Up and Out

Within the next month I continued to stay in touch with many contacts I made down in St John while continuing my comfortable corporate job.  It was Friday, October 22nd when I decided to take the plunge into the deep end.  I worked up the guts to do it, I accepted a job in St John, put my two weeks’ notice in, and booked a one-way ticket that afternoon.  I claimed it was an early birthday gift for myself. (Note to readers: my bday is Oct. 24^th).  

I took a job working at a newly opened Condo style Resort doing Reservations/Concierge work.  After attempting to negotiate for better pay, I was rather unsuccessful, I took a substantial pay cut and agreed to jump into warm, yet shark infested Caribbean waters.  I then set up an afternoon meeting with my boss, can you say awkward, but he was very understanding.  I really had a pretty great job and when I announced to him that I was leaving he was shocked but supported my decision to live out one of my many dreams.  

For the next month or so I started even more intense research and piling clothes all over trying to get an idea what I needed to pack.  I also spent a lot of time telling people about my plan.  I would say the majority of the people around my age who were also working could not understand why I would give up a good job to move to an Island.  On the other end, people say, 15 or more years older congratulated me and said they wished they would have done something like that and now is the only time it is possible.  I sided with the older, wiser folk, well at least in my head, but my mind was already made up and there was no turning back.  For the next month or so I went around visiting as many people as I could as well as starting my packing.  

I moved down Nov. 12^th, 2010 with two suitcases full of clothes, a pillow, and sheets.  I booked the cheapest one-way ticket I could, meaning I had two terribly long layovers and nearly 11 hours later I made it to St Thomas airport (instead of the usual 6-8 hour trip). Within two days I was up and working and crashing in an out of order room at the resort.  I can’t complain seeing I ended up being there nearly a month before I got a place with a friend I had met.  Decent income to near poverty in no time, this is the one place I have ever been where you do not make money relative to the cost of living.

The first month my diet really consisted of peanut butter sandwiches, cereal ($7/box and no milk at $8/gallon), microwave chicken pot pies, Ritz crackers, $0.95 microwave burritos and occasionally bar food.  The upside, beaches and happy hours whenever I had the chance no matter what ‘season’.  Beaches are free and Woody’s Happy hour is $1 well drinks, ahhh heaven.

-Mike