Thanks for the responses - I have already booked a taxi - the main reason was not so much the getting to and from the airport - I live in Marigot and park on the street - which is no problem, but a little concerned about leaving the car parked for 3 weeks - hence thought it would be better if I could park it at the airport. However, looks like I am just going to have to take my chances. Again
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Hi All, I will be leaving the island for 3 weeks and had planned on parking at PJIA, only to discover that they do not have long term parking yet. The standard parking is $1 per half hour - so as you can imagine that is not a viable option. Someone has said to park there and then "lose" my ticket and just pay the lost ticket fee. Anyone have any ideas or experience in this regard
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well at the moment the road from the airport towards Simpson Bay is a bit of a nightmare in the late afternoon. It can take upwards of an hour from the airport to the bridge. You can reach Orient Beach the "long way" - take the road through Maho - Mullet Bay - Cupecoy and onwards through the Terres Basses. The Rue de Sandy Ground from about Nettle Bay to Marigot can also be quite cong
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Hi Diane, Obviously your son is not looking around much. I have recently moved to St Martin after 16 months in the USA. Whilst grocery prices are unquestionably more than the US, I have found that particularly on the Dutch side it is almost cheaper to eat out than grocery shop. The prices you are talking about do seem high, but there are so many places that offer amazing value for money on the
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Hi Sandra, Shengen and EU are two different bodies. The UK is a full memeber of the EU and as such any EU member has the right to live and work in any other EU state - including France and ergo including the French side of St Martin. The Schengen zone is a zone of countries for which there is a common immigration policy, so that citizens of the Schengen zone countries can move freely from
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Basically walk to the end of the beach - Frair's Bay Beach Club side not Kali's side. There you will find a very poorly defined path that leads up a hill, you really don't even recognize it as a path - continue along there 10 - 15 minutes till you hit Happy Bay. If you are not sure, just ask some on Friar's Bay beach.
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Hi Gilda, that is quite a long list. If you look at the last post on page 2 there is a list I posted a few weeks back. Look at the item and then the first price is the US$ price for that product at Grande Marche - it has many of the items on your list. Regards, Warwick
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Hi Deborah, Thanks for the response - I will go make a turn there and see what's going on - thanks again. Warwick
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Hello and Bonjour to you all. Does anyone know if there is anywhere on the island that offers pottery classes? Or even just a potters workshop where one can do pottery? Thanks for any advice. W
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day today and the year ahead is even better! Happy vibes heading your way from the French side
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Thanks Elaine - I will give one of them a try!
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Elaine! Thanks for your comment above (agree about the long life milk....but when I deseprately need milk for my morning cup it comes in hand at times!) - just a quick question on the gas prices being a lot cheaper on the French side, PLEASE tell me where you get your gas. So far I have found on the Dutch side I pay US$1.00 a litre and on the French side E0.85 a litre which is about US$1.25.
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I have Caribserve - and a very clear line of sight to the tower and pay for the highest speed (without fixed IP) and am getting terrible levels - last test with speedtest was : ping 24ms - Download 0.72mb/s - upload 0.24mb/s - and that was one of the better tests - far from their supposed delivery levels!
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Hi Valerie, Will leave others to comment on the other questions - but buying wine you can do at the supermarket with the groceries. All the larger supermarkets here have extensive wine sections. In the French supermarkets you gets some great value French wines - starting as low as 1.95E (some obviously taste better than others!!)
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ok so the columns did not hold Basically next to each product the first price is the Grande Marche price, the second is the Match Euro price and the last is the Match converted price: i.e. 1lt long life milk costs $2.05 at Grande March and 1.80E at Match which equates to $2.68 at yesterday's exchange rate!
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

I see a lot of questions on here about grocery prices and a lot of comments about the French side being more epensive etc. So JUST FOR FUN, I walked around Match and picked out some completely random items and compared the prices to Le Grande Marche. I was surprised by how big some of the differences were. Some notes: Unless a specific brand is named it was basically for the cheapest product
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Also depends on where in Terres Basses you are staying - if you are staying closer to Marigot side then just after the Sandy Ground bridge there is the US Supermarket (I think that is the name) - on the left as you travel towards Marigot just after the bridge. The prices are a bit higher than Grande Marche and the selection not as wide - but it may be a lot closer depending where you are in Terre
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Thanks for the report Norm - as a newbie to the island it has given me a lot of suggestions to go try
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Hi Pauline, Well as a EU passport holder I only really had a choice of 4 islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Barths and St Martin. Out of the 4 St Martin has the best connections to the US (and my business is still US based) and has about the best infrastructure and a nice cosmopolitan mix of cultures. To top it all off there are long time family friends from South Africa that have been livin
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Hi Vicki, Thanks for both your posts. I am perfectly well aware that I can hardly "know" the island after a 2 day visit, and hence the title of my thread being "first impressions" On the subject of poverty, I am not a naive westerner who has never ventured outside of a pristine Beverly Hills type environment. I have spent much of my life traveling through all corners o
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

I have just returned from a weekend on St Martin which will soon be my new home, and thought I would share my first impressions. Having never been to the Caribbean before, I can't honestly say what I was expecting, but I do know that what I experienced was not whatever it was I was expecting The very first impression was from the air and I defy anyone not to be enchanted by that unbe
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Philippe and William - I am so sorry to hear of the news. My very warmest wishes to both of you, and may Bobby Lee rest in peace.
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Thanks Barbara - as usual I have left everything to the last minute and will be in SXM tomorrow. So I think for the first visit I will just jump in a car and drive around and try and get an idea first hand of the areas. I have also been interested in reading in some of the other posts here about people who "officially" reside on the French side but actually rent on the Dutch side - mi
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Hello All et Bonjour a tous! It is only a few weeks now before I relocate to St Martin. This coming Friday I will arrive for a few days to look for an apartment on the French side - so I guess Philippe you are going to be the best person for advice. Are there areas that I should rather avoid when looking for an apartment? Rates in Cul de Sac seem to be quite a lot lower than in other areas - i
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Any news Philippe?
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I have spoken to the Hotel de la Collectivite today and told by several people the same thing. As a holder of an EU passport I do not even need to register I can simply just come and live on the island (French side at least) - in the words of the last official I spoke to "deposez vos valises et profitez de St Martin" All seems just too easy - I'm not complaining though!
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Thanks Philippe - that is a great help - I will do more research on Caribserve. Re the Guadeloupe number that is also great as my current phone service includes unlimited calls to Guadeloupe landlines within the fixed rate price per month Merci de nouveau. W
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Hi All, I have been trying to research internet providers on the island and getting a lot of confusing information. Can anyone suggest who would be the best service provider. It seems that there are different providers on the French and Dutch sides - I would be particularly interested in who would be the best for the French side. And also if anyone knows - the telephone numbers on the
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Salut Philippe, Merci pour ton aide. OK I will hire a car when I get there and go in search - basically, as far as I know, as an EU citizen I need to go and register on arrival (within a couple of weeks or so) as I intend to live and possibly work on the island. All a little bit last minute, but that is due to factors out of my control A bientot! Warwick
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Hello to all / Salut a tous I will shortly be moving to St Martin - the French side, as I am on an EU passport. I have been advised that I need to register soon after arrival - can anyone please advise some more information on where and what is involved? I assume it will be in Marigot. Any assistance welcome! Thank you / merci Warwick
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