In case you wonder what precipitated this move...
Mike's career advancement in Phoenix wasn't showing much potential, so a
couple of years ago we started thinking about the possibility of moving
somewhere else. If we were going to leave the very nice life we had in Arizona,
we wanted to find something exciting and adventurous. When a good job opened
up in the U.S. Virgin Islands, we discussed it and made our decision as a
family. Aside from some normal uncertainties, and the hassles associated with any move, we're all excited about going to live in the
beautiful Caribbean.
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Mike is now a Major, assigned to the U.S. Virgin Islands Air National Guard, 285th Civil Engineering Squadron. It is a full-time active duty position, with a 3 year tour length, and hopefully extending at least another three years after that.
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| You can see St. Croix just to the right and slightly lower than Puerto Rico. It has roughly 50,000 people and is just under 28 miles long by 7 miles wide. |
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| This is a wider view, but shows a better perspective of the Caribbean in relation to the U.S. mainland. |
Mike moved over to St Croix in early Feb, and is living in a
nice condo right on the beach. He says he likes it very much there, and with a "feel-good" view like this (below), it's no wonder. From his balcony he can watch the big cruise ships that come in.
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| The condo owner has a kayak he lets Mike use. This is looking back at the condos. |
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| Looking back from the water, toward Frederiksted. |
Mike signed a 3 year lease on a very nice house right across the street from the beach, and he'll be able to move in and receive our household shipment a few weeks before the kids and I get there, on Jun 7th. We'll be able to walk our kayaks right from the house to the water.
The house has a large guest room, so I hope you'll all start saving for airfare. I've seen round trips for under $500 each in the summer, but in the peak tourist season (winter) they're well over $1,000 each. The airport code is STX. We look forward to seeing you on the island!
