Meet Brian, Laura, Nordi and Sugar Weller. They’re moving to St. Croix from Minneapolis this month. Laura and Nordi (a beagle/shepherd mix rescue) hail from Minnesota, but Brian is originally from Alaska and Sugar (a black lab mix) was adopted in Georgia.

    

Like so many St. Croix transplants, the Weller’s are leaving the mainland to slow down and enjoy life. “We’re not sad about leaving traffic jams, road construction and human noise behind.” Brian doesn’t like winter, while Laura doesn’t mind it, but both are excited for the adventure.

We are really looking forward to Sunday Fundays! We currently have a GO GO GO schedule/city/life and having a day to just relax is huge. Laura would probably say feeding a pig beer is a hoot and Mamma Wanna for me is a 2 for 1, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Sandy Point Turtle hatching and simply beach lounging will become hobbies for us!

The couple visited St. Croix for the first time in November 2017, when I met them, showed them a few plots of land, and they soon-after became landowners! During their trip they fell in love with the beauty of the island and the friendly Fredriksted people.

Their plans to move to St. Croix were escalated a bit when Brian landed his dream job of 10 years — to work at a hotel on a tropical island. Upon arrival, he will officially be the new Hotel Manager at The Fred. With obvious excitement, he describes his new place of employment as, “an inclusive, community-driven, earth-conscience hotel that brings a South Beach flare and mixes it with the already wonderful Crucian vibe that surrounds the island.”

Since their timeline was moved up, Brian, Laura and their 4-legged family will rent while they build their dream home on St. Croix. They’ve got the plans drawn up and are waiting until they’re on-island at the end of  August to apply for permits and start building.

In the meantime, they’ve been preparing for their move. Sorting through all of their things, they say it’s been hard deciding what to bring and what not. And as much as it stinks going through everything, they both agree it’s been very liberating getting rid of stuff. “We’re living in a nearly empty house and I don’t notice the things we truly do not need, but I didn’t want to give up,” says Brian. I think they’ll settle into island living just fine.

Thanks to a referral from Kathy and Randy Tiddark, owners of Caribbean Breeze Apartments and Vacation Homes, I met the Weller’s and knew just the place to show them based on their wishes. We had some good discussion about pros and cons between various plots and they ultimately selected the Butler Bay property. Our team is grateful to Brian for his kind words saying, “Kristi was also very helpful with the 1,000 questions we had. They both showed a great understanding of who we are as people instead of ‘clients’.”

Brian’s advice for someone considering buying land on St. Croix:

Remember why you’re buying island property. Think about what is important to you and dive in. You must trust the process too! It’s a bit different than we had experienced in the past, so taking a chill pill was needed. Don’t be afraid to offer what you WANT to spend and, obviously, use the Coldwell Banker team!