Speed Dating

The difference between moving here as opposed to when we moved to downtown Philadelphia is how small the community here is. Our first two years in Philly, we inched our way to making friends and creating a 'Philadelphia family'. St. Thomas has been quite the opposite experience and it's one of the best things about living on an island in my opinion.

The great things about settling into island life is that the majority of people are so friendly and looking to befriend others easily. Unlike a large city, St. Thomas is a bustling small town. Everyone shops at the same grocery stores and eats at the same restaurants. After you see the same person out at a coffee shop, you just go ahead and introduce yourself and instantly become friends. Most of our closest friends on the island, we met one Friday night at a restaurant. It wasn't creepy at all after five minutes a stranger asked for my name and added me on facebook. The next week we were meeting up like old friends.

Skip forward six months after our move to the island and we feel as we did three to four years into what we had in Philadelphia because of the genuine and inviting friendships that we've made. It's speed dating friending it and I find it has worked out great. Island transplants are usually without family and so their is this strong sense of community presence that is always lending a hand and stretching out open arms. We have mainly stuck it out with the small families that we have met, parents with babies &/or toddlers. It's great to be in the same boat as friends.