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What is it like to live in the US Virgin Islands having grown up in the mainland US?Just got this question, after rushing in to avoid being arrested for curfew violation. I live on St. Croix, and Irma just passed yesterday. Moving from Ohio, you’d think I had little experience with hurricanes, but I did 20 years in the Navy, most of which was spent in Norfolk, Va. I’ve seen a few there. So, my first point is that, when you live on the mainland, you can evacuate to avoid hurricanes. The Virgin Islands are all very tiny pieces of land. If you have a storm bearing down on you, you hunker down in your house, and pray your preps were adequate.We didn’t take much of a hit, but St. Thomas and St. John did, and it’s only a matter of time for any island here. Just look up Hugo.Island living is always a challenge for anyone who isn’t a native islander. There are a lot of differences, some subtle, some glaring. There are a lot of positives and negatives to consider, too.Most of what I know is St. Croix. I’ve been here over two years, literally a vacation for some people, and I haven’t seen much of St. Thomas or St. John yet. Crucian culture is unique, though, and stands out from the other islands in that they’ve lost most of their “native” populations due to high costs and tourismI’ll start off with the good stuff (having already issued my hurricane doom and gloom)…Beaches here are some of the best in the world. St. John is mostly covered by national preserve, including the surrounding waters. The beaches there are so pristine that they are often used in getaway advertising. All USVI beaches are public, as hotels can’t restrict non guests from using them, but there are some that are inaccessible unless you go through a resort or hotel. St. Croix has dozens, some of which have all the modern conveniences, while others are simply a sandy stretch. Some of our beaches have certain restrictions, as turtles do lay eggs on them.There is a lively bar and music scene here. St. Thomas is probably a lot more energetic, but St. Croix is more serene. We have no nightclubs, so dancing and partying are a private affair, but most of our restaurants and bars feature local and mainland musicians, with a wide array of styles, from local, reggae, rock and country. Some places also have bingo nights, or an art event, such as “wine and watercolors”.Culture here, like I said, is unique. There is a very palpable memory of slavery, as many of the “natives” (I use quotes since most of the generational families are simply descended from either imported slaves or European immigrants. The true natives are all but extinct) are descended from slaves, and the history of that period colors every aspect of life here. However, far from being a bad thing, it also means that much of the island’s Afro-Caribbean culture is alive and well. There are several resorts that offer a local culture night, often with “Moko Jumbies” (costumed performers on stilts), local music, and food.History here is everywhere. On St. Croix alone, there are well over a hundred sugar mills, stone towers supporting a wind powered sugar cane mill. Some of these old structures have even been built into homes. St. Croix boasts two forts, one in Christiansted, and the other in Fredriksted, each with a park or beach. In Fredriksted, you can take a horseback ride and see the remains of slave huts in the middle of the rain forest.St. Croix has several ecosystems, including a desert (East end), and a rain forest (West end). Buck Island, off the Northeast shore, is famous for diving and exploration.Mostly sunny weather. Summers can be hot (92 degrees), while winters are milder (82 degrees). I never wear long pants, and always sandals when not working. Beach every Sunday, rain or shine. I got tired of Ohio winters, and this was the place to go.Local foods are incredible. I mostly mean the wide variety of seafood and produce which you can find at local markets on certain days, usually Saturday. St. Croix has a few, and the one I go to always has fresh fish and seasonal fruits, as well as locally grown vegetables. Some of the items are exotic, while others are quite familiar. I can usually find fresh lobster, crab and mahi at local street vendors most days, too. Local lobster doesn’t have claws, and is what you find at most of the restaurants offering it.Some of the bad things…Prices for anything not local is high. On St. Croix, our prices for food and goods is better than some cities, but on the other two islands, it gets to be more expensive. Gas prices tend to be higher, but more stable, since we get shipments in quantity, so the price remains whatever was paid for in the last shipment. Beef is about 20 or 30 percent higher, while pork is reasonable. Chicken is about the same, unless it’s the frozen variety, in which case, it can be as much as twice or three times what you’d pay on the mainland. Our primary non foods stores are K-Marts, and that company has us hostage to whatever they want to sell us, and at whatever price. Some stuff is okay, while others are outrageous.Shipping anything here is expensive. I’m not talking about sending your household goods here, but rather, anything from Amazon, Walmart, or other online store. We don’t pay sales taxes here, but the shipping charges are higher. Amazon Prime doesn’t ship for free, and you have to join Walmart’s plan for getting free shipping (which costs about 50 dollars annually). Some EBay vendors ship free internationally, though. The U.S. Postal service ships anything here for the same cost as in the mainland, but that still is a bit pricey. Private shipping companies, such as UPS, consider the islands as international, and charge accordingly. Fortunately, they usually have an agreement with the U.S. Postal service, but it still means higher charges. Additionally, there are items which the Post Office won’t ship, such as batteries, perfumes, or breakable containers, so Amazon can’t sell you quite a few items.Politics here are corrupt. The politicians make more money than nearly all other comparable positions in the States, and we have more territorial representatives per capita. At the same time, we are on the brink of insolvency, and government employees fear the very real possibility of not getting a paycheck, while the retirement system is in shambles. The governor just instituted a “Sin Tax”, which has increased the prices of things like beer and liquor, as well as condos and other things. Booze used to be really cheap, but it’s about what you’d pay on the mainland, anymore.Housing is expensive. If you aren’t independently wealthy, living on St. John is out of reach. St. Thomas is only a bit cheaper, while St. Croix is the cheapest. I pay 500 dollars per month for a one bedroom apartment, which overlooks Christiansted Bay. I have no air conditioning, but the breeze is