Nicci and I know almost nothing about the private schools of St. Thomas and how they compare to one another. Please help out the people looking to move to St. Thomas by commenting on what you know or the experiences you’ve had with any of our private schools.

Private Schools on St. Thomas:

Antilles School: http://www.antilles.vi

Mission:

Inspired by learning and empowered by our diversity, outreach and distinct place in Caribbean culture, Antilles School is a college preparatory school committed to maintaining and enhancing educational excellence.

Montessori School: http://www.vimsia.org

Mission:

The Virgin Islands Montessori School and International Academy is committed to providing an Education For Life consistent with Montessori principles, reflecting the richness of our diverse Virgin Islands culture and upholding global college preparatory standards.

All Saints: http://www.allsaintscathedralschoolvi.org

Mission:

The environment arising from the union of church and school, All Saints seeks to nurture the spiritual and social growth as well as the intellectual development of each and every student. All Saints emphasizes the importance of moral and ethical behavior and maintaining harmonious relationships within its very diverse community. School uniforms and weekly attendance at mass and chapel are required for all. Academic standards are rigorous at every grade level, and ultimately students are prepared for high achievement in academics and careers.

http://sites.google.com/site/stspeterandpaulcatholicschool

Mission:

The mission of Sts. Peter & Paul School, a Roman Catholic Pre-Kindergarten to Pre-College Preparation educational institution, is to ensure that its students demonstrate the mastery of defined skills and knowledge that will empower them to be creative, productive, responsible, critically thinking, self-directed individuals who respect and appreciate diversity.  This will be accomplished through excellence in teaching and learning in partnership with family, church and community, and the creation of a safe, nurturing and intellectually stimulating environment.

Please include any and all info on tuition, teachings, education received etc. Everything will help potential residents decide where to send their kids.

Ah, the money question.

As in, “I, like super want to move down, like tomorrow! I love it! How much should I bring?”

As in, “My girlfriend and I just came back from a cruise and love St. Thomas. We want to move there, rent an apt, buy a car and be bartenders. How much should we bring?”

As in, “I’m retired, have a fixed income, am happy with a book and a soft spot in the sand, how much do I need to live there?”

It’s hard to answer these questions. Are you going to rent an apt? Buy a house? Take cabs? Buy a car? Risk a moped? Use a skateboard? (um, don’t use a skateboard.)

Do you like Coors Light or Patron? Filet mignon or ramen noodles? Eating out? Eating in? Is eating three times a day a big deal to you or are you willing to forgo it in order to pay the fee to enter Magens? Or gas up your car/moped/skateboard? (really, don’t bring a skateboard.)

Milk is more expensive than rum – if necessary, and in an emergency situation only, are you willing to pour rum over your cheerios?

Of course if you’re the other extreme…you know, wondering how many boat slips there are for a 70ft monster yacht, well – we don’t really know much ’bout that. (But we love boat trips, call us! *wink*)

So…anyways – we were discussing this hard-to-answer question one day with our super-duper smartypants of an IT guy Jeff, who lives on STX (but is willing to be flown over for IT work, and he’s worth it, for reals). He came up with the most perfect answer in three short sentences. Want to see for yourself? Check it out here – and if you already made the move you can let us know how right/wrong he was…

Every year we say it, some listen to us some don’t

Get ready for the worst. Be prepared.

The 2010 Hurricane Season is predicted to be a busy one with a 58 percent chance of a major storm rolling through the Caribbean reports the VI Daily News.

Here’s a suggested list of items to preapre for a hurricane from the NOAA website.

Water – at least 1 gallon daily per person for 3 to 7 days

Food – at least enough for 3 to 7 days
— non-perishable packaged or canned food / juices
— foods for infants or the elderly
— snack foods
— non-electric can opener
— cooking tools / fuel
— paper plates / plastic utensils

Blankets / Pillows, etc.

Clothing – seasonal / rain gear/ sturdy shoes

First Aid Kit / Medicines / Prescription Drugs

Special Items – for babies and the elderly

Toiletries / Hygiene items / Moisture wipes

Flashlight / Batteries

Radio – Battery operated and NOAA weather radio

Telephones – Fully charged cell phone with extra battery and a traditional (not cordless) telephone set

Cash (with some small bills) and Credit Cards – Banks and ATMs may not be available for extended periods

Keys

Toys, Books and Games

Important documents – in a waterproof container or watertight resealable plastic bag
— insurance, medical records, bank account numbers, Social Security card, etc.

