Visit and possible move to BI

Open Discussion - for our Readers, Islanders, and Web Site Visitors alike. Discussion regarding any and all aspects of Beaver Island are welcome here. Also a place for general Beaver Island conversation and discussion.

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MailMaster
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Grand Rapids, MI

Visit and possible move to BI

Post by MailMaster »

Greetings everybody! My name is Travis and I recently visited your beautiful island to get a sense of island life and help me decide if I should take a job offer that will be open in about a year.

My girlfriend and I had an amazing time! We drove all the main roads of the island, saw some sights and tried to take in as much as we could in the three days we were there. We met a few of you that shared some of your stories and thoughts about us moving and I truly felt welcomed with open arms! Thank you to everyone for making our trip a memorable one!

Having said all that, I know the transition from being near Grand Rapids to more secluded island life will be, needless to say, quite an adjustment. We will certainly visit a couple more times within the upcoming year to try to gain a clearer picture. I would also like to open up this thread to any thoughts any of you may have, advice, or recommendations that we should consider that we may not have thought of yet. Old, new, bad, good, I invite all opinions that will help me feel more confident in my life choice.

Thank you all again for the great mini-vacation and I look forward to reading your thoughts!
Travis Wells
BradG
Posts: 223
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 2:33 pm

Post by BradG »

Wow! So many thoughts. It's a wonderful place and everyday I think how lucky I am to be here. I sit and have coffee and watch the eagle fly by. The forum may give a distorted view. We have our issues, but things are getting better every day. My big concern for you would be making a living here. The cost of living here is more than the mainland, but the hassles are so much less too. I hope you can make it work for you.

Brad
carolburton
Posts: 247
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:27 am
Contact:

Post by carolburton »

Part of what Brad says is true. It is a beautiful place. I don't know what kind of a position you are taking or thinking about so it will be hard to give you appropriate advise on living here. I would like you to know that it is a great place to VISIT and I have been a cheerleader and spent an extraordinary amount of time donated to making this a better place to little reward other than getting worn out. So if you are ok with not getting involved you will be fine. If you step out of that and care too much you will soon find yourself without the love of Beaver Island you once had.
burton
Pam Smith
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2017 2:21 pm
Location: West Side Road

Post by Pam Smith »

Hi, Travis.

Welcome! I too have lived on the mainland all my life and with retirement my husband and I decided to purchase a place here.

This is a wonderful place. I am already retired and live here, hopefully, in the milder weather. There are so many differences here. No traffic and no noise. I have heard eagles, but not seen any yet, but I live in the middle of the wood and just may be missing them.

Another difference is the shopping. I like the hardware down town and the grocery store. The grocery store has outstanding beef, in my opinion. You will have lots of help there if needed. I think they "see me coming" now. However, the big difference is not the price or the size, but the small amount of time these businesses are opened. In Grand Rapids, I am sure you are accustomed to 24/7 hours for grocery stores and long hours for other stores like hard wares. You will probably get use to the rather quickly and learn to plan in a different way, but you may miss it a lot and should probably consider this.

I don't know if you are aware of this, but if you purchase from any companies on line you can have your packages sent to either airport and your packages will be sent via air to which ever airport to choose. The airports are part of UPS and you can ship packages there, also (also there is a post office). So things you can't readily purchase on the island, you can purchase online. You do need to pick up the packages at the airport of your choice. This also works for medications that you might need. It's a great system!

So you just need to think about if you want a life of less stress! You will not see as many people, which might bother you. You and your girlfriend have a lot to consider. Will she be working, also? Do you have any children?

We have a Health Care facility. You can receive various treatments there, like flu shots, vaccinations, general acute health care, physical therapy. You could call the Medical Center here to find out more information.

We have a post office and bank. The hours are very limited. You may need to rent a PO box. I'm not sure about delivery to homes, maybe someone else know.

Good luck!

Pam Smith
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