This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed interview with Jerry Jaskowiak, a 62-year-old company president who lives on a small, car-free island off the coast of South Carolina. It has been edited for length and clarity.My wife visited Daufuskie Island with some friends and loved the vibe, so she kept returning.
Before Haig Point, I already lived in a community that had fees associated with living there. The fees are higher at Haig Point to cover the cost of the ferry, but it didn't take much adjusting to. We wanted to make some small changes to our new Haig Point house. Because there's no bridge access to the island, contractors have to take the boat 30 minutes each way. The contractor who began the renovation estimated it'd cost $250,000 for the job, we hit $200,000 halfway through and decided to finish the rest ourselves and spent about $375,000 in total.
The delivery driver will bring your order to the boat terminal on the mainland and then the staff will bring it to the island. There are some small, independent restaurants on the island and even a Starbucks in the Welcome Center. Food on the island is slightly more expensive than on the mainland, with a markup of about 10%.I work remotely as the president of an investment-accounting company. Internet connection is super important for me. I have to be on calls and frequently use 50 terabytes of cloud storage.