Driving on the Left
Welcome to life in the left lane! Here in the U.S. Virgin Islands we drive on the left side of the road. Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it quickly because most of the roads are two lanes. For the most part, traffic travels at a slow to moderate pace. The honk of a horn on St. Croix is almost always a ‘hello’ or an ‘I am giving you the right-of-way to pull out’.
Crucian Etiquette
Courtesy and basic decency are important on St. Croix. You will find most people will greet you with a “good morning”, “good afternoon”, or “goodnight” – so you should do the same.
While the island is pretty laid back, be sure to wear a shirt (or bathing suit cover-up) and shoes while walking around town or in restaurants and shops. Island dress may be casual, but bathing suits, short shorts, no shirt and/or shirts that are unbuttoned are frowned upon while walking around town or in stores.
Cell Phone Service
AT&T (now Liberty in the USVI) and T-Mobile are the only major cell phone service providers, as well as a few regional carriers. If you are a Verizon customer, you may find that your signal and service are limited unless you are in the main areas of Christiansted.
History & Crucians
St. Croix has been ruled under seven different flags over it’s history, and was home to Taino, Arawak and Carib indigenous peoples. It has been colonized by Spain, England, the Dutch, France, the Knights of Malta, Denmark, and the United States.
People from St. Croix are called Crucians, sometimes spelled ‘Cruzan’. Mostly everyone speaks English, however the Crucians do have a slightly modified version of English, also called Crucian. Linguistically, Crucian can be defined as Creole and is spoken throughout the West Indies with accents varying from island to island.