So, I’m interviewing for a judicial clerkship in the US Virgin Islands on Monday (specifically, St. Thomas), and if I’m lucky enough to get an offer, I’ll probably get it that day. The work sounds interesting, but I don’t know that much about the Virgin Islands, and I should try to fix that ASAP - could someone who’s lived there (or vacationed for extended periods) clue me in on the place? What’s the culture like? How expensive is it? Do you like St. Thomas?
I know this one because I go there pretty often. There are three USVI, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John. They are pretty different but all of them are some of the most beautiful places on earth. St. Thomas is the most touristy of the bunch and lots of cruise ships dock there. St. Croix is the largest USVI and it is a working island with some tourism but also has lots of ex-pats (if you can call them that) from the U.S. mainland. St. John is extremely quite and is mostly a protected park combined with a few, small, resorts and hotels.
There are way more Caribbean islands in that general vicinity than most people would ever realize. You can reach many by a simple seaplane ride. The demographics of the USVI are mostly black and they tend to be poor in a way but the surroundings make it hard for anyone to be considered truly poor. They speak with a charming Caribbean accent and tend to be very friendly to everyone. There are also a lot of retirees who got fed up with the U.S. mainland and wanted to move to paradise (I have to at some points). The weather is warm all year round as well as the water but hurricanes are always a threat. I, personally, would move there in a second but I am adventurous in that way. It is part of the U.S. but very different than living in the states proper.
The expenses are lower than many places in the U.S. and higher than others.
Here are some sample photos that I took:
Is it true that they drive on the left? And, if so, why?
If you get the gig it would be most excellent, Mr. Excellent. 
Shegnasty describes them well – As he mentioned, St.T. is the more tourist-intensive of the group, as the capital also the most government-intensive (and Charlotte Amalie itself is the most traffic-intensive town: no space to build bypasses so everythig goes by surface street right down the middle). The advantage is that a very short ferry ride to St. John gets you away from it. If you’re at the Courts in St. Thomas you are most likely at a place almost smack in the middle of Charlotte Amalie. Very, very West Indian in overall culture, once you stap back from the heavy tourist/expat concentrations. If at some point you find yourself craving the environment of large urban conglomerations and mega-malls you can always have a short hop to my town 
of course, as he said, the USVI are well placed for short hops to other Carib destinations, starting with PR and the BVI .
Oh, and please DO look twice before crossing the street, they’re US territory but they never changed over from driving on the left, only they use US-standard cars so it’s very confusing the first time you ride down those roads. Seems when the US bought them from Denmark in 1917 the Danes still went on the left, and after that for most of the 20th Century the biggest level of contact and business other than the US per se (including truck driver immigration) was apparently with the British Caribbean, so it seems they never got around to changing it.
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; historic/shopping district, seen coming in from the harbor. Zoom perspective foreshortens misleadingly, the inland breadth of the town is greater than it appears from this shot, and this is barely a fraction if the town, that goes on for blocks and blocks to the left and right.
It’s kind of a misnomer.
I’ve heard that once you step away from the beaches and the touristy spots, the USVI is basically a big ghetto and that in St. Thomas you’re literally taking your life into your own hands being out at night. Can you speak to this claim, Shagnasty?
Thanks for the responses, all. Could anyone speak to this point? It’s rather important, as I would prefer to, you know, avoid dying.
I don’t think that is true. The culture isn’t the same as the mainland U.S. at all but I have never felt unsafe there and neither has my family after going there for 30+ years. The white ex-pat community tends to be at least middle class if not affluent. The majority black population has a Caribbean culture rather than the black culture seen in the U.S. They do tend to be poor but also very polite. There is some crime but the most I have ever seen is petty theft from a car trunk for beach blankets. I have hitchhiked plenty in the USVI with no problem whatsoever. Detroit, New Orleans, Miami, and parts of Los Angeles seem much more dangerous to me.
Thanks, Shagnasty!
My experience is almost 20 years old, so take it with a humongous grain of salt. Also, I lived on St. Croix which, as mentioned above, is a different animal than either St. Thomas or St. John. I have made multiple visits to those other islands, and will comment on those as well.
St. Croix had a pretty big divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” There were some extremely wealthy people with enormous houses on the hillsides. There was also a lot of poverty and near-poverty to be seen. This created some definite class/wealth-related tensions and occasionally outright hostility. In general, personal safety wasn’t too big an issue provided one was aware of one’s surroundings and knew where one could safely go (as an ex-pat) and where one couldn’t. OTOH, straying a block or two in the wrong direction in Christiansted was an almost guaranteed mugging or worse.
