Isle of Wight living

[DillyGent]

how does life on the island compare with the mainland regarding cost of living etc. TIA

[angeldraws]

Well, looking at the vast number of answers you received, i wud say they dont have computers there!!!!

[DillyGent]

angeldraws, I was beginning to wonder ;-/

[Ed Strong]

Perhaps the IoW has sunk. We keep being told that the south is sinking! ;-D

[DillyGent]

Thanks Ed, my future there doesn't seem so bright ;-(

[burnhal]

I lived on the Island from age 14 to 18. My mum and some of my family still live there. Generally speaking you can expect to pay a couple of pence more for some items but really there isnt a lot of difference. A lot of people go to Southampton or Pompey if they have very major shopping but to be honest you can get most anything on the Island.
Myself- I would not go back and live there because
1) Work is pretty limited- if you dont need to work then fine but there isnt a lot in decent paid jobs there and a lot of work is seasonal.
2) It is overrun with tourists in the summer- you cant move for them.
3) It costs a fortune to take the car on the ferry if you want to go anywhere thqats more than 20 miles away!!!!
4) Driving standards leave something to be desired- there is only one piece of dual carriageway about 3/4 of a mile long. Cars tend to never get much above 40 mph!! (If you see a DL registered car on the mainland give it a wide berth!!

But thats my choice- you may well love it there!! Climate is good- frosts a rarity and snow even more so.

[flump1]

Hi Dilly Gent, I am on the Island and what burnhal has said covers most things. Most properties are water metered and it costs no more than those that are not. If you order furniture or other big things from the mainland you may pay more for delivery. Food prices are similar, offers in the supermarkets the same as on the mainland. The price of road fuel is similar too. Broadband is available as is cable service. There is a new PC World coming soon (the first) and I can't wait. !!! Altogether the quality of life is good, people sincere, and I love it over here, I must echo burnhals' coment about the ferries, they hold Islanders at random !!! However my husband works on the mainland and we love it over here.

[maggie01]

I agree with everything that is said apart from the sincere bit. In my experience, the islanders do not like the mainlanders too much. We lived there for 15yrs but we have been on the mainland for 14yrs now. Went back there last week and it has got a lot more shops now, but it is still like living in another world. We moved off all those years ago because of lack of work opportunities.