wonderful. My apartment is very cheap compared to some. Average rent on St. Croix is more like 800 to 1000 dollars, with some places going up to 5000 per month. Average house prices on St. Croix are around the 250,000 mark, with some in the millions of dollars. I’ve been looking for a house for some time, and the cheapest I’ve found is around 130,000 dollars for a major fixer upper. Some condos are cheap, but you have to finance through their associations, and the condo fees can be quite pricey.Electricity and city provided water are expensive, too. My house in Ohio had full house air conditioning, and my kids would leave lights and computers on all the time. My electricity bill was usually around 125 a month, and that was considered high. A house here that has one room air conditioned, with everything off except when absolutely needed usually runs around the 300 to 400 dollar range. Many houses have some solar or wind power, but the equipment and installation is expensive in itself. Most places have a cistern for rain water, but the islands get very little rain during the year. Water conservation is a must.While our roads are better than some other islands, there are lots of them that are impassable by anything other than a Jeep or SUV.Unless you’re coming here with a job in hand, or you’re independently wealthy, jobs are scarce, and hard to find. Add to this the fact that most employers will not hire anyone who hasn’t been here for at least 6 months or more. Too often, people come down, finally find a job, then decide the island life isn’t to their liking. Employers want someone who is here for the long haul. Also, many places won’t hire anyone not “native”. They have to place the jobs with the labor department, but they'll have already hired someone, usually a friend or relation, before you can get your resume to them.Now that I’ve probably scared you off, just remember that island life is always a challenge. It’s not like living in Ohio, or Virginia, or California. People move at their own pace (often called “island time”), and they expect you to, too. But, they are generally helpful, and genuinely friendly. The standard greeting is “Good Morning”, “Good Afternoon”, or “Good Night/Evening”. They say this walking into the store, a waiting room, the Post Office, or just on the street.Every place has something different from the last, and the USVI are no different. Do plenty of research before moving, but don’t be put off by the negatives.Edit 12-02-2017: this answer came back up after an upvote, and seems completely out of date. 2 weeks after being softened up by hurricane Irma, St. Croix was ddirectly hit by hurricane Maria, which also devastated Puerto Rico. As I sit here, having been without power for going on 3 months, I see the daily news focused almost exclusively on our territorial neighbor. Our Governor has promised to have 90% of homes up on power by Christmas, but the pace of repairs in my area is glacial, and I'm beginning to doubt we'll fall in that timeline.Edit 01–16–2018: This came up again with an upvote, so I’ll let you know how things are going. I got power back a week before Christmas, so I was able to enjoy a meal cooked in the oven. While I have power, the crews are still out doing repairs, and many of the people in more remote areas are still without. That said, the visible signs of the hurricane have decreased to just the blue roof tarps dotting the landscape. The plant life has rebounded with a vengeance, as has the tourist population. However, the power crews and FEMA workers are taking up most of the hotel rooms, so tourists are making do with Air BNB and short term rentals. Things are improving, though.Edit 10–4–2020: Another upvote, and another update. Like everyone else in the world, we are currently in the heat of the pandemic. However, the USVI has the dubious award for highest incidences of Covid per capita. There’s a couple of reasons for this, least of which is the anti mask movement (there are a few antimaskers, but even they wear masks). St. Croix has a large refinery in the process of being refurbished after being closed for nearly a decade. Most of the workers are imported in from states like Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida, where the virus is very common. The refinery has most of their workers on lockdown, only allowed to go between work and quarters, which limits the spread. St. Thomas depends heavily on cruise ships and tourism. As soon as the governor lifted the restrictions, boats and tourists began pouring in, bringing new cases and spreading the virus to the local population. They’ve had a harder time of keeping it contained.As for other changes, the price of everything (with the odd exception of gasoline) have risen quite a bit. My building has a new owner, and my rent shot up to $800/month. Since then, he had the apartment below mine refurbished, and I moved into that one. Half the space, but with new fixtures, floors, and air conditioning, $1000/month. My old apartment was also refurbished as soon as I moved out, turned into a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment. He’s apparently asking $2500/month now.Hurricane repairs are ongoing. One big change is that the power company is having new composite poles put in to replace the old wooden ones. These are supposed to be hurricane proof. Yet, consistent power is still elusive as a relatively minor storm still causes power outages.Politically, the old governor became unpopular especially after imposing the Sin Tax. That’s been revoked, and we have a new governor. However, there have been some controversies with him concerning business contracts with a company his daughter belongs to. Additionally, the territorial senators passes or invoked some odd law that allowed them to get a 15k raise without having a vote on it, and was supposed to happen on the sly. They make 100k/year now, while most of the residents here make less than 25k/Year. The government is still on the verge of insolvency, and has a hard time paying its bills, forcing the utilities to increase their charges to make up for the loss.Edit 1–7–2021 - Apparently this gets about 1 upvote a year now, so I’ll provide a quick update. Just got past the holidays, and the virus has abated in the territory while still surging in the states. The Governor has required that anyone coming to the islands MUST have a clean COVID test prior to getting on the plane. Certain classes of bars are shut down again.I’m anxious to get the vaccine, while many of our front line people (healthcare, fire, police, teachers, politicians, etc…) are refusing it.BP (British Petroleum) has signaled they want out of Limetree (the refinery), so the future of the island’s biggest employer is uncertain. Not that a lot of residents would mind it leaving, since it’s the reason housing costs are so high right now, as well as all the temporary workers.