Tools – keep a set with you during the storm

Vehicle fuel tanks filled

Pet care items
— proper identification / immunization records / medications
— ample supply of food and water
— a carrier or cage
— muzzle and leash

Make sure you have hurricane shutters  of some type to protect your windows and doors.

Remember this is St. Thomas so having a supply for 3-7 days will most likely not be enough. You may want to have a 4 week supply or more to be safe.

Have a safe hurricane season!

 

We’ve written many articles about moving to St. Thomas here: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?cat=53. Just scroll through them all until you find what you need.

You should also read these:

Moving To St. Thomas Top Ten Tips Part 1: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=196

Moving To St. Thomas Top Ten Tips Part 2:
http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=621

Moving To St. Thomas Top Ten Tips Part 3:
http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=4416

How To Get A VI Drivers License: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=1682

What’s a cistern and why do you need one?: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=4472

Getting a mortgage in St. Thomas: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=3273

Dreaming of Island Life: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=3016

Life On St. Thomas: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=1207

Home Insurance On St. Thomas: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=1057

Moving To St. Thomas: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=983

Working in St. Thomas: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=934

Settler’s Handbook: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=104

That’s it folks, should answer almost all your questions:) But remember make sure to read all the comments as they are very useful.

Typically most people consider April 15th the end of high season here in St. Thomas. Some may say until carnival ends but in the villa rental market it’s now considered low season.

So tourists now is the time to get some great deals If you’re looking to rent a villa check out ours here: St. Thomas Villas

I’m pretty sure there will be great deals throughout the island on dinning and shopping as well. Some restaurants close for the summer so make sure to call or email ahead.

One thing for certain the summer means hot, hot, hot. We lose a lot of the wonderful trade-winds June-October so being near a beach or pool is a good thing!

So we say goodbye to High Season 2010 and hello to low season

We chuckle here in St. Thomas at the amount of holidays this island takes. Drum roll please…

1-1-2010 New Years Day

1-6-2010 Three Kings Day  (click the link for info)

1-18-2010 Martin Luther King Day

2-15-2010 Presidents Day

3-31-2010 Transfer Day (click the link for info)

4-1-2010 Holy Thursday (day before Good Friday – click the link for info)

4-2-2010 Good Friday

4-4-2010 Easter Sunday

4-5-2010 Easter Monday (day after Easter)

So the island is off from Transfer day, Wednesday March 31st - Easter Monday April 5th

5-31-2010 Memorial Day

6-15-2010 Organic Act Day (click the link for more info)

7-3-2010 Emancipation Day (click the link for more info)

7-4-2010 Independence Day

7-28-2010 Hurricane Supplication Day (click the link for more info)

9-6-2010 Labor Day

10-11-2010 Columbus Day/Puerto Rican Friendship Day

10-18-2010 Hurricane Thanksgiving Day (click the link for more info)

11-1-2010 D Hamilton Jackson Day/Liberty Day (click the link for more info)

11-11-2010 Veterans Day

11-27-2010 Thanksgiving

12-25-2010 Christmas Day

12-26-2010 Boxing Day

So there you have it!

A cistern is simply a holding tank for the water you use in your St. Thomas house. In St. Thomas the homes don’t tap into city water, heck no. We have a gutter system that funnels water down into our cisterns. Here’s what they look like:

Opening in floor:

Water starting to come in because it’s raining:

Cistern filling up:

Cistern cover closed:

After a few years (about every 4 years or so) you’ll need to have your cistern cleaned because, well, they get disgusting. Many people don’t clean their cistern on a regular basis and you can imagine all the gunk, bacteria and other creatures that get in them. Here’s what we found upon cleaning our cistern:

A live green iguana…yuck!  But we released him, run…be free…

Thank god we have a water filtration system! Which by the way I highly recommend. Ours includes a charcoal, and micron filter and a UV Light for the bacteria.

Here is the cleaning process.

1. Felix takes all water out of the cistern you’re cleaning and moves it into my second cistern (if you only have 1 cistern they can move the water to another holding tank they bring):

2. Then Felix climbs down the black hole of death:

3. Once inside the black hole of death he manually goes around and sucks up all the disgusting muck until it’s all gone.

4. Then he power washes the entire cistern to clean it.

5. Then Felix climbed out…

Um, he looked disgusting, what a good sport He said: “Scott, it was very dirty”, coming from him with all his experience he really meant: Scott, I hate you for this job…thanks!

