By March Twisdale
When we moved from West Seattle to Vashon Island, it was after a two-year search. We were looking for a rural environment with an eclectic homeschooling community, but every rural community in the region was almost exclusively religion-inspired. Concern that our children would be disconnected from both schooled kids and homeschooling families kept us searching.
In August of 2004, our first real introduction to Vashon Island came via Jessa Zimmerman. After commuting for years to Duvall, she convinced the Wilderness Awareness School to offer their amazing program at Camp Sealth. When she dropped off a flyer at my son’s “playschool” in West Seattle, we immediately signed up. Within a month, I was hooked. Vashon Island offered a rural lifestyle plus a vibrant, eclectic homeschooling community.
Now I had to convince my husband, who had only ever been to the Island once, for a Cohousing Retreat at Camp Burton. His memory was of trees. Lots and lots of trees. After asking around, I turned to Amiad & Associates Real Estate (no longer on the Island). “We aren’t ready to look at houses, I need him to discover the Island,” I remember saying, but when we arrived at the North End ferry dock, Amy Carey said, “I’ve got three houses to show you, let’s go!”
We followed her in our Eurovan, me grumbling all the way, and when we walked through the first house, all I could see was what was wrong with it. For example, the huge, professional Wolf oven and range was “big, black, and ugly.” Amy raised an eyebrow and calmly said, “There are plenty of Islanders who would gladly buy it off of you.”
At the end of our three-hour tour (yes, the theme for Gilligan’s Island comes to mind), I apologized for being irritable, explaining to Amy that my husband’s commute to Kirkland was a serious impediment. Unless he “fell in love” with the Island, it was a non-starter. She nodded, pointing out that all three houses were in different regions of the Island, allowing him to see the island and her to see how we responded, so she could best recommend other homes for us to consider. Ah, yes. I had chosen my real estate agent well.
I turned to my husband and said, “We can come out next weekend to look at more houses!” He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, saying, “Oh no! I’ll come over when you’ve got a short list, because we’re not buying a house unless you like it.” Wise man.
And so, our search for a home began … and quickly ended. It was midweek, and I was checking out the fourth or fifth house on Amy’s list. I began to reflect on how it differed from the first home we’d seen … as I’d also done with each of the previous properties.
Racing back to that first house, I realized my grumpy attitude had blinded me. It was everything we wanted. Within easy walking and biking distance of town and bus lines, direct access to hundreds of acres of preserved wilderness and trails, fenced, with forests along the edges and clear, open pasture for a garden or grazing equines … and it was large enough to guarantee a room for my mother!
I believe the Universe wanted us here. The house (in good condition, well represented and nicely staged) seemed to have waited for us, sitting on the market for 18 months, while the owner refused multiple, better offers. We came up with $40,000 under the asking price, and crossed our fingers.
Then, there was the challenge of selling our Cohousing unit in West Seattle. Typically, this takes two years! To our surprise, a friend of a friend immediately offered, allowing for a fast, private sale. Next, my husband’s boss called to say, “We’re shutting down the Kirkland office. You’ll start working from home next month.” And then, our Vashon offer was accepted. Kismet!
Six weeks later, we spent our first night in our new home, and we’ve never looked back.
