

Yep, we are. Feel free to disagree. But that’s not what this post is about.

First thing we did when we moved into our St. Thomas home? Made sure the ceiling fans worked and turned those suckers on! Whew, it’s hot on the island, we needed to get some air moving! Ah, the ceiling fan, our new best friend, how we love you!

Yes, they’re everywhere – restaurants, homes…I’m waiting for them to be installed in the roofs of safari cabs for those long treks through traffic-filled waterfront when you’re just begging for a breeze, any breeze, to come wafting through the cab. The Home Depot on St. Thomas has a decent selection of ceiling fans; we paid a visit to them during our first few weeks and hemmed and hawed over a bamboo style, what color, how big, did we want an attached light? Our main room has a tall ceiling, so we knew once it was installed that would be the end of it, unless we felt like scaling a ladder, and trying to unscrew it and th…well, like I said, once installed it was there for life.

If Home Depot isn’t your cup of tea feel free to swing online and check out the gazillion options that are available for your browsing pleasure. One place, Hansen Wholesale Ceiling Fans claims to have over 1500 styles of ceiling fans for people to choose from. 1500! Wow. I mean, if you don’t find a fan that suits your style there then you’re just not trying!

Scott and I moved to the island during the month of December, and we were pleased to learn of the existence of “Christmas winds”‘; a wonderful breeze that blows past our deck during the winter months causing me to *gasp* actually seek out long-sleeves and pants. During the winds the fans add to the already pleasant breeze sailing in through the windows and sliding doors.

Sadly, these winds die out as spring moves towards summer and ceiling fans have to work double-time just to get a puff of air moving, never mind keep you cool. It’s okay, though, make sure your blender is in working order and keep those frozen drinks coming!

(we posted this as a comment yesterday, but decided it deserved it’s own post due to the effort he put into it. Thank you Rich!)

My bride and I honeymooned on St. Thomas during the last week in September, into October, 2009. (A little info about us, we might be considered older for newlyweds, me, 42, she, 39.)

From what I gathered, it was nearing the end of the island’s “off-season,” so there were many things closed that would normally be opened, especially during the day, but this did not really bother us.

We stayed at the Morningstar section of the Frenchman’s Reef resort and really, really loved our room. It was 1st floor beachfront, with the patio partially hidden from some shade-producing, beautiful trees. Even with the doors closed and the AC cranked up, the sound of the waves lightly crashing onto the beach put us asleep each night.

Although we didn’t snorkel at the resort, the beach was excellent for swimming and relaxing. We also spent time at both resort pools, and they, too, provided terrific environments.

As far as dining at the resort’s restaurants, we only ate breakfast there, (which was included in our package). The breakfast buffet, including an omelet bar, was very good and offered just about everything you might want for breakfast.

We dined out just about every night — Mojo’s, Lotus, Iggies, Benny Iguanas, Shipwreck Tavern, and Wikked. While we didn’t have a horrible meal out, there were some places we enjoyed much more than others. Our favorites were Wikked (I had the fried snapper — the entire fish — delicious), Mojo’s (all-you-can-eat, grilled chicken and chili nachos), and Iggies (delicious, fresh mahi mahi). We also had some drinks and appetizers at Fat Turtle’s one afternoon, at a bar overlooking the harbor, which we really enjoyed.

I think if we had to rank our favorite days, the top three would involve snorkeling.

Running a close 1st and 2nd place would be Trunk Bay on St. John, and Coki Beach on the island.

We woke up real early one morning, had breakfast, and water-shuttled (a great ride) out of Red Hook over to St. John, by about 9:30. Trunk Bay is in a protected, National Park and it is absolutely beautiful! (There is a minimal fee to enter; I believe $4.00 per adult.)

The snorkeling is excellent, as well, as divers are treated to an underwater pathway that has information stones secured on the bottom of the sea. They describe, in pictures and words, what types of sea life you are observing as you go along. Really unforgettable.

Off of the beach there is a snorkel stand where you can rent anything you need – i.e. snorkel gear, chairs, etc. – and the rental fees are very reasonable. Just adjacent to that, there is a little grill, with a picnic area, that sells light lunch items, such as burgers and chicken sandwiches, as well as soda, beer, and some mixed and frozen drinks. (We had a chicken sandwich, a burger, bag of chips and two Miller Lites for about $20.00. Not too bad.)

Closer to the entrance of the park, there are very clean restrooms and showers. (I suggest bringing a change of clothes, showering and changing before you depart.) The one thing Trunk Bay visitors should remember is the closing time. The rented snorkel gear has to be returned by 3:30, and the park closes at 4:30. Try to get there early and spend the entire day. You will LOVE it!

