Island Life: Oprah Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

Well, technically, Oprah never lived here; but she did buy a pretty nice house on the island three years ago. It was big news at the time, and we islanders enjoyed speculating about running into Ms. O on the ferry, or at the grocery store…even though we knew we never would.

Then there was a pandemic, and nobody ran into anybody, anywhere, for over a year.

And now we’ve just learned that she’s sold the place. She made a tidy profit on the deal, though–bought for $8.3 million, sold for $14 million. (That second article did mention some remodeling, so I guess it wasn’t all profit.)

Even so. I thought I was a savvy real estate investor, when my Portland house appreciated enough in seven years for us to make the move here. But the word “million” didn’t enter into either of those equations.

Not that I’m complaining. I like our house.

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Still, the news did give me a pang of–well, not regret, exactly, but a wistfulness around the fact that I never did actually make it as a realtor, though I certainly tried. Think of the commissions on just those two Oprah sales alone! We’d be set for life! Sigh.

There are other famous people who have places here, and on other of the San Juan Islands. I could tell you who they are, but they came here for privacy, so I’d better not. (Anyway, you can google as easily as I can.)

The open question is how many of those celebrities actually live here, even part-time. Rumor has it Oprah didn’t spend much, if any, time here at all; I imagine that working Hollywood actors and tech CEOs and the like must find the commute a little much. Even for someone with their own private airplane or boat, our island is rather remote.

Which is what attracts folks–famous and otherwise–to the islands in the first place, of course. So unspoiled! So “away”!

So…inconvenient, when you have to spend a whole day (and fifty-plus bucks) for a fifteen-minute doctor’s appointment on the mainland.

Every year, new people move here; and every year, a few of those newcomers don’t “take”. Island life is not for everyone, and there’s no real way of knowing whether you really want to do it unless you give it a try. I personally can’t imagine living anywhere else (okay, maybe Cypress Island) (just kidding) (mostly). I truly cannot imagine going back to a city.

I hope I never have to.

And I’m perfectly happy never to run into any celebrities here. It’s the locals–both longtime and newcomers–who make this place what it is. The friends we’ve made, the neighbors we stop and chat with on our mailbox walks, the small businesses and farm stands and everything else that makes island living the quiet delight that it is.

Oprah may be gone, but Tomas is still here.

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