Experiencing my First Hurricane
At about midnight on Wed., Oct. 15, as I lay in my bed snuggling with my trembling cat, I realized that I was "officially" a virgin islander now - complete with a Category 3 hurricane experience under my belt. Except we don't wear belts here. Too hot.
All in all, it was an interesting and somewhat frightening experience. The most frightening thing was not knowing what to expect. Now I know. Next time won't be so unnerving.
Preparations commenced on Wed. afternoon in the pouring rain. I gathered together a few single friends and we went about the task of picking up all "loose stuff" around the house. You know, those fallen coconuts, potted plants, grills, patio furniture, stuff like that. LOTS of stuff like that. My house looked like a storage center with all of that stuff inside!
My ex and a new and wonderful friend/neighbor (thanks Ken) put up my storm shutters. That took about 3 - 4 hours and they were completely and wretchedly soaked from head to toe. Fortunately, they were not cold. It was a balmy 78 degrees.
My girlfriend and I then went about putting away all "loose objects" in the house, in case we did get a busted out window and wind got in. Man, I have a LOT of knick knacks. My next task is going to be getting rid of some of that "stuff!" I'm definitely now in a better frame of mind to SIMPLIFY!
We had hot coffee and soup for the soaked fellows - and after all the preparations were made - we had more to eat and settled in to talking and hanging out. About 8:00 p.m. the power went out - and the winds picked up.
At around 10:00 p.m., our friend Ken ventured out and went back to his place (just down the driveway). I went to bed and snuggled with my cat - who was really freaking out. My girlfriend turned in to read by flashlight. My ex stayed on the couch listening to the radio. I lay there listening to the wind and praying for our safety and the safety of all our friends. I couldn't imagine what the seas must look like- and I shuddered to think about what was happening to the boats in the harbor.
Although I was in bed - I was keeping up with the reports on my I-Phone - and learned that the storm had intensified and picked up speed - and was headed for the east end of the island rather than the west. I breathed a little sigh of relief for my condo, which is at waters' edge on the west end. At around 11:30 - it sounded like a freight train was passing over - and cell service was lost. The lightening and thunder were constant and our front door started to rattle noisily.
Amazingly, I must have fallen asleep shortly after that, and when I awoke around 2:00 a.m., it was really quiet. We made it! What a relief!
By 6:00 a.m., everyone was up surveying the damage. We had a couple of very large trees down - both just a few feet from our house. Whew! The streets were littered with debris, downed lines, fallen trees. My girlfriend was anxious to get back to her place to survey the damage there - but we couldn't get more than a quarter mile from my house! We also learned that there was a curfew till 11:00 a.m. to allow the emergency workers to do their thing. And kudos to them - they have done an outstanding job of clearing the roads and getting the power and services restored quickly. When we did get out (around noon on Thurs.) - much of the debris had been cleared and the roads were relatively clear. I was and continue to be impressed!
All in all, it was bad, but it could have been so much worse. I believe about 30 boats were lost (my sympathies to you boat owners...) and who knows when our power, internet, and phones will be fully restored - especially on the hard hit east end. But what matters is, we all made it. And, we are coming together as a community to clean up and rebuild.
And the Brew Pub and Coconuts on the Beach are serving. The sun is shining and it's a beautiful day here in paradise. And there's no place on this earth I'd rather be.
I can help make your dreams come true of life on a Caribbean Island. Visit my web site and request my Relocation Package or Guide to Retirement in the Virgin Islands.
Kim Lucas, REALTOR
www.retireinthevi.com
www.kimlucasvi.com
kim@coldwellbankervi.com
340-626-3758
Staying fit in Paradise is easy as a day at the beach. Swimming, snorkeling, diving, sailing and kayaking offer health benefits with all that fun in the sun and water.
Ai Chi is an option for those who prefer to get their exercise in the pool and my personal fave, yoga at the beach (all levels welcome) is available if you prefer to get your fitness on the sand. I've seen power walkers at sunset in Frederiksted Town; there are runners (with and without their dogs) moving along the main roads early in the morning long before the sun reaches its peak. If you are into more organized activities, we have martial arts and fitness centers, team sports, golf, and much more. I've listed some information below on places that offer ways to stay active and healthy in your new island home.
I'll help make your dreams come true here in St. Croix.
Kim Lucas, REALTOR
www.retireinstcroix.com
www.kimlucasvi.com
kim@coldwellbankervi.com
340-626-3758
I've just finished a visit to my daughter, in Australia, and offer some reflections about our two islands and lifestyles. I live in St Croix, in the US Virgin islands. My little island is 27 miles long and 8 miles wide. It is home to lovely white sand beaches, a sub-tropical rainforest, verdant hills and valleys, and colorful flora and fauna.
