Will it be Waking Ned Devine, or Children of the Corn?
June 21, 2018 6:12 PM Subscribe
My wife and I are planning on moving to rural Whidbey Island, WA in the next few years. We think we know what we're doing; what are we not thinking about moving to a (quite) small town?
My wife and I are pretty tired of life in Seattle, and we have been planning for about a year now to move to Whidbey Island. It has a lot of advantages for us:
-Much quieter than Seattle
-Much more affordable than Seattle (we already own a starter condo here, but will not be able to buy anything nicer in the city. We could get a nice enough place on the Island, though).
-My parents live on the Island part-time, and are thinking of eventually moving there permanently.
-I work with seniors, so there's plenty of career opportunity for me.
-It seems to have a very strong sense of community and people helping each other out, which we miss.
We've thought of some disadvantages, too, of course:
-Maybe it's too quiet?
-We're not crystal hippies or Navy people, so we may not fit in all the parts of the culture there.
-We're not sure what my wife would do for work, or if salaries will be sufficient for our needs.
-What if we get bored of the five restaurants we like?
-Most troublingly, Whidbey (especially South Whidbey, where we're most likely to be) is very, very white. Seems tolerant enough, but we will miss diversity and multiculturalism, especially our light ties to the Latino community).
So, what are we not thinking about with such a big life change? We have no children, our social network is at a low point, and our family will be available up there. I'm less worried about work and housing, because we won't move unless we find jobs and a house. What I am worried about are unanticipated pitfalls, which, of course, I can't anticipate!
Did you move to a small town or rural area from a big city, and did it make you happier? What happened that you didn't expect? Or for a trillion bonus points, are you from Whidbey Island, and can you warn me against the Hippy Illuminati or anything else that stalking Facebook, reading the news sites, and hanging out in Langley, Coupeville and Freeland won't tell us? Thanks so much!
My wife and I are pretty tired of life in Seattle, and we have been planning for about a year now to move to Whidbey Island. It has a lot of advantages for us:
-Much quieter than Seattle
-Much more affordable than Seattle (we already own a starter condo here, but will not be able to buy anything nicer in the city. We could get a nice enough place on the Island, though).
-My parents live on the Island part-time, and are thinking of eventually moving there permanently.
-I work with seniors, so there's plenty of career opportunity for me.
-It seems to have a very strong sense of community and people helping each other out, which we miss.
We've thought of some disadvantages, too, of course:
-Maybe it's too quiet?
-We're not crystal hippies or Navy people, so we may not fit in all the parts of the culture there.
-We're not sure what my wife would do for work, or if salaries will be sufficient for our needs.
-What if we get bored of the five restaurants we like?
-Most troublingly, Whidbey (especially South Whidbey, where we're most likely to be) is very, very white. Seems tolerant enough, but we will miss diversity and multiculturalism, especially our light ties to the Latino community).
So, what are we not thinking about with such a big life change? We have no children, our social network is at a low point, and our family will be available up there. I'm less worried about work and housing, because we won't move unless we find jobs and a house. What I am worried about are unanticipated pitfalls, which, of course, I can't anticipate!
Did you move to a small town or rural area from a big city, and did it make you happier? What happened that you didn't expect? Or for a trillion bonus points, are you from Whidbey Island, and can you warn me against the Hippy Illuminati or anything else that stalking Facebook, reading the news sites, and hanging out in Langley, Coupeville and Freeland won't tell us? Thanks so much!
I grew up on a small island, and some of my family still lives there. Many of your concerns also apply to moving to any small rural town, but here is a thing you should know about small islands: everybody gonna know your business. Everybody. You're thinking, maybe, Sure, it's like that in all small towns. No. It's a unique and special kind of everybody knows your business, and there is no getting around it. You might be OK with that! But you should definitely consider whether or not that's the case.
Also, please do the research into nicebookrack's points about necessary disaster insurance and emergency responders and facilities. Even an island close to the mainland can feel very isolated and stranded when something goes wrong and you need emergency help. Also bridges and ferries can both go out of service at the most inconvenient times.
Regarding your last point, I moved from a major multicultural city to a midsize, much more segregated city a little over 2 years ago, and I did not expect how much of an impact it would have on my happiness and daily life. It's weird and I'm still not used to it. I did quickly find the parts ot the city that aren't as white as where I live and work, though, and spending time there helps.
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:59 PM on June 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Also, please do the research into nicebookrack's points about necessary disaster insurance and emergency responders and facilities. Even an island close to the mainland can feel very isolated and stranded when something goes wrong and you need emergency help. Also bridges and ferries can both go out of service at the most inconvenient times.
