Retired Texas couple now living in Valdez Alaska,

Hello Mytcar34.

Welcome to Expat.com!

Hope you will soon get some responses.

Aurélie

For a realtor - Maria at Blue Reef Realty is fantastic.

Vehicle Purchase - Yes, you can buy a vehicle ... the toughest part will be bringing your money into the country.  You will need to set up an account here and wire transfer the money down (which you have to do in person at your home bank) or bring bank drafts, which can take up to 6 weeks to clear (even thought the money is already out of your account) ... can you sense a bit of frustration with the banking system :-) .  The manager of the car dealership helped to expedite the clearing of our drafts, but it still took 3 weeks.

Crime Rate - we live about 5 minutes north of Castries (the capital city), sandwiched between the beach and the highway and other than some petty theft (garden hoses & garden chairs) we haven't had any issues.  The new hoses and chairs get brought in at night now, and we have a big dog which is a great deterrant.  There are some issues with drug related violence, but it is generally isolated between the police and those groups. 

Hope this helps,
Danielle

Thanks so much for the info we have been in contact with Blue Reef Realty about long term rentals. Also were looking at our banking options. We still need to check on car rentals and a million other small details.We are currently working in Valdez Alaska but hopefully will finish up early next summer. We have had a difficult time getting information on every day life{ grocery shopping etc.}thanks for your reply, i am sure we will have many more questions.

For rental cars look at Drive-a-matic ... that is who we recommend to all our guests (we run a small guesthouse). 

Grocery shopping is a breeze.  There is an IGA chain called Super J (7 or 8 stores), a variation of a Sam's Club called Mega J and another big grocery store called GL Foods.  Lots of US & British goods and between the 2 main stores you should find most things, even Starbucks coffee.  There are also many fresh produce stands and huts.

We moved here from a small city at the start of the Alaska Highway, so not so far from yourself.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask, or if you are on Facebook look up The Boiled Frog Guesthouse and you can see some snapshots of island living.

Cheers,
Danielle

Thanks so very much for the info.  will definately get on face book. You are helping tremendously answering our questions, if it is ok we will stay in contact.