Living in St Croix – Do You Have What It Takes?

The American Caribbean, the US Virgin Islands are diamonds among the blue waves. This week let’s focus on St. Croix, located about 40 miles south of St. Thomas, it seems to be left out at times. The spot light is now on you STX!

I love stories about people who decided to break the social norms and live a different life. This story by Gary Pierce and his wife did just that. The island hopped the Caribbean and lived on their sailboat. The kind of life that many fantasize about but think they can never pull it off.

If it’s something you want to do, quit making excuses and pull the trigger.  Life is too short. Get out there and live your dreams.

Living in St Croix

We experienced living in St Croix for 3 years. We loved every moment of it. You should have seen the view we had…of course we were anchored in Christiansted harbor. We were living on a sailboat.

How did we get ashore, simple we had a dinghy that got us from the boat to the shore. After the first year we bought an island car, a Honda that served us well. It took some getting used to driving on the left (or wrong) side of the street. When the US bought the Virgin Islands in 1917 from Denmark, they were driving that way…and folks I want to be far, far away if they ever decide to make the switch.

St Croix is the largest of the Virgin Islands and is a US territory…like Guam. What that means is you cannot vote for President, but you pay US taxes, and have all the rights and protection afforded US citizens living in the 50 states.

It is 28 miles by 7 miles;   you can easily drive all over the island in a day, making stops for shopping, eating, etc. But there is no rush; the locals sure are not in a hurry. You will find the locals warm and friendly with tourism a big part of the local economy.

Cruise ships call on St Croix. The cruise ship dock is in Frederiksted,the second largest city on St Croix. We enjoyed sharing stories with cruise ship passengers who were floored that we were living in St Croix. Hey it sure worked for us living on a sailboat 200 yards from the harbor walk. Restaurants, shops and all the historical sites within easy walking distance.

The church we attended was downtown, 2 blocks from the dinghy dock. The church was first built in 1740 and improved in 1834. It was complete with a governor’s box, marble floors and a beautiful mahogany altar. We enjoyed it and spent many a Sunday afternoon as guests of locals who attended church and lived there all year. We came to the mainland in the summer, hurricane season.

The climate is very nice year round, 80 during the day and 70 at night. The only heavy coat I saw in St Croix was in the freezer section of the big grocery store on island.

At close to 18 degrees north latitude we knew what Jimmy Buffett meant by changes in latitude changes in attitude. We enjoyed living in St Croix, you will too. Enjoy.

Gary Pierce is the webmaster of http://www.frugal-retirement-living.com he retired early at 49, still retired at 64. He has experience in lifestyles that are both fulfilling and frugal. More on St Croix It is 2009 and many are wondering if they can ever retire. Don’t give up until you check out this website. Enjoy.