The Isle of Wight!!

[SaintAleia]

What is it like to live on the Isle of Wight? I know there is a higher proportion of older people on the island but that is about all I know of the population. What are the people like, what are the jobs, the houses like? What do people like to do? I know it's not a different country or anything, but I'm just interested in that it seems like a slightly different, maybe nicer community. Is it? If you have spent some time on the mainland as well, how does it compare?
I went on a few holidays there when I was very young, got thinking about them recently and thought it would be nice to know more about this place! Particularly as it is not as isolated as some of our country's other islands, but in a way is isolated nonetheless. To what degree, if any, do islanders (Isle-Of-Wightians?) feel isolated from the rest of the country? Also, I heard there are separate passports for residents - is this true?
Do you have the same shops and things as the rest of England, chain stores and takeaways and such? Sorry if this sounds ignorant but I simply don't know very much about the island! And does everybody work on the island or do a lot of them commute?
Please, somebody answer! I'm really interested!

[theonlyone]

Went to IOW in October for 4 days ,hadn't been for years ,it's now has all the major chain stores , supermarkets etc. It has lost a lot of it's charm as it
is now very commeralised , houses are mega bucks
but all property in the SE is expensive .

[redcrx]

my sister in law and her family moved there about 5 years ago from sufflok, they have built up a business there with no real problem.

My mother in law moved near them not long after and has found it hard to make a lot of friends as she is in an area where a lot of houses are holiday homes or retired people who dont seem to be out a lot in the colder months.
She has also had some problems finding tradesmen to do work without making a mess or upping prices or just taking forever to visit and do the jobs.

The island is no different to the mainland where shops are concerned, theres a HUGE tesco being built at Ryde at the moment and they have retail estates with DIY chains and a lot of main high street stores in Newport.

Why dont you take a trip over and see for yourself what the island is like now, but be warned it is apparently the most expensive crossing (�s per miles) in the world.

[theonlyone]

It is the most expensive crossing in the world ..less than 3 miles ..about �50 + for around trip , this is for a car ,no idea what the cost is for a foot passenger .

[redcrx]

the lowest price is �50 for a return with car and 2 passengers. It does rise to �130 at times, even just for a day trip.