Post: #26

Not impressive. That shouldve been up in 3 months. These guys are sharing one room [email protected]

Post: #27

Hard to cast judgment without knowing how much money and time they're putting into this project, but if they're still on camp beds after two years...

...well I'll just say it.

WTF?

quickedit: looks like they're not there full time. Starting to make a bit more sense.

Post: #28

Considering the amount of money they dropped to buy this island, its pretty expensive just be a "sort of" side hobby.

If you are going to spend that much cash, you gotta go all in 100% especially considering the fact that it's not like they can re-sell it tomorrow and make their investment back. Who's going to buy that island again if they don't want it anymore ? You may have to wait quite a few years until you find a buyer again.

I think this shows how you need a well worked out 5 year plan if you are going get back your investment and make it worth your while.

Post: #29

Quote:So far the trip has been more folly than anything else. It's almost comical how everything that can possibly go wrong does.

These guys are living, breathing advertisements for the concept of consultants. As a guy who's transitioned from city life to country life I can say with some authority that if these guys had offered a local retiree a small sum to walk them through what their project entailed and how to go about it then they would have saved a lot of money, a lot of trouble and a LOT of time.

If they're all having fun then great, but a routine series of fuckups WILL bleed morale over time.

quickedit: Argh. I'm reading what's there to read and I just keep thinking:

What...?
Why did you...?
How did you manage to..."
Why would you even...?

Frankly I'm beginning to think that they're lucky none of them have killed themselves or each other by accident. This has "into the wild" written all over it.

Post: #30

(07-30-2016 10:23 AM)Mercenary Wrote:  ...
I think this shows how you need a well worked out 5 year plan if you are going get back your investment and make it worth your while.

I don't think this was done as anything but a spiritual investment.

No island in Nova Scotia is ever going to repay what you've put into it.

Post: #31

Buying an island as a group isn't a terrible idea.
Plenty of guys have swag but no tribal appeal, while this could combine the two.
e.g. "Island Entrepreneurs Club"

But this...



Yech. Maybe Jack Donovan or Chuck Palahniuk would be into it, but not sorority chicks.

Bringing them there could be charged as rape by disappointment these days.

Post: #32

(07-30-2016 10:51 AM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  

(07-30-2016 10:23 AM)Mercenary Wrote:  ...
I think this shows how you need a well worked out 5 year plan if you are going get back your investment and make it worth your while.

I don't think this was done as anything but a spiritual investment.

No island in Nova Scotia is ever going to repay what you've put into it.

I agree, but I didn't mean a strictly financial return.
I meant a return in terms of a whole new way of living which replaces their old one.

If you manage to escape the grid and build a new life, family and community with your own rules and values away from the rot and decadence we have in so many places now, then you have invested your money wisely.

This buying an island concept reminds me of the film "The Village" from 2004, where a group of people establish their own closed off community, and have to invent imaginary predatory monsters to keep their children frightened and afraid of leaving.

This is the scene where the the original founders after 20 odd years debate whether their community is endangered if they re-establish contact with the outside world.
Not a fantastic film, but concept is explored in an interesting way.

Post: #33

Wait until a bear swims over and tears the place down looking for maple syrup and bacon grease.

Post: #34

(07-30-2016 11:04 AM)dispenser Wrote:  Bringing them there could be charged as rape by disappointment these days.

Good stuff!

Anyway, I wouldn't hate on these dudes. I doubt making a giant floating fuck shack is their plan. As the OP article pointed out, the guy who championed the buy is a minimalist who seems to have really adopted a "roughing it" sort of life style. I think it's pretty cool if you're an outdoorsman and really value nature and privacy.

Also, I wouldn't say it's a waste of an investment just because these guys are treating it as a part-time project/retreat. It cost between 10k-100k and the price was split between 10 dudes. Not that crazy of an investment really. Hell I spent a couple G's building a gaming computer years ago that I haven't touched since last summer...

