Everyone has their own unique St. Croix story, though there’s usually a common theme of escaping the rat race on the mainland. Bob and Michele’s starts the same way, but is a fascinating near 20-year tale.

They came down in 1998 to see the island and check out real estate. David showed them 20+ houses and they made an offer that week! They returned to New Jersey to sell all of their belongings. Then moved their small family down to the Caribbean — including a 5-month-old baby and two dogs!

Bob describes their move as “starting a new life on the island away from the corporate crush they had endured for years.” They both found jobs that were different than what they had in the States. For instance, Bob went from being a tech company executive to a teacher and technology director for a school.

Bob and Michele were drawn to St. Croix because they wanted to remain in the U.S. In comparing St. Croix to the other U.S. Virgin Islands, they felt that St. Thomas and St. John were more tourist-ey and St. John was just too small.

St. Croix was a place where we thought we could raise our family and enjoy island life. We had visited other Caribbean islands and liked them — particularly the British Virgin Islands, but St Croix was unspoiled by development and had everything we needed.

They owned a large sailboat and Bob sailed it down from New York right after they moved. Later they bought a smaller boat to make weekly trips to Buck Island.

We went to Buck Island every Sunday and anchored off the beach. It was a social event for lots of residents. We became friends with people from all walks of life. On the island it did not matter how much money you had or did not have. People all had the shared experience of moving there from somewhere else and living the island life.

The house they bought was on the East End and had fantastic ocean views, great breezes and plenty of room for their dogs. Bob describes it as, “the start of the island life. Water from a cistern, a generator for the frequent power outages, a pool, and a well built concrete home that withstood three hurricanes while we owned it.”

They lived on St. Croix for 11 years, until needing to return to the States for health reasons. A few years ago, they purchased a parcel of land to build, but ultimately decided not to. Last year David sold them a condo which they have renovated and it’s now their second home. “Even though our permanent home now is in NC our hearts never left St. Croix. We try to spend as much time as possible on the island.”

We asked Bob if he had any advice for someone considering moving and/or buying real estate on St. Croix. Here’s what he had to say:

Understand that island homes are very different that state-side homes. Don’t expect to have a bathroom for every bedroom, a garage, a basement, tons of storage, run your AC 24/7, etc. Island life is simple and the homes are simple. Homes directly on the ocean get a lot of salt while homes on hills have better views and breezes – it all depends on your taste. You can always drive to a beach. We preferred the East Dnd of the island where many of our friends lived, but we had friends out West and I worked there.

I’m so glad to call Bob and Michele friends and it makes me happy to know they feel the same. Bob shared, “David not only showed us the right properties, he introduced us to lots of people and became a true friend.”

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