Earlier quoted context omitted.
5 figures, not 6....
Each?
Each, 4 figures.
My Friends and I Bought an Island
61–70 of 405 posts
Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island
#62Do you plan on staying the winter?
Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island
#63A few years ago I was looking into this as well, but in the Philippines -- there were a ton of amazingly beautiful and affordable islands in the Palawan region... the problem was getting stuff/services onto the island.
Getting power, water, sewer made the cost extremely high. Even with Solar/Septic - getting equipment and suplpies was just far too much for me to undertake and afford.
So CONGRATS on succeeding. How much for an 11th person share in the Island?
Have you setup an "infrastructure" fund where all ten of you contribute a monthly amount - and then spend it annually on one big buy for the Island?
I'd recommend you see about purchasing used shipping containers and having them barged over to the island: this will let you store stuff - and if you're crafty enough, there are tons of examples of building housing from them online.
Start planting seeds of edible plants all over the island.
Digging a well might prove to be a bit costly...
Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island
#64Quote: "Over the years we'll build up the island, doing most of the work ourselves. We'll build a communal building with a shower, kitchen, lounge, and bathrooms. Each owner of the island gets to pick a spot on which to build their own little structure to sleep in. Together we'll build infrastructure, gardens, a fire pit, and whatever else we can come up with."
So, not counting significant others, ten people sharing a five-acre island. That's 1/2 acre per person except that not all five acres will be flat, buildable land, and you will have to sort out who lives where, without friction.
This works when you're young, before you start thinking about issues like privacy and personal space. By the time you and your friends are 30 years old, the island will likely be a distant and probably bitter memory.
I speak as someone who lived through the 1960s American back-to-the land, communal-living, private-property-is-a-crime phase.
Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island
#65Not all Canadian Islands are so cheap. Here's a single family island for 14.4 Million in Muskoka - http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=133556...
Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island
#66Hey all - co-owner here with Tynan. He tried to reply to all your comments but you guys left so many he got throttled by HN and now can't post. Shame on you all.
Just kidding - but really, he's throttled atm. He'll be back to reply to posts when he can!
Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island
#67Congratulations! This is something I've always thought would be cool too. 5 acres is a good size, large enough that you can feel "away" when you are in the middle of it, but not so big that you can actually get lost.
Some suggested next steps. Get a good aerial survey done, with pictures. This will help in planning, in disputes, and later in figuring out what it looked like before that thing that just happened, happened. Also hire a geologist to do a survey (if they haven't already) and identify all the water flow. You may want to build a cistern to collect fresh water when it rains/snows.
An acquaintance of mine who has a place in the seattle/vancouver area also build a small gauge rail line from the dock to the center of the island where accomodations were. Mostly he's a train nut and that scratched that itch but its great for bringing stuff in before storm season sets in.
+1 on the local visitation. People will drive over there and walk around. In the US you need to put signs posting it as private property if you want to have a hope of charging people with trespass. If you set up a fire pit and a place for your friends to sit around an chat, that it exists will get out and you'll have other people "borrow" it when you aren't there.
Definitely a lot of fun though. I am very jealous :-)
Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island
#68Welcome to Nova Scotia
Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island
#69Lots of widowmakers there judging by the pictures, better be careful. One thing you learn quickly when you live remote is that the nearest hospital is very far away both in space and in time and stuff that is routine in a city can get serious (or even kill you) when you're living remote. Still, congratulations, I can really relate to how you guys feel. In case there are more island enthousiasts here: http://www.priva…
On the lake, and surrounding lakes where we own a cabin, there are hundreds of lakes on private islands, some of which are a considerable distance by boat. This has been going on for the better part of the last century, and people don't seem to be having issues in general.
Re: My Friends and I Bought an Island
#70I'd like to echo others and say that this is indeed awesome. At 5 acres, are you concerned at all about deforesting it too much over time?
I have some experience in this area. If ten people rely on firewood for heat, and if they live there in the winter, and if the island is heavily forested, the trees will last maybe five years before any further cutting will start eating into property value and privacy.