In 2nd place is Coki Beach. This is another beautiful, simply gorgeous beach. The environment is very, very different than Trunk Bay, however. I will admit, when we were first dropped off at Coki, and told by our taxi driver, “Just go right through that little gate there,” I thought about bagging it, and asking to be driven back to the resort. (The surrounding neighborhood is in bad shape, and the area right around the entrance is quite run down. We are so glad that we decided against leaving, though.)

Upon entering, we made our way to the snorkel stand and met Richard, a huge size of a man – very friendly — who set us up with chairs, snorkel gear and two large dog biscuits (to feed the fish with). The rental fees are about double that of Trunk Bay. I believe snorkel gear and chairs ran about $30.00 for the day. The snorkeling was great. I thought there was many more fish at Coki, compared to Trunk (possibly because of the dog biscuits).

I will now get the negatives out of the way. The bathrooms are bad. There once were showers but they are no longer operating. The facilities are somewhat dirty and smelly. With that being said, you are not going to be spending much time in the restrooms when you are at a place like Coki Beach. The other negative is the general conditions. There is some trash, old boats, broken chairs – things like that – sort of strewn all around. Trunk Bay is absolutely pristine. Coki Beach is somewhat disheveled. However, this was not a big deal to us. If you are a glass-half-full type, you might even allow this to add to the overall ambiance!

The overall environment at Coki Beach, given you take some time to breathe it all in, is purely loveable. First, there are friendly, local women walking the beach as waitresses that will not only bring you sandwiches and drinks, but also provide valuable information on anything ranging from snorkeling tips to St. Thomas history.

There are small, cozy, well-worn wooden shacks set up as a bar and a restaurant grill. They fit right in to the entire scene; very island-esque. The drinks, served in plastic cups, are pricey but tasty. A rum punch and a pina colada will run you $13.00 plus tip. We also split a grilled mahi mahi sandwich, served on a hamburger bun, for $10.00 ($12.00 if we wanted french fries with it). The sandwich was DELICIOUS!

A great selection of fun music plays constantly from the grill area. There is dancing from some locals who are hanging out, as well as the waitresses, who bop along to the tunes as they walk the beach.

We spent an entire day there; from about 10 am until 5 pm. And, when it was time to go, Richard graciously hooked us up with a cab ride home. One’s first impression of Coki must be set aside, and you will surely have a fun-filled, memorable day.

In 3rd place was a snorkel/sail trip on The Fury, a 46-foot ketch. For $75.00 per person, you sail out to Buck Island and swim with sea turtles and sting rays, as well as a variety of fish and coral! The sailboat left right from the Frenchman’s Reef dock. Captain Mike is a great skipper; funny, too, cracking jokes throughout the excursion. Light snacks, sodas, waters, beer, and rum punch are served on the trip back to the resort. We left at 9 am and returned at about 12:30. The total snorkel time is about an hour. A really, really fun time.

On two other days, we walked through the capital town of Charlotte Amalie. For $12.00 per person, round trip, a water taxi, leaving right from the resort dock, takes you over on every half-hour, and back on every hour. Being the end of September, it was extremely hot, and not many places provided relief from the heat. It was a very neat town of narrow streets and alley ways, tent merchants selling t-shirts and locally-made jewelry, and outdoor malls. One thing to know, there was jewelry store after jewelry store after jewelry store with the proprietors standing outside, one after another, trying to lure you in to buy diamonds, gold and silver. It became somewhat annoying, but we managed to laugh about the competiveness of these merchants.

On another day, we hired a taxi driver to take us on a 2 ½-hour tour of the entire island. For $60.00, Jules drove us, in his open-air pick-up truck, throughout St. Thomas, stopping often for picture-taking or beer breaks. He was extremely knowledgeable, informative and thorough. The views were breathtaking from spots high atop the hills. And, the images we captured on our camera are priceless.

The other days were spent on the Marriot’s lovely beach, or at the luxurious pools.

St. Thomas is a beautiful, paradise-like island, and the trip was one that we will soon not forget!

Thanks Rich for your great article about St. Thomas. We look forward to having you back soon. And if there is anyone else out there that would like to submit an article about St. Thomas let me know. You can be a local, tourist, business owner or just someone dreaming about coming. Email it to scott@stthomasblog.com.

Have you seen our Tees and Tanks? Click here to check them out and order: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821, help support the St. Thomas Blog:

Click here to order:  http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821

Facebook is a social network. It’s a place to meet and communicate. IT’S NOT A PLACE TO SPAM YOUR BUSINESS. A lot of people don’t know that, especially businesses trying to promote themselves. You first have to introduce yourself and open a line of communication. Then you’ll spark the interest of the person you’re trying to reach.

This morning I got a chat message from a stranger called Joe Blaster at Radio 106.1because he “friended” me on facebook. Here’s how he opened the conversation:

Joe

RADIO JOE 106.1 FM …THE NEW RADIO STATION IN THE CARIBBEAN !!!

