Island Living Questions

[RidgeRunner31]

Originally Posted by IslandRadio

We're on Rattlesnake now, but have rented on Welch and Barndoor over many years.

A few thoughts:

1) You should be handy and be able to fix things fairly easily. Yes, neighbors chip in and help, but really you should have some idea of what you're doing.

2) You should be in reasonably good physical condition. Carrying everything from food to building materials back and forth is a way of life.

3) You need respect the weather and the lake conditions. These are matters of safety. You will end up dodging weather and lake conditions with respect to trips to the mainland, etc.

4) You need to be more independent than on the mainland.

Oops! Speaking of that, we JUST lost power - REALLY!!! (the computer and other equipment is on a U.P.S.). I am going to post this now and come back and edit later. I don't know how much time I have before the U.P.S. runs out!

Those are all good points. We live in a rural area, so we have become handy over time. Plus we have family members that are handy as well. Fortunately we are in good shape and exercise often, so carrying goods should not be an issue. I agree about respecting the weather/ lake conditions. I don’t think I would be brave enough to own something that faces the broads!

[IslandRadio]

Originally Posted by RidgeRunner31

Those are all good points. We live in a rural area, so we have become handy over time. Plus we have family members that are handy as well. Fortunately we are in good shape and exercise often, so carrying goods should not be an issue. I agree about respecting the weather/ lake conditions. I don’t think I would be brave enough to own something that faces the broads!

It sounds as if you have "the right stuff" to be an Islander

All of the islands have their unique charm and characteristics. I liked Rattlesnake for a couple of reasons, one of which was the hiking. You can get real exercise doing what can be a fairly challenging hike (if you walk the island end to end and back - that's quite a lot of up-and-down action, and it's around 5 miles of total distance when you factor in everything).

We are not on the broads side, but the broads side does afford some fantastic views. The non-broads side is much more protected from the weather, and because of that you don't see a lot of breakwaters over here.

Of course a lot depends on how much money you've allocated to make this a reality. There's a "handyman special" type of property over on our side which in my view is pretty attractive. It's a good sized house with a reasonable dock and (I think) an approved septic. It's been unusued for a few years (from what I understand from someone who looked at it) and I think the asking is in the higher $200s... Might be listed by Island R.E. but I can't swear to that. It's easy to find - the house faces to the SSW, and the dock is (or was) cranked up.

Just thoughts...

PM me if you want to come over and chat, hike the island or meet other islanders.

Regards,

Steve

[RidgeRunner31]

Originally Posted by IslandRadio

It sounds as if you have "the right stuff" to be an Islander

All of the islands have their unique charm and characteristics. I liked Rattlesnake for a couple of reasons, one of which was the hiking. You can get real exercise doing what can be a fairly challenging hike (if you walk the island end to end and back - that's quite a lot of up-and-down action, and it's around 5 miles of total distance when you factor in everything).

We are not on the broads side, but the broads side does afford some fantastic views. The non-broads side is much more protected from the weather, and because of that you don't see a lot of breakwaters over here.

Of course a lot depends on how much money you've allocated to make this a reality. There's a "handyman special" type of property over on our side which in my view is pretty attractive. It's a good sized house with a reasonable dock and (I think) an approved septic. It's been unusued for a few years (from what I understand from someone who looked at it) and I think the asking is in the higher $200s... Might be listed by Island R.E. but I can't swear to that. It's easy to find - the house faces to the SSW, and the dock is (or was) cranked up.

Just thoughts...

PM me if you want to come over and chat, hike the island or meet other islanders.
Regards,

Steve

Thanks Steve. I'm grateful for the advice/help. The hiking aspect is definitely appealing. That is a nice plus about Rattlesnake. I think I saw that handyman special with the cranked up dock on Realtor.com. I will PM you with some questions I have about Rattlesnake. Thanks again. Mike