6. They are done for today, tomorrow they come back and Thereseal the cistern (put a sealant on any small cracks).

7. Then they wait a day and put a second coat of Thereseal on.

8. Then we have to wait a minimum of 5 days before any water can go back in that cistern. So Felix has to close the gutter drains so no water gets in and come back and open them about a week later.

Tough job!

If you need your cistern cleaned call Felix at 340-514-5055 and tell him Scott White sent you.

This is an actual move posted on our message board for all the expenses of moving from the Midwest to St. Thomas:

We got a recommendation that it would be cheaper to rent a U-haul and drive our household goods (with motorcycle in the back of the truck) to Jacksonville to the shipping company so that’s what we did.  We drove two vehicles to Jacksonville (Jeep and Uhaul ) and this is what it costs us.

Gas for the vehicles, hotel, food, moving equipment, ect.

Date  Amount-WS Comments
1/10/2010 $105.89         Totes from Kmart, moving equipment
1/16/2010 $34.65         moving equipment from LOWES
1/19/2010 $5.08         Moving equipment from STAPLES
1/25/2010 $68.45         moving equipment from LOWES
1/26/2010 $42.14         moving equip meijer
1/26/2010 $48.83         Moving equip costco
2/1/2010 $6.73         Moving  equp Lowes
2/11/2010 $6.70         Gas Toledo
2/11/2010 $16.83         Waffle house
2/12/2010 $73.75         Gas Findlay
2/12/2010 $37.40         Gas Findlay
2/12/2010 $45.09         Hotel Findlay
2/12/2010 $35.50         Gas Springboro
2/12/2010 $16.00         Gas Springboro
2/12/2010 $75.00         Gas Tenn
2/12/2010 $40.00         Gas Tenn
2/12/2010 $17.81         Wendys Georgia
2/12/2010 $45.00         Gas Georgia
2/12/2010 $15.81         Gas Georgia

2/12/2010 $31.00         Gas Darrien Georgia
2/12/2010 $43.00         Gas Darrien Georgia
2/12/2010 $56.18         Gas Darrien Georgia
2/12/2010 $44.78         Hotel Atlanta
2/13/2010 $15.74         Waffle house
2/13/2010 $16.30         waffle house.
2/13/2010 $4.82         Food Darien Georgia
2/14/2010 $9.62         Dinner
2/14/2010 $11.21         Lunch at Dennys
2/15/2010 $21.69         Lunch at Dennys
2/15/2010 $34.08         Gas Transit
2/15/2010 $16.85         Dinner/Papa Johns pizza
2/16/2010 $39.75         Gas Transit
2/16/2010 $1,535.85 Rental Truck Saginaw,MI to Jacksonville
2/16/2010 $14.96         lunch at Dennys
2/17/2010 $6.00         Shuttle to Jacksonville Airport
2/17/2010       $185.00          Airline Baggage check-in/We took so many bags because we knew we were going to be with our household goods for a few weeks.

2/17/2010 $60.00         Airline Baggage check-in-extra bags
2/17/2010 $207.28         Hotel Stay Jacksonville
2/17/2010       $1,339.92 Car rental (Virgin Islands (02/17/2010 – 03/03/2010)/This was needed while we were waiting on our vehicles to arrive

2/17/2010 $14.02         Food Airport- Jacksonville/Atlanta/STT

2/17/2010 $604.08         One way airline ticket to St Thomas
3/3/2010 $350.00         Delivery of Household goods from the shipping dock to FORTUNA, ST THOMAS
2/16/2010 $1,916.00 Cost to put the vehicles(Jeep/Motorcycle) on the boat and ship them from Jacksonville to  STT
2/16/2010 $2,443.87 Cost to palletized 6 pallets of household goods and ship them from Jacksonville to  STT

Approx $9,758.66 TOTAL COSTS to move our lives from Saginaw to STT.

The headache of registering vehicles on STT.   The STT DMV is one of the biggest, unorganized messes I have ever seen under a U.S. Flag.    Sadly , it took me 3 days to register the Jeep and motorcycle.  There were several reasons for this.

1. I tried to register the vehicles at the end of the month and that’s when the mad rush is on for everyone to register their vehicles when their tags expire.

