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I am trying to get an idea as to if my family and I would like to move to Martha's Vineyard for year round living. We are a family of four with two very young children. The position offers a salary of $125,000 with free housing and car. We currently make that much here on the mainland (minus free housing and car- which adds up to a lot of money) but the area we live in is on the coast, and gas is $5 a gallon- same price as a gallon of milk. So we are used to high prices and remoteness already. What kind of life would this compensation give us on the island? ANY info. would be greatly appreciated
Free housing and a car????? Sounds unbelievable! I would jump at that opportunity. Where do you live now? I would say that living on MV is pretty expensive, but with housing and transportation covered you'll be in good shape. I would check into flights, ferry rides, etc. for getting off island. That sort of thing can be pretty expensive although I know residents get pretty good discounts. Think about shopping. I know most of everything is available on the island, but it's expensive. You'll be ordering online or taking trips to the mainland for a lot of things. I think residents consolidate their trips to the mainland to a few times a year. Just my thoughts on the subject.... Hopefully you cant get more info from an actual MV resident.
I am trying to get an idea as to if my family and I would like to move to Martha's Vineyard for year round living. We are a family of four with two very young children. The position offers a salary of $125,000 with free housing and car. We currently make that much here on the mainland (minus free housing and car- which adds up to a lot of money) but the area we live in is on the coast, and gas is $5 a gallon- same price as a gallon of milk. So we are used to high prices and remoteness already. What kind of life would this compensation give us on the island? ANY info. would be greatly appreciated
Apologies as I can't help with your original question/s but just wanted to say, Wow lucky you! I was there last year and thought it was utterly gorgeous, I joked about throwing away my career and life here in Sydney and moving to MV to open a little cutsey guesthouse Best of luck!
Goodness - where do you live now? Milk here is $3.99 a ga. Gas is $3.69 for regular. I'm in RI. Prices about the same on the Cape.
I love the Vineyard - but I wouldn't want to live there year round. There are only two ways off the island - by ferry and by air. When the weather is bad - both stop operating.
Serious medical emergencies are airlifted to the Cape.
Both MV and Nantucket have problems with depression, alcohol and drug abuse. You can google the stories.
As gorgeous as MV is and how sweet the OP's job offer is, I'd be mostly hesitant because of the isolation factor and the "What If"'s concerning a medical or other emergency. There's not a lot going on there in the off season, from what I understand, and I'd think kids would become bored more quickly than adults...
I could very well be wrong about that, but that's how island living -- MV or other -- strikes me.
$125K a year with minimal living expenses is a great income. I would be concerned though about the winters living on a small island which is predominantly a summer vacation spot. A lot of businesses close for the winter and the population shrinks tremendously as well. It can be very isolating. My cousin married a guy who grew up on MV and he does not speak well of living there year round. As a teen he got himself into a lot of mischief that he feels he wouldn't have gotten into were he not living on a small island.
There are hospitals, schools and churches on MV. It's not like it becomes a ghost town in the winter months. It has a population of 20,000 in the winter months. That's more people than the town I live in has year round! Where there are people there is going to be activities. I'm sure it's no different than any other town it just has the challenge of being on an island.
There are hospitals, schools and churches on MV. It's not like it becomes a ghost town in the winter months. It has a population of 20,000 in the winter months. That's more people than the town I live in has year round! Where there are people there is going to be activities. I'm sure it's no different than any other town it just has the challenge of being on an island.
I don't know how big Charlton is geographically speaking, but I imagine an island made up of several towns is a larger area. Sure, there's 8K more people than Charlton, but likely spread across a larger area.
I've been to MV in the middle of the winter. My in-laws used to have a house there. It's not a ghost town. You'll definitely walk by other people, but it's REAL quiet and a large number of the stores have signs in the window that say "see you in the spring." It's a stark contrast to the summer when many parts of the island are overcrowded.
Yes, anyone who lives is a summer community is destined to become a depressed, alcoholic junkie. Teenagers there are especially susceptible to the lure of mischief, drugs and alcohol, unlike their counterparts in more heavily populated areas. *YAWN*. Honestly, you know your family better than we do. Do you need to be entertained all the time? Perfect vacation: Disney World or a cottage by the beach? Are your kids risk takers and by that I mean beyond the typical temporary bout of idiocy that comes with the teenage years? Are you a close knit family that enjoys spending time together? Do you enjoy outdoorsy pursuits? It's a different life but it might be a wonderful adventure. I spent quite a bit of time with teens from MV and Nantucket the past 2 summers. My kids played travel sports with them. I found those teens to be very mature, independent and self sufficient. I heard about some of the mischief and also being part of a working class family living on an island that is frequented by the uber wealthy during the summer. The kids i know felt the summer months were actually more socially stressful. All of them planned on attending college and had no fear about going far from home. Most of them feel the same way about the off season that many adults do: it's nice to have a break from the crowds. As far as cost of living- your biggest expenses are taken care of. That would not be a concern. Good luck!
I stumbled on this -- I live on Martha's Vineyard --30 years total -- 15 years as a year round resident and 15 years as a summer resident. What's good about your expected salary is that you'll be able to find a rental house to try it out (renting is not cheap on the island but your salary will afford some choices..) If you are community oriented this is a big community Island -- where people still get to know each other. Newcomers are welcome iif they enter the community. Lots of community events. People with children often end up staying here because it's a great place to raise kids safely -- and the kids form tight knit communities that last a lifetime -- particularly if they started young.
Prices? I'm originally from NYC and while prices are comparable food is even more expensive because there is no 'shopping around' unless you order online or take trips to the mainland -- which people often do on a regular basis to get bulk & cheaper items. As for winter? There are people who say "What do you do on the Island in the winter?..I went crazy!" And others who say - "whoa there's much too much going on here in the winter...I want quiet!" It goes both ways (I find it way too busy but with some great options). Do not look for big time amusement though...while we have a lot of movies, art, music etc year round most of it is on a small scale and a lot of stuff does shut down in the winter (hence the big community events) -- and once again it's a finite area so you can't travel far.
The natural environment? Can't be beat, with a lot of conscious people looking to keep it that way. Downside -- yup, the increasing # of mcmansions and theattitude of the increasingly wealthier 1% who come in hoardes in the summer...(although you may like that kind of thing -- in which case they won't be insufferable for you.) Lot like the Hamptons. And there are a lot of tourists in the summer..but then some great water weather too. Other downside is in the winter it does get gray here -- and we do have that big moat surrounding -- but then again there are always planes trains and ferries (the island almost completely empties for two weeks of winter school break.) In summary there are 17,000 of us here year round -- and most of us wouldn't move for nothin'. Good luck!
p.s. Let's put it this way in terms of small community -- your question it made me wonder who your potential employer would be...likely I'd be familiar with them and their business.
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Best of luck!
