What's it like to live on an island?

[neil]

- what's day to day life really like. Tell us the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I grew up on Staten Island. I had to take a bus, a ferry, and a subway to high school every day. On yet another island!. Scarred me for life, I tell ya.

 

[tedtim]

Only thing that would keep us from moving there is the lack of civilized things, like McDonalds ....

ROFLMAO

Civilized, but they don't have any Grey Poupon!

 

[scubatexastony]

For those of you employed in the dive industry who do, or have in the past, lived and worked on an island - what's day to day life really like. Tell us the good, the bad, and the ugly.

......so day to day life is a beach! At least if I get off work early enough, then it would be night to night, or weekend to weekend....

an there are Micky D's and Burger Kings and KFCs here too.....dang, cinemas too!

Super Markets are always crowded 'cept early mornings, selections somewhat dependent on what gets ordered/ loaded on the ships. Good housing IS expensive, gas prices are a dollar/liter. Very few street signs, so learning the landmarks takes a bit, where to shop to get the 'local' deals, comes with time, 7 months so far.

But I/we are just here for a couple years and it's back home.... I don't think island life fits us though YMMV, shoot; paradise varies... :14:

 

[MarineVet32935]

You sure save money on gas expenses.

 

[drbill]

Bill, you were living there when I was! we could be talking about wild boars, all kinds of stuff. There are certain things that small islands share in common though, don't you think? It was good in some ways for me, the everyone knowing everything, it kept me "in check".

I were... and I am!

Wild boars nearly gone, goats are (except for five radio collared females). I was the guy who oversaw the removal of the ferals from 1995-2000 when I was V.P. of the Catalina Conservancy.

Funny we never met. Well, not so funny since I spent most of my time either at Middle Ranch in the interior or up at UCSB getting my doctorate 1990-1995, and while I was V.P. of the Conservancy I was working 60-80 hr weeks. Only got a little diving in back then.

Life on an island can be very different depending on where on the island one lives. I've lived in three places on Catalina. Toyon Bay could become very isolated when the rains caused the road to be unpassable. I only got into town once a week to shop back then. However it was a private school so I had my work to keep me busy and there were about 100 people there. Middle Ranch was also isolated, but on one of the main roads. I was there with my GF Janet, and it drove me crazy during the day since most residents there worked during the day and spent time with their families at night. No real social life.

I greatly prefer the "big city" of Avalon (~4,-5,000). More social opportunities, decent diving, a grocery store down the street that I can shop at daily.

However, the lack of anonymity can be a problem in such small towns (or the more remote sites). Having been here 37 years, most people know me (or think they do) with the exception of the younger transients in the tourist industry. I enjoy stopping to chat frequently... unless I'm in a hurry. Walking the 100 yards through our post office arcade has taken as long as 2 hours due to such chats.

And then there are the wierdos. Years ago my GF would get late night calls from an anonymous caller who would even describe our sexual positions that night in detail. Keep in mind that a person could only see into my bedroom by standing on the washer or dryer. That kind of strangeness I don't need.

 

[Cacia]

I thought Catalina was the most gossipy place I had ever been.... I still loved it though. oh yea, maybe I even gossiped some.....


hahaha. yea, some real pervs on that rock! lots of people sneaking around at night.
I tried to limit my recreation to stealing paintings from the Villa Portafino. Then we would hang them at the Galleon, silly stuff, like that. The trick was to remove the painting (usually Elvis on velvet) or some other priceless art, and then take it through the kitchen to your cart out back. then, the next night, the objective was to display the stolen art in a competitor's eatery....then we would go in the market and listen to people speculate about "who" was doing it?

wow, the wild boars almost gone! that is tragic. Did they eat them all? we were on the board at Hamilton Cove and worked with the Conservancy...