2. I had to go to several places to get the vehicles from th dock to my home.  It was a headache because no one explained to me the sequence I had to visit these places.
    A.  The company that shipped my vehicle
    B.  Homeland security
    C. the IRS building to pay the road tax. this office has moved across town and finding the right building was a pain.  even more of a pain was paying the road tax of $670 for the Jeep and motorcycle.  Here is how they calculate it  Weight of the vehicle  x   .16= cost
    D. Excise tax building
    E. Homeland security
    F. Homeland security window 2 to pay the additional tax for the motorcycle because it wasn’t American made (Suzuki).   (6% of blue book is the tax).
   G. Discovering that the clerk at the IRS had typed the VIN number wrong on the documents so had to go back and do steps C, D, E over. By this time the offices had closed (2:30 ish?) so I had to wait till the next day.
   G. Waiting in line forever to get a temporary tag ($5) to move the vehicles from the dock to the inspection lane. (cryptic maze of lines, windows, frequent employee breaks) to get this done.
   H. Going back to pick up vehicles and moving to the inspection lines. cost 10 dollars.  where he doesn’teven inspect the vehicle…but he does check the insurance. they don’t like stateside insurances down here so u have to get theirs/local insurance.  I was lucky enough to have my insurance from USAA when i was in the military.  Had to call USAA to get vehicles insured and have them fax/email proof of insurance.  By then the offices had closed again
    I.  BMV offices opened at 8 30 ish.  there were already 50 people there waiting.  got the vehicles inspected.  Then back to the lines to get the titles, tags, registration.  finally got tags. 

Cost to register Jeep/Motorcycle
$660 road tax
$200 for plates, titles, registration
 
Total time spent – 3 days

What a great post! He would have done a lot better if he had read our “Moving To St. Thomas Part 1“, “Moving To St. Thomas Part 2” and “Moving To St. Thomas Part 3“.

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

Okay folks we have some really great news. Technology has FINALLY caught up with the US Virgin Islands. We have been asked to test the newest St. Thomas VoIP phone.

We will be conducting a 1 month test on the new SunFone. So far so REALLY good! We have a crystal clear signal, better than Innovative because there is no humming noise in the background.

Here’s the best part of this…It’s only $24.99/month and…wait for it….wait for it… FREE LONG DISTANCE TO THE STATES.

Free I said, zippo, nada, zilch. And if you live here in the USVI chances are you call the states often.

Unfortunately my cell phone doesn’t work well in my house so we need some type of landline. So this is perfect. And businesses…you’ll save a fortune with this! If your business calls outside the US Virgin Islands you’d be a fool not to look into this.

Here’s what you need, an Internet connection with at least 256K. We use Broadband VI and run well above that requirement. But any connection other than Innovative will work (except satellite).

So I’ll be reporting back often to let you know how the new phone is working. But so far so good. I imagine I’ll save over $100/month.

VoIP Defined: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a general term for a family of transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications over IP networks such as the Internet or other packet-switched networks. Other terms frequently encountered and synonymous with VoIP are IP telephony, Internet telephony, voice over broadband (VoBB), broadband telephony, and broadband phone.

We’ve all been had (allegedly), or “Sautered” as I like to call it. It’s no joke. Rosemary Sauter allegedly made off with millions of dollars and ruined lives. Hundreds  if not thousands of lives reaching out worldwide.

I ask one simple question? How was this possible? How can one person be able to get their hands on so much money without recourse?

The real estate industry here has taken a blow to the gut that will be felt for years to come. Now is the time for the Board Of Realtors and the industry itself to be PROACTIVE. Self regulate yourself if you can immediately. Speak out and protect yourself. Your silence is deafening.

Is this mess your fault? No, but obviously there weren’t enough checks and balances to protect this kind of event from happening. I implore you to do whatever you can quickly so that people can feel safe and secure that their life savings can’t be swindled.

I know many people here in St. Thomas in the real estate business and their honest and  hardworking. This is not your fault. This is one bad egg amongst many great ones.  If the industry is unable to self regulate then go to our government for assistance (I know, that’s not easy). But be out in front trying to get something done. Right now the only thing that matters is protecting future customers.

Until then no one can be safe.

I’m not an expert in real estate or legal matters. So feel free to disagree with what I’ve said. Maybe you can’t regulate yourself. If so now may be the time to use many attorneys to escrow money. This way the money would be spread out and one person couldn’t steal it all.

What say you real estate professionals? How can we fix this moving forward?

The St. Thomas Blog will open it’s virtual home to you. We will post all articles from anyone within the real estate community offering out suggestions to this mess. Just email me your article to: scott@stthomasblog.com and I’ll post it.

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.

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