A week ago, we put an offer in on 5 acres on Vashon – the story starts much before that, of course; we’ve been looking for the right spot to buy for a few years, but we couldn’t work out how we could live on some land AND also work for a living. Then we sailed by Vashon Island this summer. We both knew the island was there, but for some reason had not given it a look. I’d never stepped foot on the island and I think we both figured it was out of our price range (I keep wanting to refer to the island as “she” – is that a sailing thing or is that an actual thing?).
As we sailed by, we happened to have data on our phones and realized two key things: 1) we could afford land there and 2) there was a commuter ferry to downtown Seattle!!!! We stopped into Quartermaster Harbor on our way back to Seattle and toured around with friends Ken and Susan and even looked at a lot that was for sale. But truthfully, I had already fallen in love with the island before I stepped foot on it.
Once we figured out there was affordable land and we could commute, I commenced research. And research showed this was an awesome community. That has been the big thing we look for after coming from the extremely tightknit and helpful sailing community. Not only was there a great group of people on the island, it’s a very active group and supports a ton of local events, businesses and organizations. Definitely our kind of place.
We started looking for land in about September and lived on the island for a few weeks while housesitting to get a better feel for it. We finally found an awesome parcel- a great size, near town and the ferry, walking distance to TONS of trails and a fun little “neighborhood” (is it called a neighborhood if you can’t see your neighbors?).
We’re excited and thrilled and completely scared at the thought of building a house, but definitely up for the challenge!
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