To think living in the Channel Islands must be miserable in winter?

[writemyricebun]

By that I mean having to fly or get the ferry just to visit the mainland if you live in one of the Channel Islands, how often do you visit the mainland? Is it expensive?

Goodness! Whyever would you think that! It may be a little difficult on the smaller islands but Guernsey and Jersey will have supermarkets etc. I imagine it is a lot more difficult on the Scottish islands. You adapt to circumstances...

It depends what kind of life you live, sounds great to me

I grew up on Jersey before moving away for university and not returning (except to visit my folks). I probably went to the mainland about 9 or 10 times before leaving!

There are hundreds of inhabited islands inI the UK. Odd to pick out a few.

Why do you think they are miserable?

I know a few people who live in Jersey and none of them come back regularly, my aunt lives there and she only comes back about once every 5 years.

I'd love it. Over on the ferry to France for my supermarket shopping. Heaven.

It's difficult when we have bad storms and the boats can't get in, so there's limited fresh fruit and veg. But we have a dairy on Island and most produce is grown locally. After 3 years I'm adapting to this life. And the winters really are only 3 months of the year. We get spring 4 weeks earlier than the UK.
This week I have been to the beach after my 5 minute commute home from work and swam in the sea most evenings.
We get sun most days and beautiful scenery wherever you are.
So I don't tend to want to travel anywhere else!!

Before someone who cares much more about this than I do comes along, the Channel Islands aren't in the UK!

No it can be very cheap if you book in advance. £50 return with EasyJet. There are loads of flights between U.K. and Jersey. We moved here about 17 years ago and love it. I don’t get what you think would be miserable. I fly to the U.K. quite a lot but lots of people don’t bother

That sounds idyllic to me! Would love to live somewhere like that.

And yes, I popped across the road for a swim in the sea earlier today, very refreshing!

I don't think getting to the mainland is the issue (although it's expensive).

The issue is it's damp and foggy in the winter. Mind you, it's damp and foggy on the mainland too.

What is your point exactly? Nowhere is fun to live in the winter.

I think you'd probably find it a bit expensive to go to France for your supermarket shop. Even a day trip on Condor was about £80 last time I looked and that was foot passengers only. Not sure about Manches-Iles but I don't know if it takes cars.

The inter-island service is really infrequent.

I'd happily live in Jersey. So would a lot of people, which is why they have such strict housing laws.

Guernsey girl here! Yes it is very expensive to get off the island, but its certinaly not miserable in the winter! Just got off the beach a few minutes ago, and is where we spend a lot of our days. But also a beautiful island in the colder months too and a wonderful lifestyle for our children. Never seen much need to visit the uk.

I would have thought they would have really mild winters ?

Bravo you!

Naughty me. Yes Crown Dependencies. 😛

How often does anyone leave their immediate area? I don't leave the city in which I live that often, really. I know people who live on islands who leave once a year, at the most.

Certainly not miserable here! We only really visit the mainland if we have a specific event to attend so can’t say I feel cut off or restricted in any way. Travel is expensive and the weather can cause disruption but I’ll take that over living anywhere else. Plus when the weather is good you can’t beat it. This last week it’s felt like I live in paradise. Never seen the sea clearer or felt it warmer. We’ve been swimming on the high tide before work/school everyday. Can’t beat it!

I can’t imagine it’s any worse than many other places in the uk.

I'd happily live in Jersey over winter, if only to see the waves at St Ouen's at high tide.

Jersey has pretty much everything in terms of a cinema, theatre, a few museums, castles, zoo, and beaches galore. What's not to love?

We went to Guernsey for freedom day and fell in love with the place. I'd happily move there tomorrow. Sadly the houses for sale are way outside my budget 😭

I bet it’s lovely! You get all the drama of the sea and presumably not many tourists. Sounds great to me.

My issue is the healthcare side - people on guernsey have to travel to the mainland for lots of specialist appointments. It’s paid for my the government but you have to fly or get a ferry to the U.K. mainland for lots of treatments.

No more miserable than anywhere else in winter, in fact milder and beautiful spring, summer and autumn really make up for it.