Moving a family with seven children and three cats to a region of the world with a different culture takes courage and a leap of faith.

Samantha (“Sam”) and William (“Bill”) Jones, a couple in their 30s, were ready for a change and moved from Warrenton to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in February 2015. Their daughters — whose ages ranged from 1 to 12 — were allowed to take only what fit in their suitcases. Most of the family’s belongings had to stay behind, but less is needed, they soon learned, for their new life in the Caribbean.

The Jones family has adjusted to the island lifestyle. They have learned to live simpler than before. They enjoy outdoor activities and spend lots of time at beaches and tide pools. The girls have found sports teams and dance classes. Their life has changed for the better.

“The best thing that has happened since we moved here was my children being able to be outside and play,” Sam said in an email interview. “I love all the friends that we have made and how much we have learned about all the different Caribbean cultures.”

St. Croix is said to be the Virgin Islands’ hidden treasure, with a perfect combination of nature, history and adventure.

The clear, blue water, white beaches and sunshine make it a coveted travel destination. It is also known as one of the best diving locations in the world. Travel magazines praise the weather and culture, the food and friendly people.

The Joneses have learned to enjoy new meals, such as salted fish with mashed potatoes, curry chicken with vegetables, and goat. But the food is often expensive. They had to learn where to find certain foods for the best price. Sometimes they need to visit a few stores to be able to prepare a meal. Some foods are expensive — a gallon of milk, for example, can cost $5.99.

The U.S. Virgin Islands has only 50,000 residents. The island is similar to the continental U.S. but also has many differences. On top of the tropical climate, Crucian dialect and loud “soca” music, newcomers must get used to left-side traffic and a confusing address system, in which residential areas are “lumped” into estates.

A couple of years ago, Sam lived through a challenging season. She had returned to work at Starbucks at Warrenton’s Fred Meyer when her youngest child was six weeks old. Her husband, Bill, was working at ITT Technical Institute in Portland and could not return home daily.

Sam was taking care of the house and their children, including keeping up with their after-school activities. Without her mother-in-law helping with the younger ones, Sam would not have been able to keep up with life’s demands. All other family members lived elsewhere in Oregon or in Washington state, where Sam and Bill are originally from.

“All I wanted was to have my husband home every night,” Sam said. The children also missed their father.

Sam and Bill knew something had to change, but Bill wasn’t able to find work in his field closer to the North Coast.

It became clear that there weren’t many local options, and the couple started talking about moving away. Sam and Bill had taken a vacation to St. Croix in September 2014; they both loved the weather, the people and the relaxing island lifestyle. They knew it would be a great place to raise their family, Sam said.

Bill also noticed there was a need for people with computer skills. He decided to apply for a couple of jobs and was soon employed with Hide Tide Solutions. (Two years later ITT Tech closed all of its campuses and cut 8,000 jobs; had the Joneses stayed, one of them would have been Bill’s.)

When this opportunity opened up, Sam supported the idea. She had lived in St. Croix with her father when she was younger. It was only for a short time, but she always knew she would be back.

St. Croix is a small island, only 22.7 miles long, and the widest area is less than 8 miles across. It is the largest of the four U.S. Virgin Islands (the others are St. Thomas, St. John and Water Island). St. Croix is located just east of Puerto Rico, which is less than 50 miles away.

All of these areas were impacted when Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm, passed through the area in September 2017, only two weeks after Hurricane Irma had damaged many Caribbean islands. Before Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, the storm’s outer eyewall hit the Virgin Islands hard, affecting the whole region.

Survivors speak of the time before Maria, and the time after. The hurricane impacted everyone. From morning to evening, life had changed for survivors. St. Croix looked like a war zone. Many homes were destroyed, powerlines were down, poles and trees blocked roads.

Most of the island lost electricity, and a curfew was ordered for safety reasons. The residents could only be outside from noon to 4 p.m. There were long lines for gas, ice, food and water. For the first two weeks, the Jones family had to get water from a cistern. They were among the people who lived 105 days without electricity.

“It’s been a crazy ride after this hurricane,” Sam said. “There are so many things I have lived without that I don’t feel I need anymore.”

When the hurricane warnings were issued, the Jones family started preparing to minimize damage. They put all their belongings, including mattresses, into plastic bags and stored the bags in a closet and bathroom. They evacuated for a safer location where they stayed overnight. Sam said she could not sleep that night.

She watched movies on her iPad to distract herself from the howling wind outside.

“The hardest part of Hurricane Maria was the unknown of the first day,” Bill remembered. “Being away from our home was difficult because we had no idea what we would return to, if anything.”

When morning finally came, they could see Maria’s destruction.

“Everything went from being green to brown,” Sam said. The lush vegetation had been wiped out. Trees and power lines were down. Buildings were destroyed throughout the area.

“I am still amazed how our own home, a small mobile home, survived with just a little damage from the forceful winds,” Sam said. “Many of our neighbors were not that lucky.”

Public buildings, including schools, were also badly damaged. When the students were able to return to school, classes were arranged into different facilities. Sam said they sent a couple of the girls to school in the mornings, and then one for afternoon classes. This was the new normal after the hurricane. The Jones girls were happy to attend sports practices again after a long break.

The recovery for the Caribbean islands will continue for a long time. The tourists will find their way back to the area and help build the economy. The biggest attractions have not changed; the clear, blue water, sandy beaches and warm sun are still the same. Life continues in these tropical islands. Surviving the recent storms has only developed stronger bonds between friends and families.

Sam and Bill Jones and their children continue their lives in St. Croix, and they appreciate finally being together as a family — and living simpler lives on an island they now call home.

Annamaria Morrill is a freelance writer living in Warrenton. Before moving to the North Coast in 1996, she lived in Finland.