Regarding your last point, I moved from a major multicultural city to a midsize, much more segregated city a little over 2 years ago, and I did not expect how much of an impact it would have on my happiness and daily life. It's weird and I'm still not used to it. I did quickly find the parts ot the city that aren't as white as where I live and work, though, and spending time there helps.
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:59 PM on June 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don't know how much you fly / travel, but there's going to be a ferry between you and SeaTac; if you don't want to drive and park, it's $86.00 roundtrip per adult on the shuttle, and you have to make prior reservations.
posted by batter_my_heart at 9:21 PM on June 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by batter_my_heart at 9:21 PM on June 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
The quiet, cheap, rural place you're looking for doesn't seem applicable to Whidbey Island. You mention Coupeville, Langley, and Freeland, but the Whidbey Island I know and have visited frequently over the years has one real town: Oak Harbor, with 23,000 people. It's very similar to other towns located near large military installations.
I'm not sure what you mean by crystal hippies; but it sounds like someone you'd find on Vashon. Military people carry their culture with them (spoken as an Army Brat). Honestly, I don't know of any Whidbey culture per se. There are an amazing number of senior citizens, and many, many tourists. Lots of would-be artists, a Unitarian Church located in the middle of the forest -- everybody seems to go back and forth to the mainland all the time with no particular angst. But then, I wouldn't have had occasion to meet all the people who live rurally and want to be left alone.
I'd look at places to live, and if you find something that strikes your heart, follow that, instead of trying to figure out what the future might bring. After all, you may bring the things you want that aren't there yet.
One piece of advice: Don't worry about getting bored with five restaurants. In smaller towns and rural areas, you find one favorite restaurant and go there all the time until you're a Regular. It's different from variety, but can be deeply satisfying.
I know of no solution for the Very White situation. There were Swinomish Indians on the island originally, but their tribe is now located in La Conner.
posted by kestralwing at 3:03 AM on June 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm not sure what you mean by crystal hippies; but it sounds like someone you'd find on Vashon. Military people carry their culture with them (spoken as an Army Brat). Honestly, I don't know of any Whidbey culture per se. There are an amazing number of senior citizens, and many, many tourists. Lots of would-be artists, a Unitarian Church located in the middle of the forest -- everybody seems to go back and forth to the mainland all the time with no particular angst. But then, I wouldn't have had occasion to meet all the people who live rurally and want to be left alone.
I'd look at places to live, and if you find something that strikes your heart, follow that, instead of trying to figure out what the future might bring. After all, you may bring the things you want that aren't there yet.
One piece of advice: Don't worry about getting bored with five restaurants. In smaller towns and rural areas, you find one favorite restaurant and go there all the time until you're a Regular. It's different from variety, but can be deeply satisfying.
I know of no solution for the Very White situation. There were Swinomish Indians on the island originally, but their tribe is now located in La Conner.
posted by kestralwing at 3:03 AM on June 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
We moved from the city to the country last year! Mainly for lifestyle reasons, but also to be closer to my family. Island life probably has it's own peculiarities, but here's my experience:
-Maybe it's too quiet?
Could be, depends how much noise/busyness you want and need? We are both introverts and love the quiet life, but we've also lucked into a wonderful local community that is really friendly and welcoming. We live on the edge of our village, so we don't tend to suffer from too much in the way of everyone knowing our business. You can choose how much you participate in this sort of thing. What I'm trying to say is, there's usually plenty in the way of community life out there (albeit of a different flavour to city communities), depending on how much of it you want to get involved in. And you can start your own! I already have a little thrift shopping whatsapp group with a couple of the women in my village!
-We're not crystal hippies or Navy people, so we may not fit in all the parts of the culture there.
Wouldn't it be boring if we all lived only near people who were like us though :)
-We're not sure what my wife would do for work, or if salaries will be sufficient for our needs.
Oh yep this is the big one. Think this one through first. We were lucky in that we were both able to work remotely. If not, this is the thing to nail down first I'd say. Put your grown-up pants on for an evening and do budgets and other boring stuff. Make it real and see if it still works as a plan.
-What if we get bored of the five restaurants we like?
Ok so we used to live in London, and have access to just about every kind of food you can imagine. Don't get me wrong, I crave vegetarian sushi so hard sometimes, now that I can't get it. But I really don't miss it all like I thought I would, because I love our little local places, and it becomes more of an adventure going further afield to find new things, rather than having them all so accessible that you take them for granted!
-Most troublingly, Whidbey (especially South Whidbey, where we're most likely to be) is very, very white.
