We are two almost retired married for 32 years people from Texas. I served 14 years in the US Air Force, my wife will tell you that she had the harder duty. As usual, she is right. The USAF took us all over the world, at times we lived in Germany, Japan, Korea, Turkey, Alaska and more than a few US states. As our three boys got older we decided to get out of the Air Force and move back to Central Texas. We began sailing when we were first married, the lifetime boat count is around 7 or 8 or so, the latest most recently sunk during Hurricane Irma in St Martin. The last two were Charter Boats that we owned and used for a month or so a year. Everything worked out for the most part on those, it’s a great way to use a boat you can’t afford to rent for long periods. And we were able to use other peoples Charter boats to see most of the Caribbean in the 15 years we had the boats. Our initial retirement plan was to keep the Texas house and keep a boat somewhere in the Caribbean to use during the Winter. Unfortunately a realization that 50 lb anchors attached to 30 lbs of chain don’t pull themselves up led us to recognize our upcoming feeble years might not support a yachting lifestyle. Added to this, our female half was very busily watching “House Hunters International” and wondering why she couldn’t have a house on the beach. I’m also fairly adept at building various things, so my little honey wondered why I couldn’t be the very one to build her beach house. All of this wondering on her part led to a google search, which narrowed the choice to St John or Water Island, USVI. You might ask why the US Virgin Islands versus some of the more hip destinations. A lot has to do with property laws and taxes, other with accessibility to the US. For example, Bequia is a great island just south of St Vincent, right next to Mustique. Very nice, but it takes a minimum of two days to get there from the US. The British Virgin Islands are beautiful, the people great, almost no crime at all. But to even buy property there you have to get a “Belonger’s Permit” first (at $80k a pop) and then at purchase are charged a 20% “Stamp Tax” on the purchase price. Added to this, annual property taxes approach Texas rates, about 2% of appraised value/year. Puerto Rico was an option, but they have kind of weird land laws from the Spanish days. How about St Martin or some of the other former French places? Taxes and some other considerations knocked those out. So the search was on, at least on the female side of our relationship!
Cata Rose in the BVI before her demise in St Martin