5 Things You May Not Know ~ About Living on an Island

#1 Traffic is horrendous:   I know, you don't think so, right??   But the truth is, there is gridlock everywhere because......there's no other option.  There's usually one road (or highway, or whatever) that goes where you want to go.  There are no "side roads".  If there's a break-down or an accident, or whatever......you sit.  And wait.   Sometimes for hours......And that's a fact.

#2 Supplies are limited to what's on-hand:  It's so weird to go to Safeway and find they are out of XXX.  In fact, there's a big empty spot on the shelf, so you're sure, they're really out-of-stock.  You can ask somebody, but they'll just tell you, they're out-of-stock. 

Then you run to store B) looking for the same item;  then you drive to store C (through the above traffic).  All have identical bare spots on their shelves for that particular item.  Then the truth starts to dawn.....that XXX brand container has not made it to the island as of yet.  Or, perhaps it has arrived, but has not been unloaded as of yet.  Either way, you're not getting XXX, no matter how many stores you drive to.  No matter what you might think, you are now on an island in the middle of the Pacific (or wherever).  And you just have to wait.  And that's a fact.

#3 Fresh vegetables are not what you think:   Fresh produce, on many islands, is limited to the tropical fruits that grow there. Which are awesome.  But if you want, let's say, lettuce for a salad, or other salad ingredients, or fresh veggies like you're used to "back home", like carrots and celery and......you know, the basics.....you are stuck with what came over in a container......And it's not great.  Tropical islands are not a good growing environment for most (common) veggies ~ it's too "tropical".  The temperature is just too temperate.  That's a fact.

#4 Costco is basic, but it's also regional:  I'm always interested to see this, Stateside.  What's common to Costco, but also what's special to each region ('cause in case you haven't figure this out, we are big Costco patrons).  In Utah, for example, they offer big "water processing systems" and "disaster preparation" supplies.  'Cause the Mormon population there believes in stockpiling supplies for harder times.  In Hawaii, they stock huge cases of Spam, and offer whole baby pigs for the spit.  Also, we buy our fresh fish here, because they are supplied by local Hawaii fishermen with daily fresh catch.  So every region has different needs and demands, and.......That's a fact.

#5 Everything is expensive, because everything is shipped in:  I often think of this as I look around, amazed, on an island like Oahu. There is no manufacturing here, so every thing is shipped in.  Every brick, every plumbing part, all the concrete and drywall and glass and carpet and granite and......well, you get my drift.  I'm amazed as I gaze at the high rises and hotels and resorts and homes and stadiums and colleges constructed here;  the entire awesome city of Honolulu; and the impressive military bases like Pearl Harbor. We're on an island ~ not just an island, but the most remote islands in the world.  And that's a fact.

  

But on the upside.......the sunsets are amazing.....Who cares if you were chasing XXX and got stuck in island traffic.......

I think I'll go grill some fresh Ahi from Costco ~