Virgin Islands vs Jamaica (crime rate, transfer, neighborhoods)
U.S. TerritoriesPuerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, etc.
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Help, i thinking of moving to the Virgin Islands, or Jamaica just want to know if the transition between living in the states will be a lot of adjustment or a hard transition, which is a better place meaning cost of living, pay, night life ect.. NOT TRYING TO LIVE IN A OVER EXPENSIVE PLACE. I hear both places are beautiful and are great places to live depending on the neighborhoods, so i would like to know if anybody lived in Virgin Islands, or Jamaica and let me know the pros and cons bout them.. thanks for the help.
Hm both have their fair share of crime...Jamaica might have more. Virgin Islands IMO is more beautiful, but that's my own opinion. Both have nightlife... If you had money, I'd tell you to live in British Virgin Islands, but that's expensive.
Last edited by JMT; 05-31-2013 at 01:37 PM..
Reason: Thread moved to the proper forum.
Help, i thinking of moving to the Virgin Islands, or Jamaica just want to know if the transition between living in the states will be a lot of adjustment or a hard transition, which is a better place meaning cost of living, pay, night life ect.. NOT TRYING TO LIVE IN A OVER EXPENSIVE PLACE. I hear both places are beautiful and are great places to live depending on the neighborhoods, so i would like to know if anybody lived in Virgin Islands, or Jamaica and let me know the pros and cons bout them.. thanks for the help.
Well, the U.S. has the U.S. Virgin Islands as a territory, including St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas meaning you would still technically be living in the U.S., which could be a good thing for you. Jamaica has a pretty high crime rate outside of touristy, resort areas. Though it has improved in recent years, its cities have extremely high murder rates and its people are severely homophobic (have no idea if that's relevant to your life, but it's worth mentioning as a sign of their thinking and way of life). Based on the following article, it seems the USVI also have a high murder rate, but it also mentions the Caribbean in general is a pretty dangerous place, especially in more recent years. Just something to think about.
On the plus side, moving to the U.S. Virgin Islands means you wouldn't have to switch citizenship, because people living there are U.S. citizens, and you can vote in some U.S. elections, too. If I were you, I would move to the U.S. territory unless you were looking for a complete change. I would feel more comfortable in a place still partially controlled by the U.S. but is still totally different culturally and location-wise.
Yes, I think Jamaica is basically a pretty awful third-world country, while the VI is relatively benign. Besides the residence papers/citizenship/visa complications.
I lived in the VI, on St. Croix (and I assume you are talking USVI)....but your post is way too vague. What do you consider a good COL? What are you looking for in night life, and what age group are you in? What are you looking for in employment, or do you have a job that is in high demand and you can transfer within a company? What's your family situation (spouse, kids)? Which island are you looking at? Unless you are independently wealthy, mark St. John off your list of possibilities right now. The VI are expensive.
You couldn't pay me to live in Jamaica. There is not enough money. I was there for 2 weeks and could not WAIT to leave. The corruption there is way, way worse than anything my mind could even comprehend. At least in the VI you are under the protection of the American flag to whatever degree, although the islands have a system all their own.
It's beautiful there. It's expensive there. Island living is definitely not for everyone. We did not get rock fever, but we did get somewhat disillusioned with a system we never could adapt to. And it's not something that can be explained in 100 words or less, you have to experience it yourself. We simply could no longer afford to live there. I know people who have come and gone, and I know people who have moved there and are still there and have managed to adapt and love their lives. One thing you will definitely need is enormous amounts of patience. Enormous.
You'd have to be more specific - but I will say if this is some pie-in-the-sky dream you have, think once, twice, and a hundred times before you do it. Unless you are going with a suitcase, your deodorant and toothbrush, and enough money to get back home, this is one of those decisions that you cannot possibly overthink.
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