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My Friends and I Bought an Island

tynan.com

301–310 of 405 posts

Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island

#301
As a Canadian I would not have bought an island unless it was near a major urban center and thus has the appeal of being urban and country at the same time, or somewhere warm ..aka not in Canada.

If you just want to rough it, you can lease Crown Land, fees are basically nothing if you're willing to do the paperwork, most leases last from 10-99 years, some of these leases might be open to foreigners (not sure, might need a legitimate business).

Even better start of an amatuer prospecting company, you could probably lease an island the size of manhattan, again for a very low fee. You won't own the land but 99 years is usually enough.

Or you could just drive really far into the bush, no one will notice.

Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island

#303
I was (much like the author) always interested in getting an island (still am.)

I also gravitate toward Canada when looking for an island, because you can get fairly large islands for much less money than lets say in the Caribbean. Of course, the climate is a lot less appealing.

I always wonder though, how expensive would it be to get something built on an island? I imagine getting building materials and construction equipment onto a forested island can be tricky and expensive.

Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island

#304

Just for people new to who Tynan is, he's a pretty far out guy. Some things I recall (sorry haven't kept up over the years) 1) Ran a successful professional online poker playing business, actually hired employees and trained them to predictably win. 2) Was one of the main characters in the book The Game (yes, that PUA one). 3) Did polyphasic sleep experiments in earnest (was it a couple months or so?). 4) Had a giant…

Off-topic, I know, but are we calling 2008 "2k8" now? Is last decade the 2k's?

I'd always hoped they would be known as the naughties.

Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island

#305

It sounds like you guys really thought this through (with the LLC, etc), however I can't shake the feeling that you're going to find this a bit like owning a boat: it sounds like much more fun before you actually do it. Five acres is slightly more land than I have (in the exurbs of Toronto), and is almost certainly much more awkward, with less usable space. I mention that because I can't imagine trying to facilitate…

Do you see this ending in Lord of the Flies? I just can't imagine 10 friends all growing together with the land at the same pace. Some will have kids. Other want to be more rowdy. Or less. It sounds awesome though, I hope they make it work.

If it does, I hope Tynan becomes Jack.

Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island

#306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Posting private property is a good idea, not only because of telling people off but because you could be liable for claims if you don't and someone you did not invite gets injured. (crazy, I know, but that's the law in some places). Jealous as well :)

As a Swede; yes, that does sound a bit weird: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam

Sadly the US is a bit different. If a guest injures themself, they can sue you and win. If a tresspasser injures themself while you're not there, they can sue you and win.

Heck, we even have reports of theives injuring themself and then turning around, suing the owner in court, and winning.

Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island

#307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree on the size. In much of the rural midwest, 5 acres is the _minimum_ plot to build a house on. One single-family house. Five acres was how far we could play as children without going "far". It's 3.78 American football fields. That said, it's five more acres of island than I own.

5 acres in si units is 20,000 square meters. A typical house in nl is on 200 square meters if it is a house in a row and on maybe twice that much or a bit more if it is freestanding.

This always blows my mind. Our last house was 85 square metres and our current is 95. With a small child we need a little more, but any more than 120 is just too big. Too much crap accumulates, too much cleaning, too much maintenance (I could prep and paint the whole interior of our house in 2-3 coats in a week after work in pretty sure). Property taxes cost more with bigger houses and things get complex fast. For example, all water in and water out happens over about 7m of one side of the house. Leaks, supply etc are so much easier to deal with. I can get above and below any problem fairly easily as it's single level. When the child goes feral at night, it sure would be nice to have 10 doors between us, but no house could stop that noise. Medium/small house believer.

Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island

#308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

5 acres in si units is 20,000 square meters. A typical house in nl is on 200 square meters if it is a house in a row and on maybe twice that much or a bit more if it is freestanding.

This always blows my mind. Our last house was 85 square metres and our current is 95. With a small child we need a little more, but any more than 120 is just too big. Too much crap accumulates, too much cleaning, too much maintenance (I could prep and paint the whole interior of our house in 2-3 coats in a week after work in pretty sure). Property taxes cost more with bigger houses and things get complex fast. For ex…

Those were the lot sizes, houses in the US/Canada are typically a little larger than those in Europe. Property taxes in the US/Canada are a small fraction of those in Europe.

Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island

#309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a SAR guy, I can say the big big thing is the first aid (plus CPR). It sounds like you're relatively close to civilization, but realize that if someone has to come to help you, they're likely not going to be there within the Golden Hour ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_%28medicine%29 ). That, and just being prepared in general (ten essentials: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Essentials and knowing how…

Although that area is typically serviced by hovercraft and close to civilization, having first aid skills are certainly essential.

And gear. Setting up a supply of basic medical stuff isn't that expensive if you do it right and it could be very handy. A few key drugs, a few laminated sets of instructions on how to give them and you'll potentially be much better off. Allergic reactions etc can be ugly.

Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island

#310
post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Glad I'm not the only one that wants to have an indoor inflatable pool that takes up an entire room. The wife does not approve.

He did it for a higher calling -- namely having a penguin as a pet. Maybe if you make that your justification too your wife will jump on board, so to speak.

It's funny that the pool made it on the list of interesting things about tynan, but not the penguin.
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