The U.S. Virgin Islands offers work opportunities on the three main Islands; St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John.  St. Thomas and St. John are fairly close, about a 15-35 minute ferry ride, depending on which port you leave from or enter on St. Thomas (one is Charlotte Amalie and the other is Red Hook).  St. Croix, however, is about 30 miles away and is easiest reached by a water plane. 

Jobs are mainly wait staff, scuba diving, construction, and day cruise boat staff, however, the recession has hit the tourism sector fairly hard, so currently there are less jobs than normal...on a good note, the annual holiday season (and great time to find a job) is from late September/ October all the way into March.  I would suggest trying to move down to the Caribbean right before peak tourism starts and then only plan on staying there for about 6 months the first time.   Obviously, when the tourists stop coming there will still be jobs but just not as many staff needed.  Plus, I'm not saying you would do this, but you can imagine how much diversion there is in the Islands, so invariably, there are quite a few people that move to the U.S. Virgin Islands, get a job, then have trouble making it into work on time or don't work that hard and end up getting fired; that's good for job seekers because positions open up throughout the tourist season but obviously can put the fired people in a difficult financial position...most pack up and move back to the states.  Also, don't move there and immediately buy a car or boat.  Once you live in the Islands for a few months you will start seeing some great deals (usually from the stuff the people bought that ended up getting fired or decide they've had enough of island living and are ready to move back to the states (impossible to believe but it happens alot!)

St. Thomas is a big Island in terms of population (about 55,000 residents), land, and, most importantly, tourism and commerce.  Charlotte Amalie is the central town and harbor that offers the most shopping, tourist related points of interest, and hotels...all clustered together and within walking distance.  The beaches and more resorts are mainly spread out along the east side of the Island facing, St. John, the British Virgin Islands, and the Atlantic.  Outside of Charlotte Amalie, you will have to either take a taxi or jump on one of the open air shuttle trucks that have regular stops around the Island.   Apartments for rent, at the time of writing, are between $700 and $1500.

St. John is the smallest Island of the three, with about 4,000 residents, but most of its land is National park and so there are some beautiful unspoiled views as well as a ton of hiking trails, some of which lead to otherwise remote beaches.  The main port of entry and a hub of shopping and eating activity is Cruz Bay (there is not an airport on the Island).  From Cruz Bay, the road branches out in 2 directions, one passes Cinnamon Bay and quite a few spectacular beaches and the other goes through the central, more mountainous part of the Island to Coral Bay.     

St. Croix is a beautiful Island and is the largest of the three in terms of land and probably population (about 58,000 residents).  Christiansted is the main town on the Island and offers great walking opportunities through the historic district.  The other main town is Frederiksted but offers very little employment.  Taxi vans follow a predefined route with set pricing and are the easiest ways to get around.    

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