My daughter lives on the Gold Coast in Australia. Her island is a bit bigger than mine! In fact, everything there is bigger! The beaches are extremely wide. The ocean is very cold and the waves are huge! The trees - even the same ones that we have in St Croix - are taller. The rainforest is much older, and the vistas from the Australian rainforest (the Hinterlands) are just huge and gorgeous. The bugs and critters are bigger there, too, and more deadly! I had the chills at the Brisbane museum looking at the creatures that live among the Aussies! About all we have to worry about in St Croix are centipedes - and they look pretty tame compared to the Australian centipedes!
Housing
My daugther lives in one of those neighborhoods with rows and rows of houses that all look pretty much the same. I can't leave the house for fear I will never find it again! And these row houses are not inexpensive, either. The average cost of a home there is mid 300's to mid 400's (and right now the dollar is about .8 of the Australian dollar). That's just a basic home - nothing fancy. In fact, the architecture and design features here are very plain, and the lots very small. There are subdivisions springing up all over the place - which are, in my opinion, very unattractive and unappealing.
On my little island, St. Croix, there are not very many subdivisions, and there are no new ones! The house prices are fairly comparable, but for the same price in St Croix, you're going to get an old place that needs quite a bit of work. One big difference is that in St Croix you are never more than 30 minutes away from anything. But in Australia, the suburbs are miles away from shopping, beaches, and other amenities. Gas prices are about 4 times as high as in St Croix.
Costs
They are taking lots of steps to "go green" in Australia. Hotels and homes are constructed with energy efficiency in mind. Already their power bills are much lower than ours in St. Croix.
Food and drinks are much more expensive there. A beer (and by the way, the beer in Australia is just outstanding) will cost you about $7 a pint. In St Croix, happy hour prices are anywhere from $1 - $3 for a beer (but nowhere near as good). A mixed drink or glass of wine there will set you back about $10 - in St. Croix, about half of that. Meals, with the difference in the dollar, are about the same, although we did go to a steak place and the hamburgers were $25. Ouch. Grocery store prices are probably comparable as well.
Weather
The weather in St Croix is always warm. September is typically the hottest with the least amount of breeze (unless there's a hurricane), and winters are just perfect. On the Gold Coast, the seasons are, of course, opposite from ours. It's pretty hot there in "our" winter - but fairly chilly in their winter (our summer). I visited in October and the weather was interesting. Some days were very hot, and other days quite chilly.
Lifestyle
My conclusion is that life is harder on the Gold Coast of Australia. It's expensive; there is a lot of driving; jobs are hard to come by and you typically have to travel long distances to get to them; and there are lots of critters on land and sea to be wary of.
The pace, lifestyle, and ease of my little island of St Croix suits me much better. Although Australia does have something that St Croix does not have - and that's my beautiful daughter and her wonderful man, Andy. For that reason, I will certainly be leaving a little piece of my heart "down under" - and am already thinking of my next trip to visit the Gold Coast.
Meanwhile, contact me with all your questions and concerns about living and buying real estate in St. Croix. Be sure and sign up to receive your free Relocation Package and learn about our island.
Kim Lucas, REALTOR
www.retireinstcroix.com
www.kimlucasvi.com
340-626-3758
kim@coldwellbankervi.com
For those of you wondering what's been happening in the St. Croix real estate market in the last 6 months, here are some stats you might find interesting:
HOMES:
62 home sales (closings) in last six months. Average sales price $472,702; median sales price $365,000. Average difference sales price to list price - $68,452. Average DOM = 238.
About a quarter of these homes were under $200,000. About a third were between $200,000 - $400,000. Nearly 10% were in the $400,000 - $500,000 range. Twenty percent were between half a million and a million, and nearly 10% were over one million.
Currently, there are 224 houses on the market. Only 10 % are under $200,000 - and many of these are just "slabs" or partial constructions. About a third are between $200,000 and half a million, and another third are between half a million and a million. That leaves about one-fourth of the homes listed at a million or more. There is a real need for nice, decent "low end" homes here, but if you're in the market for a high end home - there's plenty to choose from!
CONDOS:
56 condos closed in the last six months. Average sales price $222,691; median sales price $176,250. Average difference sales price to list price - $21,539. Average DOM = 217.
Most of the condos sold (nearly two thirds) were under $200,000. About 30 percent were between $200,000 - $400,000.
Currently, there are 162 condos on the market. about 42% of those are under $200,000. There are no new condo complexes on the market, and the least expensive condo here i
LAND:
241 land sales in last YEAR. Average sales price $154,295; median sales price $53,000. Average difference sales price to list price - $25,569. Average DOM = 307.
Nearly 75% of the sales were parcels under $100,000, and about 70% were an acre or less. Slightly over 20% of the sales were between one hundred and five hundred thousand. Four percent of the sales were over half a million, and over 15 acres.
There are some great buying opportunities now in St. Croix. Our economy is strong and improving, and there will always be demand for housing in Paradise. Contact me for details, my Relocation or Retirement Packages. And Developers - we need you! Email me for my Developer's Package too.
