Is St. Kitts and Nevis Safe to Live In?
Yes. The US State Department gives St. Kitts and Nevis a Level 1 rating, the lowest of its four.
The national rating is not really what people are asking about, though. When someone asks us this they have usually just read something online, and what they actually want to know is whether they should be worried about an apartment they are about to put a deposit on, sight unseen, from a few thousand miles away. That question has a better answer.
Two American universities send students here every year. Both inspect housing before they approve it.
One country, two different places to live
St. Kitts has Basseterre, the port and both universities. Most of the rental market sits in the south east, around Frigate Bay and the peninsula, where you can walk from your door to a beach, a bar, a mini-mart and a bus stop without crossing anything busier than Zenway Boulevard.
The rest of the island is villages. Sandy Point and Old Road to the west, Cayon and Conaree to the east. Cheaper, quieter, and you will want a car.
Nevis is smaller again. Charlestown is the only town on it, you arrive by ferry from Basseterre or on a short flight, and the change of pace is obvious about ten minutes after you step off.
On both islands the routine is the same. Lock the door. Leave nothing on the car seat. That is about the size of it.
What the security words on a listing mean
Listings here use a small vocabulary for security and the words are not interchangeable, though people read them as if they were.
Bars on windows and patio doors
A barrier on anything reachable from the ground. Ours go on the first two floors. Above that they are decoration. If a listing just says bars, ask which floors, because the answer is sometimes not the floor you would be living on.
Exterior security camera system
Cameras record. They do not intervene. They are useful the morning after, and enough to put off someone casually trying doors. Nobody is watching the feed at three in the morning.
Access-restricted main door
A key or code issued to tenants, so the common areas are closed to the street. This is the one that matters most. It is also the one most buildings skip.
Security guards
A person on site. Few buildings here have one and it costs more. Treat it as a premium, not a baseline.
What that looks like in a real building
The St. Christopher Club Gardens condos on Zenway Boulevard have cameras on the building, a main door that opens with a key or code, and bars on the first two floors. No guard.
We put that on the listing. Ask anyone showing you a building for the same four answers, and pay attention to what happens if they cannot give them.
Ask these before you sign
Most listings never answer them.
- Which floors have bars?
- Is the main door locked to the street, and is the code changed between tenants?
- Who else holds a key, and is the lock changed when a tenant moves out?
- Is the parking area lit? Is the walk from the car to the door lit?
- Do the cameras cover the entrance and parking, or only the lobby?
- Is there a working fire alarm?
- If it is rural, how far is the nearest neighbour?
A landlord who answers those quickly has thought about them before. That is most of what you are trying to find out.
More on the area itself in our Frigate Bay rentals guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is St. Kitts and Nevis safe to live in?
Yes. The federation has a Level 1 rating from the US State Department, the lowest of its four. Two American universities send students here every year and both approve housing before recommending it, which gives you a standard to hold any building to.
Is Nevis quieter than St. Kitts?
Much. Charlestown is the only town and everything outside it is rural. You reach St. Kitts by ferry or a short flight, so think about how many times a week you need to be in Basseterre before you commit to it.
Which areas do most newcomers live in?
On St. Kitts, the south east around Frigate Bay and the peninsula. It is walkable and sits on the university bus routes. Basseterre suits people who want to be in town. On Nevis, most settle in or near Charlestown. The villages on either island are cheaper and quieter if you have a car.
Do rental buildings here have security guards?
Few do. Most offer some mix of bars on the lower floors, exterior cameras and a main door restricted by key or code. Ask which of those a building has instead of accepting the word secure.
What security should I look for in a rental?
A main door restricted by key or code first. Then bars on the first two floors, cameras covering the entrance and parking, and lighting between the car and the door. For a rural property, ask how far the nearest neighbour is.
Are ground floor apartments less secure?
They are the ones to check properly. That is why bars go on the first two floors and not above. A ground floor unit with bars, a locked main door and lighting is fine. Without them, ask questions.
Is it safe for students?
Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Medicine and Health Sciences both approve housing. An approved building on a bus route is the simple choice, and it keeps you off the road late at night.
Weighing up a specific building? Ask us what it has.