Cinnamon would be about it! There is a new campground on Water Island but this would be logistically difficult for you since you're thinking of working. Getting back and forth to St Thomas every day (highly unlikely you'd find any sort of employment opportunity on Water Island) on the limited private ferry schedule would be a chore.

You should check out the relocation forum on this site (upper right this page, "Visit Relocation Message Board") which will provide you with a wealth of information related to living and working here. A regular poster on this site is Ron and his Villa Fairview on St Thomas is worth looking at insofar as short term is concerned. The website is www.villafairview.com and he's an excellent host with a great reputation. Hope this helps. Cheers!

Baresite camping is also offered at Vie's on the east end of STJ. The facilities are pretty primitive. It's a wonderful location if that's what you're looking for, but Cinnamon has many more amenities.

The Casa apartments on Water Island had 4 vacancies at the beginning of June. Friends of mind who lived on WI/The Casas for 4 years decided to move back on their sailboat. Other friends are now living (and building their house) in Estate Dorthea. And, others have found other accomodations on WI for their growing families. Most folks that live on Water Island depend on the ferry (there's more economical ferry pass program for full time residents) or have their own dinghy/boat. If your dinghy is 12ft or under you can tie up at the Crown Bay Marina dinghy dock or Krum Bay I've heard also has dinghy dock now. There's contact name & phone number on the WI bulletin board if you're interested in checking out the Casa or Water Island to see if it's something you might be interested.

I did what you guys are doing in November (I'm still here). Just moved down and found a place. Camping and trying to work is going to be very difficult for you as most campsites are pretty remote. When you get to St. John, go straight off the ferry one block to a place called Connections. This is the hub of Cruz Bay/St John and has computers, mail boxes, etc. They also have a big billboard in there for people lookinf for roommates, people to live on boats, etc. That is your best chance to find something. Also, when I first moved here, I lived in a place about 10 minutes walking distance from downtown and loved it. Write me at [email protected] and I'll give you his phone number. He rents rooms in his house. I lived in the pool house for 3 months for $500 a month. It sounds like exactly what you guys are looking for. Also, consider St. Thomas. While I myself prefer STJ, STT has a lot more work, which will be important if you guys are coming down in the low season. Good luck, you won't regret it!

Something else I just thought of for you guys is volunteering in exchange for a place to stay. Go to the VIERS (Virgin Islands Environmental Research Station) website and see what they have to offer. I've also heard Maho and Cinnamon sometimes offer something similar (not sure). VIERS will do a program where you work for ~20 hours a week in exchange for accomodations, food, etc. Be forewarned though, it's in the middle of nowhere, so getting in and out of there can be a hike. If you're looking at a map, it's in the south-east(ish) corner of St. John in Lameshur bay - south of Corral Bay and Hurricane Hole.