That said, if I were to ever own an island, it would have to be under the circumstances that I'm "fuck you" rich and wouldn't take 2 years to build a makeshift shack with a couple cots and a woodstove. I'd want a private tropical retreat with a well-built and comfortable (yet still rustic feeling) hut-mansion which I could take my catamaran to.

Post: #35

Isn't buying an island like this the same as buying any piece of land or property?

Or do they actually own and run this land now like it's their own country?

Because a lot of the suggestions about starting a community there are kind of pointless if it's just the first type of deal.

Post: #36

This reminds me a lot of Jamie Mentzel. I used to watch him years ago when he bought mountain property in the states, knocked up his wife/girlfriend, and was building all kinds of stuff by himself.

Now, apparently, he owns more than one island as well:





At first, I thought his stuff was cool. I got really turned off, as time went on, by how plain damn weird it all was.

Wow. I just looked, his channel goes back to almost a decade ago. This video was 6 years ago and one of the few I remember:

Post: #37

This seems like the sort of idea that is the result of a hipster Silicon Valley brainstorming session.

Wouldn't it be cool to own an island?

Flowchart, raise funds, buy, tell everyone you own it, everyone says cool.

Cool, I own an island.

Figure out you don't like owning an island.

Don't tell anyone.

Periodically remind people you own an island.

Blog about it.

The end.

Post: #38

(07-30-2016 03:42 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  Also, I wouldn't say it's a waste of an investment just because these guys are treating it as a part-time project/retreat. It cost between 10k-100k and the price was split between 10 dudes. Not that crazy of an investment really. Hell I spent a couple G's building a gaming computer years ago that I haven't touched since last summer...

That's a W I D E margin.
There's a big difference between 10K and 100K.

10k


100k

Post: #39

Going in on a $100k island with a bunch of buddies doesn't strike me as the worst idea. If it comes down to $10k a person, that's about what you'd pay for a used car, and instead of depreciating in value, it'd likely appreciate.

Even for a barren island, you might be able to leverage the fishing rights for the waters immediately surrounding it. Once everything was set yup, you could rent it out as a timeshare for wilderness camping, hunting, or sell it off to develop summer homes.

It would be even more attractive if it was it's own sovereign territory, though it sounds like it's still Canadian territory here. Otherwise, the possibilities would be even greater.

Post: #40

I don't know man. Considering the cost of the land and travel to and fro, I would rather buy a chunk of land in Wyoming where you can't see civilization as far as the eye can see. You could still get away from it all and still have the option of a few amenities if needed.

This all sounds like a bunch of hippy retard 'Into the Wild' gobbeldy gook to me, and I'm an outdoor rural type of person.

Post: #41

@Mercinary, TG took the words from my mouth:

(07-30-2016 04:54 PM)thoughtgypsy Wrote:  Going in on a $100k island with a bunch of buddies doesn't strike me as the worst idea. If it comes down to $10k a person, that's about what you'd pay for a used car, and instead of depreciating in value, it'd likely appreciate.

Even for a barren island, you might be able to leverage the fishing rights for the waters immediately surrounding it. Once everything was set yup, you could rent it out as a timeshare for wilderness camping, hunting, or sell it off to develop summer homes.

It would be even more attractive if it was it's own sovereign territory, though it sounds like it's still Canadian territory here. Otherwise, the possibilities would be even greater.

At the high-end, $10k per person is still not very much. There are plenty of people who spend more on boats they use a handful of times for a few years then try to give it away for a fraction of what they paid for it (or literally try to give it away.

Now, I am curious about this whole "buying an island" idea in a territorial sense.

I imagine this island these people all bought is really just... property that is part of Nova Scotia. It's likely no different than buying a plot of land that is not subdivided. It's still Canadian territory and I'm sure they have to pay the anual taxes that come with that. It's not like they got their hands on unclaimed and uncharted territory. They paid that $100k to someone that already had rights to the land before them (local government).

Post: #42

I don't think there is any territory on the entire planet that you can buy and make into your own indpendent country.

Some people have tried but unless you have international recognition by at least a dozen other countries and a military to defend it against the country that claims it, it's just an illusion of sovereignty.