First off EVERYONE knows in the US Virgin Islands it’s a big time no no not to say Good Morning, Good afternoon or Good night before you say ANYTHING. He should know this given the market he’s in.  Secondly why would I listen to him? He’s shown no interest in me? He’s just screaming his message at me, all in caps. I don’t even know what type of music they play?

Here’s the rest of the conversation:

Scott

dude or dudet, why do you just spam?

Joe

WHAT ?

I am just letting you know, have a problem ?

Scott

yea, all you do is promote yourself by spamming others. try communicating first like a real human, then maybe I’ll listen and promote you. maybe introduce yourself? You know, non spam stuff.

Joe

i dont need to introduce myself, this is facebook and its for promoting. this is a social network. have a nice day.  RADIO JOE 106.1 FM. THE BEST MUSIC ON YOUR RADIO , BYE.

-Huh? What happened to the word Social in Social Network? It’s not called a spam network.

Joe

AND IF YOU HAVE A BLOG YOU SHOULD DO THE SAME THING, SPRAD THE WORD IS FREE DUDE !!! SPREAD IT

-Yea dude, we spread the word by creating a real interest. I didn’t run around St. Thomas yelling at strangers. We wrote intersting articles and gained readership through natural word of mouth. Call me crazy

Moral of the story…Social networks like facebook and twitter make it easy to communicate. But do it right by showing a real interest in the person you’re reaching out to. You’ll not only gain a customer you’ll also gain a friend.

Radio Joe has been defriended. How did that work out for him?

Our advertisers get a lot of hits to their websites. On average we get over 2200 visits per day and we’re hungry for another advertiser. It ain’t easy writing stories almost everyday. C’mon now, you know you want to be on the most popular blog on St. Thomas.

Or you can support us by buying one of these great t-shirts/tank tops (click here): http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821.

Pick up that coconut and start the telegraph.

I’ve got 2 spots on the blog for our $89/month plan. You’ll get one of those nice squares on the left or right with your logo or picture that leads right to your website or facebook page. They look like this:

Caribbean Saloon – Click The Photo For Live Music, Sports And Events

For those of you cruising into St. Thomas soon…a few pictures of the shops that await you on the streets and alleyways of historic Charlotte Amalie.

A peek down pretty Palm Passage (from the Main St.). Along with the stores there is also an open-air bar and a restaurant where you can relax and refresh with a snack and a cocktail.

Plenty of shops on Main Street ready to help you pick out that perfect purchase – make sure you check out all of the signs for potential cruise-ship deals!

Looking straight down another alleyway - they all stretch right through to Veterans Drive on the waterfront. Perfect for a slow stroll while you window shop, frozen drink in hand!

As the sign says below, some of these buildings have been standing since 1831! Some beautiful opportunities for all of you shutterbugs and history buffs.

And as for that ‘wheeling & dealing’…there are a lot of stores competing for your dollars, so don’t be afraid to speak up!

A few days ago I asked if anyone would like to guest blog. Here’s one that just came in from LL. Let’s help her out:

Let me preface this by stating that I am writing this nearly bug-eyed after spending the greater part of the last three days pouring over web sites for clues about life in the USVI and how one can make a living there. This is what led me to StThomasBlog.com, which has very useful information I might add, and your open call for guest posts. I figure I’ll share my dilemma in the hopes that you and your readers can offer some valuable information for one on the verge of packing it up and coming to live in the islands.

So here is my story, I am a barely thirty-something single gal who is ready to give up the rat race, or at least try a different way of life for a time. With a lucrative yet no longer fulfilling IT Mgmt career I am hankering to give up that particular pressure, the mortgage, and the useless colder seasons in the East Coast for a constant commune with sun and sea and a renewed passion in some line of work. And that is how I got it in my head this week that I would move to St Thomas and teach for a spell…starting ASAP!

Having visited St Thomas and St John once in 2007, I must admit I fell in love! My first visit to anywhere in the Caribbean, I was in awe of the surroundings and struck by the way island living seemed such a natural state…albeit I was on vacation ? In contemplating the USVI as a more long-term residence, my own list of perceived pros and cons are vying for attention in my brain. I figure many of your readers who relocated to the Virgin Islands dealt with some of the same concerns, have the benefit of experience gained from actually making the leap, and would be so kind as to share the wisdom.

So how about it then? What are the top 10 benefits or draw backs of living in the Virgin Islands? Any teachers have something to share about that experience?

Are there just 20-somethings and couples as transplants or will there be other ‘30 is the new 20’ -year-old single professionals for me to befriend?

Are there cost-savings to be had compared to the main land?

Would you do it all over again?

As you can see I’ve got questions for days, what I need is answers people…or at least good links:) I’m still a bit traumatized by the post on this site about lizards, cockroaches, spiders, etc. since I am on the extreme end of the squeamish side so if there are any recommended places to live where I could avoid that completely do tell ?

