To want to move to Isle of Wight

[Jaboody]

Currently in IOW for holiday. So far everyone is super friendly and from what a lady in a shop has said, it's very safe for children.
Any residents of IOW on here? Please talk me down or give me pros and cons?
Cons is obviously on an island and I'm guessing you don't get same day Amazon deliveries and can't just go and see your family.

A friend lives there and loves it, having been there most of her life. Deliveries are often a problem as not all companies ship to the island. Broadband can be problematic and unreliable. Getting to the mainland too, especially given the kind of wet and windy weather we’ve been having, when ferries etc are cancelled.

I’m not sure about schools, but I know another friend who has visited often says it is quite old fashioned, but that could equally be a bonus.

Expensive and hassle to go on and off. Boring in low season but otherwise fine if you don't need to commute.

Health care is really poor

It can be expensive, food wise, and, as I had a static caravan over there, for many years, I wouldn’t say it’s any more or less safer than many mainland places. It can be a bit desolate in winter, and the bus/train services can be infrequent, and expensive. The ferry is pricey, and governed by weather.

There are a lot of positives, just make sure you do it in a realistic way. Holiday places are very different, out of season.🙂

I moved over in 2010 from the west country, I love it but definitely some downsides

2 primarys closed in West wight since I moved here

Jobs can be tough depending on the industry as alot is seasonal

Going to the mainland or on holiday is a nightmare as the ferry is an extra cost

Amazon ect are still really quick but some stuff and companies won't post to the island

Family have had medical emergencies recently eg heart attacks they were taken to the mainland due to severity which makes it tough to visit

Don't know what the mainland is like for drs but I have trust issues with mine after multiple gdpr breaches and have to go to St Mary's for appointments now

I do love living here though

We absolutely love the Isle of Wight and would move there if we could. Have family over there as my step mam is from there so we go there a lot. It's amazing but it is very pricey. If you can afford to, I would!!

My best friend lives on the Isle of Wight and we visit her often. I agree it's lovely!

She says the pros are:

Beautiful scenery
Quieter pace of life
Friendly people
No motorways

Cons apparently are:

Secondary schools can be very hit and miss
Boring for teenagers and drug issues in some areas
At the mercy of the ferry for getting on and off the island
Health care a bit rubbish and would need to travel to Southampton for some things

Friend lives there and struggles with the poor medical facilities ( and facilities in general.) Has to go to the mainland for a lot of medical help.

As someone who was born on the IOW, lived there for 26 years (and still have the majority of my family there), I have to say YABU - sorry😁

As you’ll have seen, the island is a beautiful place in the summer and it’s wonderful to visit for a staycation. Living on the island is a very different reality. For one, getting on and off the island is not only expensive, but the boats are extremely unreliable. It depends on your circumstances, but if anyone in your family would be intending to commute off of the island to work even occasionally (or you regularly go away for family holidays which require airport access), I would strongly advise against moving to the IW. I spent a good few years commuting to work from the island and the stress was insane. You’re frequently faced with delays and cancellations either due to the weather, technical issues with the boat etc. Also, boat timings don’t line up with any of the main trains e.g. to London, which is also annoying.

Trying to get deliveries to the island is also tricky - Amazon won’t even deliver liquids there for some bizarre reason! Also, any heavy items like sofas and bits of furniture can either be very expensive to deliver or you’ll find that a lot of well known brands will not deliver there at all. Popular services like Uber etc have not reached the island. Other than that, you may have noticed that there are barely any decent high street shops on the island and more seem to be shutting down each time I visit!

In the winter it can be quite a depressing place. There’s not an awful lot to do, particularly as quite a few touristy related places close over the winter period. Many children find it incredibly boring and whilst the island is generally safe, there’s quite a lot of petty crime largely from bored youths with nothing better to do. Most islanders will tell you that crime rates are on the up (have a look at the Island Echo website), though I guess that’s the same in most areas sadly.

Theres very much an aging population and most of the people who move to the island are either retired or nearing retirement and looking to slow down. For this purpose it’s perfect, but I wouldn’t encourage a younger family to move to the island, personally. Career prospects there are pretty dire! Also, if you value your privacy you may also struggle living on the IW - it’s very much a case of everyone knowing everyone!

Sorry for the long post but hope this helps!

I live just over the water, and there is a reason IOW house prices are cheaper. Not only is the use of Ferries inconvenient; they are also the most expensive crossings in the country.
A day trip to Guernsey from Poole can be had for a similar price to one to the IOW.
I would consider this really carefully. Lots of people have boats over this way and happily hope across for dinner etc

A former colleague upped and left London to go there and has never regretted it. His parents moved there too in the end.

I live here it’s lovely, there’s loads for kids, especially if you’re sporty/like being outside, even in the winter. Never had a problem with delivery’s most come the next day, and no we don’t have high street shops but we have loads of small bespoke shops where the owners try really hard to keep heir customers.

You definitely need to do an extended visit during the winter before making a decision like that!

My friend like you holidayed there several times and loved it. Steven loved there and lasted 2 years before selling up and moving back. She absolutely hated it. As PP: have said facilities were lacking, she struggled to get work other than seasonal and out of season she found it quite depressing.

Ah the rose tinted glasses have come off then. Thank you all for your help. A lot to think about.

I wonder why nobody has started a helicopter service from IOW to Portsmouth or Southampton?

Indeed. My BIL and MIL live there and it has cost us nearly £150 for ferry tickets. So expensive!

Nice for a young family but not for older children/teens. Plus the roads are awful!

Lovely for a holiday although maybe avoid October. It was awful last October. 🤣 We go every year.

Awful for teens if that's a consideration but personally I love it.

If you have children check the schools out, not sure what they're like now but they were absolutely dire, it is one of the most deprived areas in the UK.

Just been through a bit of Sandown. Most shops are shut and there's not exactly any of the big 4 shops around. Drunks at the seafront and weed smoking in a playground. Perhaps that's the deprived area?

Friends moved there, had quite a public role. They found it partly wonderful, kids learned to sail etc but difficult living under the microscope all the time. Example- male friend took new colleague out for lunch away from business for discussion. People who saw him warned his wife he was having an affair. He wasn't. Friends took to going to Southampton on the fast ferry for the day at weekend to get away. Retirement brought relocation to the mainland.

I moved here 5yrs ago and LOVE living here.

Yes, the downside is cost of taking your car to the mainland but you can get discounted saver tickets from Wightlink which makes it more affordable. You can also get a foot passenger ticket for £10 return with free parking with Solent Cruises.

No, no same day delivery from Amazon but you can get next day. Petrol is cheaper here than on the mainland. Food is no more expensive.

What amazed me most is, whatever your interest or hobby, you can find a group on the island! No travelling for hours to find your niche. It's all on the doorstep. And I have more friends here than I've ever had in my life.

They say that the longer you live here, the bigger the island gets. That's because you discover more and more hidden gems. Have you watched 'Jewel in the South' on Ch4?

Don't rule out living here. When I moved, everyone on the mainland laughed and said I'd be back in six months. I'm still here and I will never move back.

Sandown is really deprived. I personally wouldn't live there. It's not a good example of island towns.

I lived there briefly in the winter and there's lots of brilliant sports clubs - squash, table tennis, sailing etc. The people were friendly. My friend, a poc was spat at which freaked me out. (Cowes)
However there wasn't quite enough going on for me there in other ways. I prefer being in a city on the mainland or 'north island' as it's known there 😂