That said, if your property is remote and uninteresting enough, you really wont be bothered much anyway and it will at least FEEL like an independent nation even if it isn't.

Post: #43

Mercenary is right. Freedom is a thing you live, not a thing you acquire. There are guys living in national parks violating dozens of federal laws every day, but if nobody is around to police them then how can you tell them they're not free?

(07-30-2016 03:42 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  ...
That said, if I were to ever own an island, it would have to be under the circumstances that I'm "fuck you" rich and wouldn't take 2 years to build a makeshift shack with a couple cots and a woodstove. I'd want a private tropical retreat with a well-built and comfortable (yet still rustic feeling) hut-mansion which I could take my catamaran to.

Emphasis added. That island these boys are on is made out of rocks, deadwood and misery, routinely seasoned by blizzards and storm surges. Even in summer the water would be icy by most standards. It's purchase seems to be entirely a matter of "where's an island we can feasibly drive to from our current location".

Post: #44

(07-30-2016 09:59 PM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  Emphasis added. That island these boys are on is made out of rocks, deadwood and misery, routinely seasoned by blizzards and storm surges. Even in summer the water would be icy by most standards. It's purchase seems to be entirely a matter of "where's an island we can feasibly drive to from our current location".

Maybe not even that.

According to the blog post linked above, 2 or the 10 owners still haven't visited even once, despite making the purchase years ago.

Post: #45

Myself, and a group of about ten family members and friends, were once going to buy an island just north of Samoa.

It was about 45 acres of land total, but in a c shape, which made you the owner of the lagoon in the middle. There was just an amazing beach in the center and outrageous reef.

The total was almost $1.25m. It was fee simple, as most islands you see for sale have some type of leasehold arrangement with an owner or a government.

Our deal fell apart, which is OK, because the cost of doing ANYTHING on that island was staggering.

The nearest decent size port was Apia, which was about a one hour boat ride away. To bring any type of building material to the new place was just too much.

You also gotta remember that you have NO services at all. We had a plan to build some type of solar system, but found out that just shipping was 100k just for that.

It would have been nice to have our own little place like that, but I'm happy it didnt work.

Aloha!

Post: #46

As far as living on an island goes, it seems like a classic example of choosing misery in pursuit of utopia rather than settling for generic happiness.

I second the idea of a catamaran being preferable. Visit islands. Return to civilisation. Bang boat-sluts.

To hell with freezing your ass off on Sausage Island.

Post: #47

(07-30-2016 10:21 PM)Kona Wrote:  Myself, and a group of about ten family members and friends, were once going to buy an island just north of Samoa.

It was about 45 acres of land total, but in a c shape, which made you the owner of the lagoon in the middle. There was just an amazing beach in the center and outrageous reef.

The total was almost $1.25m. It was fee simple, as most islands you see for sale have some type of leasehold arrangement with an owner or a government.

Our deal fell apart, which is OK, because the cost of doing ANYTHING on that island was staggering.

The nearest decent size port was Apia, which was about a one hour boat ride away. To bring any type of building material to the new place was just too much.

You also gotta remember that you have NO services at all. We had a plan to build some type of solar system, but found out that just shipping was 100k just for that.

It would have been nice to have our own little place like that, but I'm happy it didnt work.

Aloha!

Hey Kona I'm just wondering but with that kind of money involved ($1.25m) I'm curious if you ever thought of purchasing your own barge to ship the materials you needed yourself. A good barge is what 60-100k?

Post: #48

∆∆ That was sort of the plan.

The island was coral, and it had nowhere to land any type of larger vessel, so we were going to get a used military landing craft.

Aloha!

Post: #49

(07-31-2016 12:05 AM)Kona Wrote:  ∆∆ That was sort of the plan.

The island was coral, and it had nowhere to land any type of larger vessel, so we were going to get a used military landing craft.

Aloha!

A DUKW (better known as a Duck) would work well.

Post: #50

A plan like this would require someone living on the island year round the minute you have a structure, or it would be picked to pieces by vandals and opportunists the minute you left.

Hey, look, I found a yurt!