Much obliged, your future neighbor…perhaps…

LL

Want to become a really famous rock star blogger Well here’s your chance!

Send us over an article/story about anything related to St. Thomas, the USVI, the BVI’s etc.

Make it interesting but don’t make it an ad for your business. You can write about anything you want except self promotion.

If we use your article and you have a website will make sure the world knows and we’ll link back to your site and give you mad props.

C’mon tourists, locals and everyone in between. Email me something now!

Here’s an email we received:

To passengers involved in the Duckaneer bus accident on July 1st in St. Thomas:

The NBC Today Show would like to hear about your experience. If you were a passenger on the Duckaneer when it crashed, please email Today Show producer Robert Powell at:

robert.powell@nbcuni.com

All emails will remain confidential.
Thanks!

So if you’re interested send him an email. Who knows you might get face to face with Matt Lauer.

The St. Thomas Blog is having a great year thanks to you guys. We’re averaging over 2000 visits a day, locals are really participating and our Best of St. Thomas 2009 Awards we’re a big hit. Thanks so much for reading and participating!

Special shout out to our advertisers. First know this, we won’t let anyone just advertise. You gotta have a good product/service otherwise we’re just pimping ourselves out (which is why you don’t see Google ads on our site).

So big thanks to the Following (in order of when they signed up):

Craig and Sally’s Restaurant (winner of our Best of St. Thomas 2008, 2009, been a regular for 3 years, fantastic food and service)

Karen Korsgren Realtor (works for ReMax and is a close personal friend, excellent St. Thomas Real Estate Agent)

Virgin Islands Auto Club, VIAC (the Triple A of the USVI, we are members)

Caribbean Saloon (winner of our Best of St. Thomas 2008, 2009, great venue for sports and live bands)

Shipwreck Tavern (winner of our Best of St. Thomas Award 2008, 2009 and Nicci’s place of employment)

Epernay Wine & Champagne Bar (winner of our Best of St. Thomas 2008, great social spot with fantastic food)

Enkai Sushi Bar (winner of our Best of St. Thomas 2009, Best Sushi on St. Thomas)

Special shout out to The Buzz 104.3 FM, we do a lot of cross promotions together and they are some Kewl Cats!

Please help spread the word about the Blog and St. Thomas.

Order our St. Thomas T-Shirts here: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821

We’ve finally come out with our first fun product. We’re now selling these great T-Shirts/Tank Tops with this logo on the front and back.

We’ll have black t’s for men and black spaghetti tanks for women. If you would like to be one of the first to receive these exclusive shirts Click Here.

Order: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821

They come in all sizes and the cost is $19.99 plus $2 S&H (add $3 for 2XL and above). We take credit cards and cold hard cash. Order now!!!

Nicci and I work very hard running around the island trying to help you guys out. So if you got a few extra bucks order this shirt because it’s way cool and we need the money

Order: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821

Rod Call is a fan of the St. Thomas Blog. He reads it daily and follows us on facebook. He’s a cool cat. Back in 2003 Rod got tired of the frigid weather in Michigan, packed up a backpack and flew to St. Thomas. He checked into Bolongo Bay, threw his backpack on the bed and made a bee-line to Iggies Beach Bar.

Rod had the vacation of a lifetime and frankly didn’t want it to end. On his way back home Rod drove by the sign that he had driven passed and read countless times before, 45th Parallel Halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. However, this time was different. This time something changed. This time there was an idea, an inspiration.

As he passed the 45th parallel sign, he began reminiscing about his trip, and the more he thought about it, the more he was amazed with how in just a few short hours he went from a humid airport bar in Puerto Rico to the frigid temperatures of Detroit. And now, here he is driving through the morning snow with the heat cranked on high, knowing that in a few short months he would be making the same drive only this time with the air conditioning cranked on high.

As he drove north and left the 45th Parallel sign behind him, he leaned over to the passenger seat of his Jeep and scribbled on a Rolling Stone magazine, Somewhere between the islands and the arctic, and thus the Snoloha brand was born.

However, Snoloha is much more than a brand, or a scene of snow falling on an island. Snoloha is a way of life. Snoloha is a reflection of how we live, work, play, vacation, and simply enjoy life somewhere between the islands and the arctic. It is a lifestyle people live everyday, a couple times a year, once in a lifetime, or in their minds all the time. It’s carrying a vacation mentality through everyday life, celebrating and enjoying all the seasons that get thrown at us.

When we hear of stories like this it inspires us. We love St. Thomas so much and to think a cool/hot brand like this starts from a beer at Iggies, well now that’s something.

Visit Snoloha website here: http://www.snoloha.com

Check out their facebook page here:    

Read their Blog here: http://www.snoloha.com/news

Check out some of their merchandise here (it’s a palm tree lift): http://www.snoloha.com/store

Check out me and Nicci in our Snoloha gear: