Hey Guys! I am a student applying for the May term at Ross and I was wondering if someone could possibly respond with some insight on details for life in St. Kitts as a Ross student
Things such as:
How do we stay in contact with family/friends with no cell service
Sending care packages and shipping costs
How do we get our clothes there not costing an arm and a leg
What do they do in case of a hurricane/ what does Ross do for students
Normal Prices on Flights and when students typically go home for visits
Prices on Grocery Store things such as (Food, bathing products such as shampoo) I heard there's no peanut butter!? lol
Normal prices on rent and electric once you have to move from student housing
Should you invest in an island car or are there bikes to get too and from
Is it hard to bring your dog over from the U.S and is it hard to find a place to live with them?
Crime and how to prevent that
Is there a gym?
1) Most of us use apps that work over wifi, which you'll have on campus/dorms/wherever you live off campus. My fiancé and I personally use Facebook messenger and lots and lots of facetiming. Other people use apps like Whatsapp, Viber, Skype, etc. Its really not hard to stay in touch. If you have friends/family that are tech challenged, there are free phones in the student union that call from a New Jersey number so it's free for both parties.
2) Not sure if you mean sending from the island or sending from the US. It's extremely costly to send packages to St Kitts from the states. Like $60US for a small box (plus whatever the contents inside cost!) Plus depending on the contents inside, customs may charge you money just to pick the package up. I haven't sent anything other than mail from the island so I can't provide info on that.
3) I brought the bare minimum of clothes my first semester, and I packed efficiently. I brought everything with me that I needed in 2 large suitcases, a carryon, and a bookbag. Vaccuum sealed bags become your friend! Then when I went home over break, I brought a lot more clothes back with me. Now that I'm getting ready to leave the island soon, I'm regretting bringing so many clothes down here lol
4) You'll be educated about hurricane preparedness during orientation. But truth be told St. Kitts hasn't been hit by a major hurrican in over a decade. If you live off campus in an area that is low laying or don't feel safe, there are people that volunteer to house students in the event of a hurricane...you'd most likely go to higher ground or the dorms.
5)Prices really depend on where you live, if you're willing to have a layover, etc. I always buy my tickets round trip and from St. Kitts to Ohio and back I've paid anywhere from $800-$1200. The lower end I normally ended up having to stay overnight in a hotel for a layover, the higher end got me home in one day. You just have to keep your eyes peeled for when flights go on sale but honestly, American Airlines (the major airline from the US to St. Kitts) knows when students leave and come back to the island and they inflate prices accordingly. It really sucks but there's nothing you can do about it. Set up price alerts on Kayak or other flight monitoring websites that will tell you when prices drop for the days you want to travel. Most people only go home during the breaks at the end of the semester, so in April, August, and December. There's just no other time to do it during the semester, although some people go home during mid semester break (which is only ONE day).
6) Food and bathing products are more expensive. Pretty much everything is expensive, in general the cost of living is a lot higher here. Keep in mind that most things are imported. You can find some produce/meat for closer to normal prices at the farmer's markets (both on campus and in town) but yeah everything is probably $1-3 dollars more expensive here. Shampoo and personal hygiene items I especially try and bring back with me when I go home. And of course there is peanut butter here...I wouldn't be able to survive without it! Honestly most things you would find at the grocery store in the states you can find here, it's just going to be more expensive and you may have to go to three grocery stores before you find it.
7) Rent I've seen anywhere from $500USD/month up to like $1200/month. It really depends what kind of amenities you want, what's included (electric, cable, water, etc) and proximity to campus. Electric = super expensive. Be prepared for that...fans are your friend. I live on the ground floor and have acclimated to sleeping with no AC and just an overhead fan but I think I may be an exeption. My roomies on the top floor absolutely need the AC on at night but they also have dogs with long hair they need to think of. A lot of people will run their AC for an hour before bed with their door closed and then turn it off before they fall asleep. Most of the AC here are window units, no central air.
8)Definitely invest in a car. There are a few bikers, but really I would only recommend it if you are a very experienced biker. The driving here is erratic, roads have potholes a lot of times, it rains a lot...you really just want to have a reliable car. Some people do get mopeds/scooters and my old neighbor even drove an ATV to school
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9) Nope, not hard to bring your dog to the island and definitely not hard to find a place to live with them. Most landlords that are "Ross approved" are fully aware their tenants are vet students and expect you to have animals.
10) As far as crime...don't be stupid and you'll be fine. Seriously. It's just like the US, there is crime everywhere. A lot of the incident reports we receive say things like "student left their car door unlocked" or "student left window unlocked overnight" etc. You'd think being in a professional program more people would have common sense but apparently not! There are safer areas and less safe areas, and areas that are targeted more than others. Of course there are the rare incidents that cannot be avoided at all because there are just a handful of crappy people here but for the most part if you're smart and know what to look out for it'll be ok.
11) Yes there is a gym! Maybe by the time you get here they'll have the AC fixed
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If you have any other questions feel free to post them or even just PM me. I've lived here for over 2 years now so I've got island living down to a science
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