Living on Swan Island (Bar Harbor, Richmond: new home, employment, taxi)

[pnwcatlady]

What's it like living in Swan Island? I'm not worried about employment but I would like to hear about what life is like, how welcoming the community would be, etc...

Thanks!

[mainebrokerman]

in Richmond in the Kennebec river??

or the swan island off bass harbor??

[pnwcatlady]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

in Richmond in the Kennebec river??

or the swan island off bass harbor??

Just shows my ignorance, didn't know there was two :-)
Swan Island off Bass Harbor

[Jay_F]

I found this article interesting:

ASK AN ISLANDER: A Candid Conversation with Swan's Island's Candis Joyce - Island Journal

The main site is very nice too:

Island Journal - The annual publication of the Island Institute

Some others:

https://www.centralmaine.com/2017/02...d-rural-maine/

https://bangordailynews.com/2012/08/...-swans-island/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAP1HKJdDKo

Nice site about the island:

Welcome to Swan's Island Maine - Swan's Island, Maine

Swan's Island, Maine

Best of luck in your search for a new home; Swan's Island looks amazing from this outsiders perspective.

[slyfox2]

You really want to live on an island that you can only get to by ferry? No quick trips to the store for something you needed. No trips to Home depot for home stuff.

You really need a car stored on the mainland, and you have to get everything you need in weekly trips to the mainland. The nearest grocery store is in Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island. Unless you have a power boat yourself(and you need one capable of traveling 5 miles across open ocean water which means at least 20 feet, in swells up to 5 feet), you are dependent on the ferry schedule. The closest real hospital is in Bar Harbor.

99% OF PEOPLE WHO live there all year round are lobster fishermen. I believe that they finally got internet. You can’t heat with wood so you will need to have expensive oil or propane delivered.

There are lots of reasons why you shouldn’t consider living on an island with a ferry only service. BTW, a trip on the ferry is not really very cheap--$30, PLUS FOOD, plus transportation costs. In the summer you can catch a LLBean park bus but not after some time in October. So you need a taxi or a car on the Mainland, or a friend who will drive you.

There are lots of hidden costs. And yes the community will help, but you better have some skill that the community can use for you to help also.

Consider living on Mount Desert Island---it has a two lane road across to the Mainland. I live there.

[pnwcatlady]

Thanks, that's very good information from the both of you! Good to know how people handle the ferry system too.

Why can you burn wood for heat?

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by slyfox2

You really want to live on an island that you can only get to by ferry? No quick trips to the store for something you needed. No trips to Home depot for home stuff.

You really need a car stored on the mainland, and you have to get everything you need in weekly trips to the mainland. The nearest grocery store is in Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island. Unless you have a power boat yourself(and you need one capable of traveling 5 miles across open ocean water which means at least 20 feet, in swells up to 5 feet), you are dependent on the ferry schedule. The closest real hospital is in Bar Harbor.

99% OF PEOPLE WHO live there all year round are lobster fishermen. I believe that they finally got internet. You can’t heat with wood so you will need to have expensive oil or propane delivered.

There are lots of reasons why you shouldn’t consider living on an island with a ferry only service. BTW, a trip on the ferry is not really very cheap--$30, PLUS FOOD, plus transportation costs. In the summer you can catch a LLBean park bus but not after some time in October. So you need a taxi or a car on the Mainland, or a friend who will drive you.

There are lots of hidden costs. And yes the community will help, but you better have some skill that the community can use for you to help also.

Consider living on Mount Desert Island---it has a two lane road across to the Mainland. I live there.

I would also think that though visiting one of the islands served by ferry would be great for a week or even a month in summer, living there indefinitely, the inconvenience and relative isolation would likely wear on you for practical reasons. If you're living on a quiet back street in Somesville, Tremont, etc on the main island - it'll be plenty quiet already, but you can still venture into town easily for necessities and people can visit you more easily too... your world will be bigger.

[AustinB]

The island will like you at first. If you plan to live there, you are the new person, an outsider. It will be interesting. Please keep all of us informed as to how it's going.

[mainegrl2011]

It's Swan Island in the Kennebec; Swan's Island off Bass Harbor.

Swan Island events (in case anyone is interested):
https://www.maine.gov/ifw/programs-r...nd-events.html

[circleg]

No you sparked my curiosity. Why no wood heat?