I never noticed quite that disparity on St. Thomas. Granted, I didn’t live there which might have made the difference. There were still noticeable differences in wealth, but I didn’t detect nearly so much discontent. I think it’s one of those places where the tourist business actually helps some. St. Croix had a fair amount of industry to provide jobs; St. Thomas is government- and tourist-dependent. If offered the opportunity to live and work there I would almost certainly take it. I’d have to think about St. Croix for a while.
St. John is absolutely gorgeous and very peaceful. There are only two towns, and neither is very big. It’s a pretty quick ferry ride from St. Thomas, and even for a day is a nice place to get away from the sometimes crowded Charlotte Amalie. The people were very friendly, and I always felt safe there.
Driving is on the left in left-hand-drive cars. It’ll take some getting used to, but I adapted pretty quickly. Passing is pretty hairy, as you essentially have to pull out into the on-coming lane to see if it’s safe to get in the on-coming lane.
Cost of living is a little high, as most things have to come from off-island. I don’t know where you live now; if NYC or LA you probably wouldn’t notice a difference. When I lived there rum was cheaper than milk.
If you will need a car, I would suggest buying a used, small Japanese car. Mitsubishi seemed to be the predominant brand, so I would expect it would be easy to find a mechanic. Hondas and Toyotas were pretty prevalent, too. For larger vehicles, small Ford and Mitsubishi trucks and Jeeps seemed to be the thing.
San Juan, PR is a relatively short flight away, and there are multiple airlines that fly that route. San Juan is the nearest large city (I guess Miami would be next closest) if you need a big city for something. American Airlines also flies all over the Caribbean out of San Juan, so if you want to see some other islands, you’d fly through there.
As I said, some of this is a bit dated, but from subsequent brief visits and reports from others, I’d guess it’s 80% accurate. Good luck! Sounds to me like an opportunity too good to pass up.
Out of curiosity, what didn’t you like about St. Croix? We have a three bedroom condo there in Coakley Bay right off of Buck Island near Christiansted and I love it although things can be a little too quiet at some points. I love the goat pastures and extremely remote places like Point Udall that aren’t that far away. I always try to meet ex-pats when I am there and I have had some interesting experiences. They tend to be really good people and I have never felt unsafe at all.
The law biz doesn’t exactly work the same as on the mainland. I assume you’re up for a federal clerkship, which is probably not dissimilar to what it’d be like in any other less urban District. But if I had to work at the Territorial Court, I’d pull my hair out. I had a case down there and the personal jurisdiction motion was sub judice for four years. Personal jurisdiction!
OTOH, on that case (products liability) I was there on an inspection tour of the allegedly damaged properties and we chartered a safari taxi to take us all around. St. Thomas is gorgeous. St. Croix didn’t impress me too much, but we were mostly in Christiansted. Maybe outside the city it’s nicer.
–Cliffy
We were in St. Kitts and Nevis in May and would return in a heartbeat. They’re very close to the USVI, as is St. Martin (Maarten) and others. The people were wonderful, engaging, polite, thrifty and industrious. We enjoyed interacting with them very much. While I’m sure there were a few, limited places on the island it would be foolish to go, overall that was not the case. I felt very comfortable there with my family. Prices were entirely reasonable, the diet was supurb, I definately could see living there as a very tenable proposition.
Virgin Gorda of the BVIs is suppossed to be stunning, as is Antigua, Anguilla, etc, etc, etc. You’d be living within easy reach of some truly wonderful places to visit. I hope this works out for you.
I guess, looking over what I wrote, I come off more negative than I intended. On the whole, I had a good experience on St. Croix. I’m going back at the end of August for a week’s diving, and I presume I will have a good time.
I probably should have thrown some more qualifiers in my post. I was there from Feb 1990 through the end of 1991 - right after Hurricane Hugo. I was working for a contractor rebuilding part of the oil refinery. I arrived on-island five months after Hugo, and the hospital was still operating out of National Guard tents set up in the parking lot. The power grid was still very shaky; the east half of the island lost power one night because a kite hit a line somewhere. I suspect that the tragedy of the storm combined with the sudden influx of hundreds, if not thousands, of mainlanders created some of the tensions I experienced.
I sincerely hope that things have gotten better. I, too, met some wonderful people while I was there, and it was a great learning experience for me. I’m very much looking forward to my up-coming trip, and I’ll be sure to comment on my most recent experiences.
I lived in St. Thomas back in the mid-70s. At that time, tourism was high, but there were enough truly funky bars for locals that were off the beaten path of Front Street. But I understand now it’s oppressive. I loved it there, and I’m not even a swimmer. Of course, I was drunk much of the time. Carnivale was on St. Thomas that year and was a huge amount of fun: lots of steel bands and dancing people and pot smoke hanging in the air like a fog and cheap rum&cokes with dynamite VI rum, which is far superior to PR rum, IMO.
Don’t listen to what the isles tell you. A lot of people have visited them.
They are far from virgins.