A Smart, beautiful Town w/ housing issues for lo - 2/23/2024

Beautiful place to retire and live, but a very expensive area to buy property and maintain. Services are limited and labor is in big shortage. So be prepared to pay up to and beyond 60 dollars per worker an hour to get any weeds pulled or yard or home maintenence. Economy is tourist based. Town has a love hate relationship with tourists. The medical is limited yet there is a newer hospital and the quality of care is good. Aging out and senior services are limited. But, again the community is lovely, people are educated and seniors are treated well. Most seniors intend to age out there but it depends on support systems, family, friends. there are some community services to help seniors stay in there homes. It's a very artistic community and rich in intellect which makes for a lively community, where well being, health, creativity and entertainment is prioritized. So quality of life, stewardship of the environment and looking forward to solutions regarding community and environment issues are addressed and not ignored. Again housing is in short supply, service workers are in short supply and yet the community is working hard to address these issues at the time of this writing because it's for the good of the local population amd survival of the community.

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Where Eagles Soar and Orcas Play - 8/3/2008

I lived on the Island for a couple of the winter months in 2007. I house sat a beautiful home on acreage with a view of the water. The Island is very quiet during the winter season and this was a big plus for me. Each day was spent hiking and kayaking. Over a two month period there was only a few days that rained so much that I didn't want to go out and the two days with a dusting of snow were wonderful. There are a lot of interesting people who live on the Isand and I found everyone that I met to be friendly and relaxed. Of course, the cost of living on the Island is very high and it is not inexpensive or easy to go "off Island" since the ferry service, though adequate is a hassle no matter how many times you use it. If someone is elderly or has a chornic illness this can be a serious issue since there is no hospital on the Island though there is a clinic. The homes on the Island are expensive to purchase and utilities are very expensive too. When you purchase a home or property on the Island you pay a one time purchase tax of 1% to the Land Bank who use the money to purchase land for public use, which is worth it since there are a number of great parks on the Island where you can watch Orcas, eagles, seals, foxs, etc. In short, if you have a fair amount of money, enjoy a quiet and serene lifestyle, and don't mind paying 20% to 50% more for most everything you'll need to live, then Friday Harbor, or any of the San Juan Islands, offer some of the best places to live in the United States.

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