# Is St. John \[US Virgin Islands\] safe?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-st-john-us-virgin-islands-safe/436085>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [February 3, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-st-john-us-virgin-islands-safe/436085 "2008-02-03T12:52:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\
**Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-st-john-us-virgin-islands-safe/436085/1 "2008-02-03T12:52:49Z")

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So I’m thinking of getting a 3 bdrm villa for a couples getaway. My husband thought that St. John was “unsafe” especially after dark.

I’ve heard that a few of the Caribbean islands have high incidences of theft, etc., and a few suffer from political unrest, but I thought St. John was safe.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

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**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\
**Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-st-john-us-virgin-islands-safe/436085/2 "2008-02-03T13:50:24Z")

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Am I the only one that saw couples getaway on mouse over and wondered why anyone would go to Newfoundland for a couples get away this time of year?

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**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\
**Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-st-john-us-virgin-islands-safe/436085/3 "2008-02-03T14:14:51Z")

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Edited title for clarity.

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**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\
**Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-st-john-us-virgin-islands-safe/436085/4 "2008-02-03T14:17:25Z")

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[QUOTE=PunditLisa]  
So I’m thinking of getting a 3 bdrm villa for a couples getaway. My husband thought that St. John was “unsafe” especially after dark.

I’ve heard that a few of the Caribbean islands have high incidences of theft, etc., and a few suffer from political unrest, but I thought St. John was safe.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?  
[/QUOTE]

I never noticed it to be unsafe at all. St. Thomas isn’t really that unsafe (relative to Jamaica & some other spots), and St. John is a much nicer & more quiet island. A very large percentage of it is national parkland.

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**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\
**Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-st-john-us-virgin-islands-safe/436085/5 "2008-02-03T14:39:22Z")

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Mod: For more clarity still, you may wish to edit title, giving the true name of the island: “St. John”.

To the OP: I have visited St. John ten times over the past twenty-five years. The only times I felt a bit uncomfortable is when I walked at night in a funky part of Cruz Bay (the only town, really), far from the ferry dock or the hotels. Even then, St. John is MUCH safer than most Caribbean islands, including St. Thomas.

You’ll be fine! If you’re lucky to be staying on the north shore (Maho Bay, etc.), even better!