"Take half the things you think you need and double the $"

I read that advice on vimovingcenter.com and it rings very true. Oliver and I were at odds with what to pack to come down here - I wanted to bring a suitcase with clothes and nothing else. Oliver wanted to pack a lot to make sure we had what we needed when we needed it. I think the ideal is somewhere in the middle. Many things costs double, sometimes triple the amount they would on the mainland, so I am happy we did ship many things down.

First, we had to coordinate what we would do with the things we would not bring down (Skis, Bikes, Winter Jackets, etc) . We ended up purging a lot of our "stuff" in a yard sale, getting a pod & using attic space for the rest, leaving us with a "LCL" - less than a container load to ship to St. John. Oliver rented a U-haul and brought our stuff packed in cardboard and plastic boxes to Tropical Shipping in Newark. They put it on 3 pallets, shrink wrapped everything, trucked it down to West Palm and then delivered it by ship directly to St John (No car trip by barge over to St Thomas necessary!). I was expecting a crazy time picking everything up (I imagined the DMV sloth in Zootopia), but so far everyone has been super helpful & speedy!

Have hammock, will travel

Things I am glad we packed:

• First Aid & Medicine

• Bug Spray & Suntan lotion (Reef-Friendly)

• Bathroom supplies (body wash, shampoo, razors, etc)

• Our electronics (monitors, printers) and wifi network (Google Wifi)

• Pool & Beach Toys

• One box of toys per kid

• Re-usable shopping bags

• Dog food & Dog Care items

• Plastic boxes (cardboard boxes do not work well with bugs)

• Re-usable travel water bottles

• Our Hammock swing (it is a favorite of ours)

Things we could have done with a little less of:

• Clothes - we have too much for everyone and no space to put it.

• Sheets & Towels (there are a ton in our rental)

What I wish we packed/brought:

• Ice packs for kids lunch boxes - I can't seem to find them or ship them here!

• Basic Kitchen supplies (measuring cup, general bulk items you need around the kitchen)

• Note: Amazon does not ship the same things to St. John that they do to the mainland..this is a bummer for a lot of things (like above) that I can't seem to find here.

What we bought:

• Water cooler (we can't drink the water - it is cistern rain-water) & 5 gallon jugs - this is the most affordable clean water solution (and the plastic jugs are re-fillable)

• Battery back-up when power goes out (it has gone out 15 hours in the past 7 days)

• Ant Traps & Citronella - summer in VI means lots of creepy-crawlers

• plus a million other little things with trips to various small shops to do it

I remember reading that things are expensive here, but also thinking "they aren't comparing that to NYC prices!" Well, they are..and groceries and things are double as expensive as on the mainland - especially the name brands you are used to. A small grocery shopping trip, being price conscious, can still easily cost you at $300. Cereal is $8, Gallon of Milk $11 and so on. I am pretty sure the cost of eating out every night is the same as making dinner at home.

This list isn't exhaustive..but it shows that the best laid plans will still have flaws. We are finding our way and are almost completely settled in and unpacked..but there has been lots of trips for things we forgot & lots of creative storage for things we brought in excess.

#movingtothecaribbean #virginislandfamilylife #movedintovi