Ditto where we are now. I personally have used this as my motivation to get more involved in local politics, and plan to do so even more in the future, to make sure that even if the place isn't diverse now, that there's nothing stopping it from being in the future. YMMV.
posted by greenish at 7:19 AM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
-Maybe it's too quiet?
Could be, depends how much noise/busyness you want and need? We are both introverts and love the quiet life, but we've also lucked into a wonderful local community that is really friendly and welcoming. We live on the edge of our village, so we don't tend to suffer from too much in the way of everyone knowing our business. You can choose how much you participate in this sort of thing. What I'm trying to say is, there's usually plenty in the way of community life out there (albeit of a different flavour to city communities), depending on how much of it you want to get involved in. And you can start your own! I already have a little thrift shopping whatsapp group with a couple of the women in my village!
-We're not crystal hippies or Navy people, so we may not fit in all the parts of the culture there.
Wouldn't it be boring if we all lived only near people who were like us though :)
-We're not sure what my wife would do for work, or if salaries will be sufficient for our needs.
Oh yep this is the big one. Think this one through first. We were lucky in that we were both able to work remotely. If not, this is the thing to nail down first I'd say. Put your grown-up pants on for an evening and do budgets and other boring stuff. Make it real and see if it still works as a plan.
-What if we get bored of the five restaurants we like?
Ok so we used to live in London, and have access to just about every kind of food you can imagine. Don't get me wrong, I crave vegetarian sushi so hard sometimes, now that I can't get it. But I really don't miss it all like I thought I would, because I love our little local places, and it becomes more of an adventure going further afield to find new things, rather than having them all so accessible that you take them for granted!
-Most troublingly, Whidbey (especially South Whidbey, where we're most likely to be) is very, very white.
Ditto where we are now. I personally have used this as my motivation to get more involved in local politics, and plan to do so even more in the future, to make sure that even if the place isn't diverse now, that there's nothing stopping it from being in the future. YMMV.
posted by greenish at 7:19 AM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
What if we get bored of the five restaurants we like?I've lived in Los Angeles, I've lived in towns of < 1,000 people with no restaurants. I currently live in a town large enough to have multiple restaurants, but small and rural enough that half of them are pizza-and-sub shops, and the other half are very white, safe and unadventurous breakfast & lunch-only coffee shops; pancakes and burgers.
Possibly more than any other aspect of living in a large multicultural city, I desperately miss having the option of getting good food from a wide variety of restaurants without having to drive 30+ minutes. I'm no health nut but I try to be generally responsible and on nights that I don't feel like cooking it just sucks living in a food wasteland.
posted by Funeral march of an old jawbone at 12:50 PM on June 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Just an FYI, Whidbey isn’t completely and island; as with many Islands on Puget Sound, it’s connected to the mainland at the north end. Living in South Whidbey, the ferry is definitely closer than the drive.
posted by lhauser at 8:19 PM on June 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by lhauser at 8:19 PM on June 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
I live on Whidbey! Feel free to memail me with anything you're not posting here :)
posted by The otter lady at 12:48 PM on June 23, 2018
posted by The otter lady at 12:48 PM on June 23, 2018
It is very quiet at least on the south end, but many people do go to the mainland for shows and such. Its not really crystal hippy; more artist types. There are rich people and poor people; the poor people like me work for the rich people. Still, pretty friendly all around. There is a community but there are also cliques. The whiteness bothers me at times and there are some Trumpkins as well as many decent folks who hate him. I suggest you take up cooking as the restaurants are generally not good; but there is lovely local fresh food and farm stands and farmers markets. Work is an issue but if you have a skill that is serving rich older people you will find something. The town shuts down at 9pm.
posted by The otter lady at 10:42 PM on June 23, 2018
posted by The otter lady at 10:42 PM on June 23, 2018
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- Depending on how small, how remote, and how conservative/Christian a small town is, you will be amazed by the various businesses and services that become prohibitively expensive or completely unavailable to access at night or on weekends: Entertainment venues. Restaurants. Government agencies. Grocery stores. Libraries. Stores selling alcohol. Car service shops. Locksmiths. Troubleshooting for internet, electricity, and home repair services. Ferries to the mainland.
- If you can't find satisfactory jobs in the small town, how much money will you lose by remaining unemployed, or taking a local job with a lower salary, or paying in gas money or time spent in commuting to work in a larger city?
- You're getting flood insurance, right?
- Is there a decent hospital and firefighting station nearby, or will you risk losing precious time during an emergency waiting for emergency responders to arrive and possibly med-evac you to a fully-equipped hospital on the mainland? Do you have any health problems that may require regular visits to specialists who don't have a practice on the island?
posted by nicebookrack at 6:46 PM on June 21, 2018 [3 favorites]