A couple of my favorite clients, Mike and Rebecca, are in the process of transitioning from working in an office in the States to working from St Croix.
This “power couple” has always loved the Caribbean and finally visited St Croix in 2014. They contacted me and said they only had a day or so to visit, but would like to look at some condos close to or on the water. I picked them up at the airport, buzzed them through town and got them what we now laughingly call a “drive by mojito” (I called ahead and the waiter met us on the road with three delicious mojitos!). They quickly fell in love with the island and with a nice condo I showed them. However, it was the people of St. Croix that really won them over. They couldn’t get over how nice everyone here is. “Everyone we met and every interaction we had was just one pleasant experience after another.”
After they purchased their condo, they started coming down to this beautiful little rock about every 6-8 weeks. Two years later, they bought a lot on the water in anticipation of building a home here.
When they returned to the island last October after the hurricanes, their decision to move here permanently was sealed, and they broke ground on their house!
“What was an already warm and welcoming island, was now family. People were working together to clear roads, check on people they hadn’t seen in a few days and just smiling a little more. Yes, a disaster like a hurricane will have a lot of different effects on people, but it can also bring them closer together.”
Mike and Rebecca own a technology consulting company that specializes in remote access strategies and secure access to applications and data from anywhere in the world.
Mike takes the lead in researching what technology to invest in and how to put together the best solutions for his company’s clients. Both vendor and customer facing, he spends a lot of time in meetings and phone calls, discussing potential solutions and planning for the next wave of technology.
I asked Mike what has been the biggest challenge or hurdle, from the standpoint of working from here. For Mike, the most important thing for his work is internet service. The speeds here are not as good as he’d like, and reliability can sometimes be an issue. Cell service at his condo doesn’t exist, but they have AT&T, so purchased a microcell to run calls through the internet connection. That is basically built in to cell phones now, so you don’t even need the extra device. In his new house, he is planning to aggregate three different internet connections, but that is really just because he can. If you have a good connection, you are really fine with just one.
In their “off time” Mike and Rebecca love to go to the beaches or take a hike. They have a couple of SUPs (stand up paddle boards), and enjoy a variety of island happenings such as Disco Bingo, crab races, and open mic night. There is always something going on! When they have guests, they always recommend a sunset sail with Lyric Sails – beautiful sunsets out west!
I asked them if they would you recommend this lifestyle to others considering a move/work from home here. Their advice is good and practical. They feel the first order of business is to “figure out if Island Life is for you (it’s not for everyone). Then, if you are a nice person who has some flexibility with their schedule, it can work!” There are time differences for us, even with the East coast, and they feel that being chained to a desk for 8 hours would be tough!
I asked them to list some “pros and cons” of working from home in St Croix:
“Pros: I get going earlier than most so I have more ‘quiet’ time to get things done in the morning. My technology is the same regardless of where I am in the world, so why not have this view! Your life isn’t all about ‘work’ (by that I mean you work with people all day then hang out afterwards). Not that it isn’t fun to do sometimes, but it is nice to sign out and then know you are done with that for the day.”
“Cons: The view! (I mean sometimes it is tough looking at that beautiful ocean and know that you have to get stuff done). Sometimes the power and internet aren’t so reliable. Nothing like being dropped from a call and having to jump in the car and drive until you get signal.”
When asked what they would do differently, knowing what they know now – Mike said, “Really not a lot. We have been very fortunate with where we are and our ability to work anywhere. I have worked remotely from a lot of places and none have been so fulfilling as St. Croix. Nothing like ending the day, grabbing a rum drink and heading to the pool.”