Four years!

It’s been four years since Andy and I arrived on St. Maarten with 4 big boxes of belongings and 2 really pissed off cats. They’d never traveled before, much less been cooped up in a carrier for 2 1/2 hours, lol!

This was, and continues to be, the best decision we’ve ever made. What would I define as the biggest reason? For us, the island is like one big Cheers bar. In the US life was so busy, everyone doing their own lives, it felt really superficial. We lived in a big neighborhood, knew our neighbors on either side of us by name only. We’d wave across the driveways occasionally but that was about it. Not surprisingly, the friends we’d met here over the years who we hung out with in the US before moving here were the exceptions. It’s impossible to put into words what the difference is. It’s truly a textbook example of, if you know, you know.

The island is so small that if you’re not around for a day or two your friends will start looking for you. It’s a feeling I cannot describe to go somewhere, grocery store, restaurants, bars, driving along the road, and you will see someone you know, guaranteed. Friends that have visited have witnessed this and laughingly said, “Wow, do you know everyone on the island?” It feels like that sometimes. 🥰

The biggest paradigm shift for me personally has been that island time is real. Here’s how to tell island time:

Early = completely unfathomable. On time = ridiculous, no one does this. 10-30 minutes late = on time. 31-60 minutes late = island time. And no one thinks anything of this.

I think the reason (mainly) for this is locals understand that there is no rhyme or reason to traffic on the island. Literally if an accident happens, a car stalls, anything, it can stop traffic for sometimes hours. Locals know if this happens the only reasonable answer is to seek the nearest bar, have a beverage, and wait it out. Invariably when you finally get to your destination an hour late and say, “Omg, the traffic in Simpson Bay!” The response will be, “No worries, I heard!” Because the island is so small someone (or several someones) will already have posted about the traffic in Simpson Bay lol. It’s done mostly so people know to “go around” be it via Union Road, or, if that’s backed up too, literally go all the way around the island. It’s a small island, lol.

Another shift, not as much for me, more so for Andy who spent most of his life in metropolises (Philadelphia & Denver), is the slow pace of life. This directly ties directly into island time, lol. People will literally stop traffic in both directions to carry on a conversation from their cars, lol. Big truck drivers will do this too. You get used to it 🤪. Living here has forced us to slow down. I genuinely believe that it’s better for our mental and physical health to not be so hopped up on the adrenaline fueled fast pace of US life. Having lived in small town America, yes, it’s even slower than that lol.

In four years we’ve seen a lot of changes personally. We’ve since lost both of our cats and they’re both buried on the island. They both have beautiful eternal views, one over Orient Bay, one over Simpson Bay. We’ve developed friendships unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. St. Maarten is not perfect. No place is. But for us, it’s as close to perfection as we think we’ll ever get. We love our home ❤️