Finding the Land

In our case, we have traveled the San Juan Islands by both land and sea. We have rented other homes in the islands over the years and have always been drawn to the great feeling we have on Orcas Island.

Here are some must haves for us:

• It’s extremely important to not only like what you see on your lot, but also just stand there and feel the energy around you. This land that will carry you and ground you, so you want to know if it feels right from the get go.

• Have a lot of solar exposure. PNW is full with tall evergreen trees and as much as we love them, they can block the sun and not let light into your home. Turning on artificial light during the day is something we try to avoid.

• Schooling (as we have three children in elementary school).

• A view of the water and a close proximity to that water.

• Having landscaping and space around the house to build gardens, green house and a tree house for kids to play and be connected to the nature.

• Private guest space for visitors.

We took several trips to the island on both a rainy and sunny days. It is good to walk the location during different times of each day. You really want to spend some time on the lot to catch the energy, walk the trails around it, see where the sun is in specific times of the day, maybe you get lucky to meet some of your potential neighbors. We took a picnic and enjoyed our first afternoon.

Once we decided on our location, we are not very familiar with the community, you might want to reach out to a realtor. We worked with Deborah Hansen with Windermere Real Estate and had a great experience to get to know the ins and outs of Orcas.

We looked at several different location till we decided on the right one for us. Here are some photos of them with kiddos climbing and getting the feel of it.