YOU LIVE ON AN ISLAND?

One of my favorite parts of meeting new people is telling them where I’m from. As soon as I say, “I live on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan,” I already know what questions to expect! Over the years, I’ve heard just about all of them.

1. “Do you have a Walmart?”
No, we do not. I’m not exactly sure how beneficial it would be for Walmart as a business to have a store on the island. However, we do have many other stores to make up for it!

2. “How do you go to school?”
This one makes me laugh. We go to school just like any other kids. We don’t have to boat over to the mainland every day; we just drive over. Students attend classes just like anywhere else, except our class sizes are usually much smaller.

3. “Do you have cars?”
Yes, we do! I think because of Mackinac Island, people assume every island uses horses and buggies. While that works for them, Beaver Island has roads, cars, trucks, and bikes, just like many small towns.

4. “What do you do there?”
I feel like this is the hardest question to answer, because we just live our lives. We do the same things everyone else does. We work, play sports, spend time with friends and family, and enjoy community events. It may look like a vacation to visitors, but to us, it is our home.

Most of these questions are fun to answer because they come from people’s genuine curiosity. So, if you’ve ever wondered whether we have cars, grocery stores, or what we do, now you know. And if you think of other questions, chances are I’ve probably heard that one too.

Enjoying the Northern Islander?