# Condemned to an island paradise **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718 "2011-01-31T23:38:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/41 "2011-02-01T18:54:03Z")
Oddly enough, I’ve had a long-standing fascination with the Falkland Islands. I think I could happily settle into Port Stanley or one of the “camps”. SS ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/42 "2011-02-01T19:04:55Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > So, you’d exclude [Shikoku](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikoku), just because it’s connected to Honshu by [three bridges](http://www.jb-honshi.co.jp/english/index.html)? Yes. An island you can drive to isn’t an island. It’s been castrated. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/43 "2011-02-01T20:23:47Z")
When I started to read the OP’s post I immediately thought of Australia because small islands turn me claustrophobic after one day. So I choose Sardinia (24’000 km2). From there I can take boat trips to the Baleares, Capri, Malta, Cyprus, Crete and all the Greek islands. That would keep me busy for the rest of my life. And the climate is perfect, the language no problem. Going to Tahiti with your wife, Arnie ? She would get suspicious of your activities in no time.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/44 "2011-02-01T20:46:18Z")
My first requirement for my island paradise is; no hurricanes. I would hate to spend one of my months off island just to evade a hurricane and then have to come back and live through the aftermath. Secondly I don’t want to have to deal with tsunamis so I would at least want an island big enough that I can go to the other side and avoid them. I’m think that the island would need a minimum maximum elevation over 300 feet. Third I want to be warm. I dislike winter and if I want to go play in the snow I can always use one of my months to go skiing. On the other hand I hate to be hot so I would want to find an island with a yearly minimum temp over 45 deg and yet a maximum in the 90s. The last thing I want to the ability to be connected when I’m not laying on the beach sipping rum so I need to have good to great internet access preferably through cables but I’ll take high quality satellite access if I have to. Of the top of my head I’m thinking one of the Hawaiian islands would work probably Maui or Kauai. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/45 "2011-02-01T20:59:14Z")
What’s the weather like on the Isle of Man? If I can’t have Ireland, I want something with a similar climate. In other words, nice and cool, never too hot, never too cold. Plus, close to lots of cool places. Also, really cool flag! ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/46 "2011-02-01T22:16:50Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > You are being given enough money that you can retire. … You have to live the rest of your life on an island. You are allowed to take two (non-consecutive) one-month vacations ever year for the rest of your life, but the other 10 months have to be spend on the island. (The vacations can be taken wherever in the world you want.) From your island, you can take a boat to another island but you have to be back home within 5 days. Unlimited 5-day trips per year, but each 5-day trip must end with you going back to your main island, and staying there at least 7 days before you go on the next boat trip. By your parameters, many people who have “enough money to retire” already live like this on the island of Manhattan. In fact if I could interpret “unlimited 5-day trips” with “unlimited 5-day-or-less trips”, as in day trips, then I would do that in a heartbeat since Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens or even Staten Island) would be open to me as well as Manhattan. I could live with only going further than that twice a year for up to a month at a time. Sure I’d miss my friends in Jersey or upstate, but they could come visit me in my penthouse duplex or mansion out in the Hamptons. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/47 "2011-02-01T22:25:02Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Yes. An island you can drive to isn’t an island. It’s been castrated. Hey, who set himself on fire to spark an insurrection that ended up with you as the OP? 🙂 If this “other island” is also subject to this “no bridge or tunnel” tack-on limitation of yours, then I would not particularly want to be marooned on an island for 5/6ths of the year, even a beautiful and tropical one, even for “retirement level” funding. I would go nuts. I’m doing just fine as I am now, so I would pass. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/48 "2011-02-01T22:41:43Z")
Able was I, ere I saw Elba. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/49 "2011-02-02T00:42:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I gave serious thought to the U.S. Virgin Islands, but the big island of Hawai’i wins. Jaunts to the other islands, but a mini-ranch above Hilo would do just fine. This. And no marlin would be safe. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/50 "2011-02-02T01:00:20Z")