Kim Lucas, REALTOR
kim@coldwellbankervi.com
340-626-3758
www.kimlucasvi.com
www.retireinthevi.com
Alexander Hamilton began his career on St Croix in a shipping firm owned by a New Yorker. The wealth and social status achieved by the prominent families on the island appealed to colonial families in Philadelphia, NY and Charleston. During the American Revolution, the products of the islands and close family connections produced natural support for America, and the neutrality and free port status of the Danish Virgins were important financial assets to the colonies.
In the early 1800's, our economic picture began to dim, as the newly invented processing of the beet sugar crop began to cut into the market for cane sugar. In 1848, the slaves of St Croix marched in Frederiksted and demanded emancipation. Governor General Peter von Scholten made a proclamation from the walls of fort Frederik that freed all the slaves on July 3, 1848 (way ahead of the continental US!), but his actions were considered illegal by the Danish government. In 1848 labor was regulated by a colonial labor law that was deemed oppressive; thirty years later, it culminated in a violent riot that led to the burning and destruction of homes and plantations - which we refer to as "de Fire Burn."
Emancipation did not solve the island's underlying economic problems, and our population fell significantly. Then, in 1871, the US attempted to buy the islands, but were not successful until 1917, when the islands were purchased for $25 million from Denmark. The free port status of our islands was retained in the sale treaty and are still in effect today.
The islands were first administered by the US Navy, with the Dept. of the Interior assuming jurisdiction in 1931. The Organic Act provided local government in 1936, and a revision to that act in 1954 provided a three-branch territorial government. Our first elected governor was Melvin Evans, in 1970, and our only "highway" here on the island was named in his honor.
St. Croix is a fascinating and exciting place to live. Visit my web site for Things to Do in St. Croix, contact me for a free copy of my extensive Relocation Package, or general real estate information.
Kim Lucas, REALTOR
340-626-3758
www.kimlucasvi.com
www.retireinthevi.com
kim@coldwellbankervi.com
I love to help investors and fellow Caribbean Souls find property in St. Croix, and work hard for my Island mates who want to sell their property.
I am a very fortunate lady who was able to make my dream of living in the Caribbean a reality a couple of years ago. I did quite a bit of research and visited numerous islands before making St. Croix my home. It was a great choice, and I love it! If you are considering a tropical island for a second home, or a full time residence, I would be happy to share what I've learned about the places I've been, and also tell you a lot about this beautiful place.
Most of my career was spent as a business woman, not a real estate salesperson. I started and ran a very successful consulting firm in Atlanta, Ga., which I sold in 2003. I have always had a passion for real estate and have numerous real estate investments of my own (most of them now here in St. Croix). I am well educated and have good business savvy, friendly and easy to work with. I have been a licensed real estate agent since 2003 and thorougly enjoy helping others find their piece of paradise here.
You can count on me to be straightforward, honest, hard working, reliable, dependable, and attentive to your needs.
If you are considering selling your property, you will find that I will keep you informed of all activity regarding your property, and will aggressively market your property in creative as well as standard ways. Of course, my affiliation with Coldwell Banker Land de-Wilde gives you the absolute MOST exposure to your property. And I can help you stage your property so that it will show well and sell fast.
I help make dreams come true.
Kim Lucas
Investing in St. Croix
I believe our island is ripe for growth and anticipate that prices are going to continue to accelerate. I have wonderful software at my disposal that can help evaluate property for its investment potential, and can share what information I have to help investors make informed and educated choices for their investment dollars. Whether you are looking for rental income, land to hold, "fixer uppers" to fix and flip, or a second home to rent out until you retire, I understand the market and can help guide you to a well informed decision.
Finding a Home Here
There are so many things to think about if you are truly considering moving here permanently or even part time. I have done a lot of research and am recently transplanted enough (lived here 2 years) that I can help you think through this decision. One client said that I "answered questions before he had to ask them." You can count on me to be honest - and I will gladly share my opinions about life here.
Selling a Home Here
First of all, if you're considering selling property here, you'd be wise to list with a Coldwell Banker Land de-Wilde agent. Our website gets more exposure than any other, and we really do excel in marketing properties - we have such a HUGE and well respected company behind us - we are not reinventing the wheel when we go to market your property. Of course, your property will be listed on our MLS system, which can (and will) be viewed by potential buyers all over the world. I am a very reliable and dependable person, and will honor your wishes about how you want your property to be shown. I will keep you updated and informed after all showings (for homes and condos). We will work as a team to determine the best price to ask and I will work hard to help you achieve the sale of your home in the timeframe that you want.
"Kim did an outstanding job for us. Not only did she help us find the property, but she assisted us at every turn to resolve any issues holding up the sale. She put us in touch with good professionals in the area. We cannot say enough good things about her." Ron & Wendy
"We would recommend you to anyone. Thanks for being honest, kind, and fun to be with." Bobbie and Scott
"It was a pleasure working with you." Mike
"Thank you so much for showing us the properties and all of the information you gave us. You have been more helpful than I could imagine. You answered most of my questions without me even asking. I appreciate that. I can tell you that you have earned our trust. I want you to know that all of your knowledge transfer was not wasted, and I appreciated all of it....." Mike
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