Couple finds their place in the sun
For years Jennie and Michael Ness of Butler have been sampling the warm beaches of the Caribbean. But this year they feel they have finally found their place in the sun, the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Jennie Ness works in human resources and Michael Ness is in construction management. They have a 15-year-old daughter, Sydney, who will be a junior at Butler High School this fall.
“We started traveling in 2010. Our first trip was to Puerto Rico. We've been to Jamaica and St. Maarten,” said Jennie Ness.
They were looking to escape the cold-weather months.
“My husband and I dislike Pennsylvania winter weather tremendously. It seems like it's getting worse,” she said.
But each of the islands they visited had drawbacks, she said, for instance the language. The Nesses didn't speak French or Spanish, and Jamaicans have their own dialect.
Ness said the family started visiting the Virgin Islands in 2011 and returned in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
The island group consists of the main islands of St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas.
“We've made four trips since January,” she said. The travel was needed to finalize the Nesses' buying a condominium at the Sapphire Beach Resort and Marina on the island of St. Thomas.
It wasn't a hard decision she said.
“St. Thomas is one of the most friendly islands and one of the most welcoming islands we have ever visited. Everyone is in a good mood all of the time,” she said. “The rat race that is our day-to-day existence is nonexistent there.”
An added attraction, she said, is that the language spoken is English and the currency is American dollars.
Ness said there are a few intriguing differences. “They drive on the left side of the road. The traffic isn't bad unless you are downtown in the capital of Charlotte Amalie.”
“Everything arrives by cargo ship: bread, diapers and cars,” she said. “Gasoline prices are pretty comparable.” St. Thomas has American store chains such as Kmart, Home Depot and Ace Hardware, as well as the local stores, she said.She said the condo the family purchased is studio sized with a beach directly outside the patio.The resort is on the east end of the island 35 miles from Charlotte Amalie where the cruise ships dock.“It was another reason to choose it,” she said.The islands normally host 3 million visitors a year, many of whom arrive on cruise ships.St. Thomas was the perfect antidote to yet-another cold and snow-filled Western Pennsylvania winter, she said.“The climate is an average of 80 to 85 degrees year round, there is sunshine year round and when it rains it's warm,” Ness said.The climate makes it perfect for the family's favorite activities.“We spend a lot of time relaxing on the beach. We go snorkeling and paddle boarding, ”she said. “There is amazing shopping which is duty free. And there are historic forts and sightseeing as well.”The islands are known for their white sand beaches, including Magens Bay and Trunk Bay.“The food is very international. There's any type of cuisine from American barbecue to West Indies cuisine,” Ness said. A special island delicacy is a warm water lobster.And they can also travel to the neighboring island of St. John four miles east of St. Thomas.St. John is only accessible by ferry, because there is no airport on the island.“It's a car barge,” Ness said. “You literally drive your vehicle onto the barge. You can only get there by water. We load our vehicle up and go to St. John for the day.”
“It is much more natural. Much of the island is preserved as a national forest. The population is much less,” she said.According to the U.S. National Park Service, in 1956, Laurance Rockefeller donated his extensive lands on the island to the service, under the condition that the lands had to be protected from future development.Ness said 60 percent of St. John is national park.“It's great to sightsee the wildlife and take in the natural beauty of the beaches and the landscape,” she said.She said they plan to go back to St. Thomas at least three times a year and rent the condo out the rest of the time, at least for now.She and her husband are contemplating a more permanent relocation in the future.“For now it will be a winter place until our daughter graduates from college and we can be more permanent residents. The slower pace of the island agrees with us. We would love to be able to slow down,” she said.“I went to school for hospitality management,” Ness said.Between that and her husband's construction management background, they could work part-time while living on St. Thomas.“We're planners. We've been planning and discussing this, and we're lucky that we're pretty much on the same page on this,” she said.<br>
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