I wanted to mention that [Sark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Sark)has been named a [Dark Sky Island](http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979006739), so if you’re into stargazing, you may want look into it (or above it). It’s also close to France and the British Isles for shopping. It’s a little on the small side though. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/51 "2011-02-02T01:33:25Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Just out of curiosity, did you really think this was a hard dilemma when your wrote it? If so, why? Well, if the choice is working vs. retiring on an island, not a hard dilemma. The only dilemma is: which island do you pick? > [@](#): > > I really am interested even if the reason is just because you love Switzerland that much. I love the U.S. too but the St. Croix in the USVI is like a second home to me so all I have to do is pack a bag and move there which I may when my daughters are older. There are so many islands available that I can’t see that being a problem for most people. I am more interested in why you thought that it might be. The reason I would pick Switzerland is not because it’s the best place in the world to live in (though for me it is!): I pick it because most of my family lives there, I have two young kids in grade school and Switzerland has excellent schools, they would have lots of opportunities, and it is a nice place to live anyway - you can live in a small remote village but be only a half-hour away from a semi-large city. Islands are nice. The big drawbacks of the island life are if you are the kind of person that likes the amenties of big-city life, like live performances: theatre, opera, classical music concerts, big-name rock concerts, etc. You won’t get any of that on an island. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/52 "2011-02-02T01:36:00Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Yes. An island you can drive to isn’t an island. It’s been castrated. I don’t know if I would be as harsh as that :eek: , but my hypothetical billionaire is going to draw a hard line and say that if you can drive off it with a car, or walk off it at low tide, it’s not really an island. Several great ideas in here that never would have occurred to me! I especially like the Zealand idea, or Sark. If I lived on Sark, I wouldn’t be there for six months before I tried the [Clameur de Haro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sark#Clameur_de_Haro). ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/53 "2011-02-02T01:43:47Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > Going to Tahiti with your wife, Arnie ? She would get suspicious of your activities in no time. Is [this](http://www.misstahiti.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67&Itemid=27) the kind of thing you’re referring to? 😉 A friend of mine had a favorite expression that he used to annoy his wife when he went on business trips to Italy: bringing your wife with you to Italy would be like going to France and bringing your own bottle of wine. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/54 "2011-02-02T02:08:26Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > I don’t know if I would be as harsh as that :eek: , but my hypothetical billionaire is going to draw a hard line and say that if you can drive off it with a car, or walk off it at low tide, it’s not really an island. So taking the train off the island – e.g., Manhattan or my idea of the Isle of Dogs – is right out? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/55 "2011-02-02T07:38:05Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > Oh, and to avoid the nitpicking about the word “island”, the island has to be [smaller than Sicily](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_by_area#Islands_10.2C000.E2.80.9325.2C000_km2_.283.2C900.E2.80.939.2C700_sq.C2.A0mi.29), i.e. 25,000 km[sup]2[/sup] or less. The islands you get to visit with your five-day boat trips also have to be less than 25,000 km[sup]2[/sup]. Majorca is about 3600km[sup]2[/sup]; it’s the biggest island in its archipelago and within relatively easy reach of several other islands which also fulfill the OP’s conditions. Nice climate, nice beaches, I speak most of the local languages (ought’a brush up on my German), a good cultural scene and nice places to visit both there and in the rest of the archipelago… there are several companies there who might be terribly happy to retain me as an occasional consultant (yeah yeah, you said I had enough money to retire: that doesn’t mean I want to, having something that kicks me out of the house occasionally is nice). I think I’d be more comfortable with the everyday lifestyle there than in the Canary Islands, any of which would also be acceptable. Oh, and there’s cable internet in both archipelagos. While “island syndrome” is quite common among “mainlanders” living in Majorca, the conditions posited in the OP seem enough to be able to stall it. I could always use one of those 5-day trips to visit… ok, not Sicily, but Capri or the majority of the Greek islands (I’ve only been to Crete). ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/56 "2011-02-02T20:09:27Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I call Whidbey Island! It’s mine you curs! Yup, kinda hard to beat Coupeville - I call dibs on the old Ebey place on the bluff, though! ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/57 "2011-02-02T21:28:07Z")
Hawaii or Australia. … and I dont think _"condemned_" to live in Hawaii or Australia for 10 months of the year is the right word. LOts of people live there for 10 months a year. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/58 "2011-02-03T01:57:22Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > My first requirement for my island paradise is; no hurricanes. > > […] > > Of the top of my head I’m thinking one of the Hawaiian islands would work probably Maui or Kauai. Uh, got news for ya: They get hurricanes. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/59 "2011-02-03T02:46:22Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > Hawaii or Australia. … I’m no geographer, but isn’t Australia bigger than Sicily? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718/60 "2011-02-03T03:12:09Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I’m no geographer, but isn’t Australia bigger than Sicily? I am not a geographer either but I think it was a typo. I think he meant _Austria_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condemned-to-an-island-paradise/569718.md?page=4)